Problems for 'gifted IQ' or challenging children

Many of the introductions to 'giftedness' I have seen tread very carefully around the difficulties which so often coincide with 'giftedness' or a challenging child.

But there are so often real problems facing gifted children. Centres studying giftedness and assisting gifted children I have experience take almost polar opposite approaches to these problems. Very parent support focused groups often spend most of their time on these issues while some more academic approaches almost sweep these problems as far under the carpet as possible.

Problems.
1. Asynchronous learning. While some gifted children clearly display their intelligence by hitting all milestones, especially including reading, at an early age, others do not. Some may actually be late in these same milestones. Some early reader develop other skills relatively late. In general, when one skill is very strong, overuse of that skill can delay the need to learn other skills that most children are forced to learn.

2. Simply being different. There is a bell curve to intelligence. At both ends of this bell curve the shape trails off with a smaller and smaller number a greater and greater difference from the 'normal'. People at the 5 or even 10 percentile can vary so much from the 'normal'. Children who are different face challengers with peers. Teacher think they understand children- but in truth they don't always because they just cannot. In a class of 20 there is statistically only child at the 5th percentile. So they see one per year- but those children also vary so even after 20 years teaching a teacher may have never seen a similar child.

3. Over excitabilities
You can read about over excitabilities in a variety of places. In summary they are traits, mostly associated with gifted IQ or challenging children that through no fault of the child may lead to the child being seen as misbehaving.

The combination.
Picture this, there are areas where you seem to be weak at school. You feel you are different. You are overly sensitive and emotional. And because you are very intelligent and perceptive- you are aware of all this. Think about this, most children with any deficiency are unaware they have a deficiency. The Challenging Child is acutely aware of every minor deficiency.



I will go into more details about each of these over time.

Negative perceptions

Gifted education endures many negative perceptions.

I once was told the story of a school principal who outlined a new program for elite students to the school council.
The principal told of how this program would allow the full development of the latent talents present in these children. The school would earn a reputation for excellence. Additional programmes for children in the identified top 10% percent of potential would give these students the opportunity to really excel.

The school council was aghast. Selected programs for the 'elite'. This was unthinkable! To choose the best and give opportunities only to those elite was neither egalitarianism nor fair! Extra resources for those who least needed it???

Then the principal stated that the program was for gifted athletes. Instantly the council was relieved. This was different. Now they understood. Of course the best athletes deserved extra resources. Now there was total enthusiasm.
However the principal then told the council to consider what they are saying: Sporting excellence deserves support- but academic excellence does not.

Our sporting elite are to be admired and considered as role models. Our academic elite? Well the very concept of an academic elite is 'elitist' (a derogatory term) and un-egalitarian.

Why 'challenging'? The errors of the label 'gifted'

I don't actually feel the label 'gifted' is appropriate.

Firstly, it conjures images of elitism and almost suggests the 'gifted' child were fortunate to received a gift or present at birth while other children did not. It seems like there is only one 'gift' and if you receive this one gift or you don't.

Every child is a gift.
And every child has their own abilities or 'gifts'. To label possessing a higher IQ as gifted - and thus by default implying other characteristic of a child do not qualify as gifts - seems crazy. The person born the ability to be the fastest runner in the world is not 'gifted'?? Oh...they are a 'gifted athlete'. This would be ok if the person with the IQ was labelled 'gifted IQ'. But this is not how the label is used.

Saying 'gifted' alone to describe intelligence implies their is only one true gift.

This suggestion of the 'one true gift' even if not an intended suggestion, can only create a backlash negative reaction. An negative perceptions and treatments of 'gifted IQ' children already abound although that will be discussed in another post.

Another problem is that the label 'gifted' completely avoids the feeling that such children have any negative consequense of their 'gift'.
The reality is that 'gifted IQ' children, their parents, their carers, their teachers all must cope with both postive and negative aspects of this 'gifted IQ' characteristic.

This is why I prefer the term 'challenging'. A criticism is that the word already has a meaning although - but so did 'gifted'. If this term was widely used people would come to associate it correctly, just as the association with 'gifted' has been learned. However I believe this term would not bring the same negative consequences.

So why challenging? Well these children tend to challenge all that is put before them. Rules, social order and knowledge. They also challenge their teachers and parents and carers. The challenges brought include both positive challenges and also negative challenges. In many ways, the mind of these children bring the children difficult challenges in dealing with the world around them. The concept that 'all is not automatically positive' which the term 'challenging' carries, I think makes it a better as well as more descriptive label.