International School Parent Magazine - Autumn 2019

Gifted: the double-edged sword
This is the first in a series of articles on giftedness, how to
identify it, how it manifests, and how to manage it
The bell curve that establishes what is developmentally
normal for school children helps teachers and other
professionals to direct extra money, resources, and time to
students who are below the average, on the negative side of the bell
curve. But what about those who present above that curve, who are
considered “gifted”? Many teachers consider that these children
should be OK given they are developmentally advanced in one
way or another. If they are gifted, shouldn’t they be excelling?
However, this is far from the truth of what it really means to lie
on the positive side of the curve. There is a real lack of focus and
understanding about the characteristics of a gifted child and how
to teach and manage gifted children.
How do you know if a child is gifted?
As a child psychotherapist, I meet many parents in my office
who exclaim that their child is driving them insane through their
inability to follow directions and focus on even the most basic
tasks, such as brushing their teeth without getting sidetracked, for
example, by building something in their room. Parents will discuss
their child’s high levels of anxiety, and how they ask profound
questions about life and death. They talk about how their child is
prone to getting frustrated, highly sensitive, and socially different.
Many parents diagnose these children with ADHD or another well
known condition. However, most of these characteristics lead me
to write at the top of my notes the question, “gifted?”.
Behavioural characteristics of gifted children:
● Spontaneity and impulsivity
● Intense focus on passions and a resistance to changing activities
when engrossed in own interests
● Highly energetic with little need for sleep or downtime
● Insatiable curiosity and questioning nature
● Strong determination and perseverance
● Frustration, particularly when unable to meet standards of
performance or high expectations imposed by self or others
● Non-stop talking
● Unusual emotional depth and intensity
● Sensitivity and empathy
● Heightened self-awareness, feelings of being different
● Need for consistency between abstract values and personal
actions
● Advanced sense of moral judgement, idealism and justice
What IQ measurement is considered gifted?
Based on full scale IQs, such as the Weschler Intelligence Scales
(WPPSI-IV; WISC-V; WAIS-IV), it is generally accepted that
an IQ of 120 and above means “bright”, 130 and above is
“gifted”, 145 and above is “highly gifted”, and 160 and above
is “exceptionally gifted”. Often these scores are influenced by a
heterogenous profile, where one or two scores are lower, affecting
the score.
I stopped handing in my schoolwork. I would go home
and work on projects but then never be happy with what
I wrote. These were not things I wanted to write, they
were things I was told to write, to fulfill the teacher’s
checkboxes so that their kids would do well, and she
would look good. I wasn’t exploring my creativity or what
I really thought. I stopped handing in my work. I stopped
going to school. I stopped caring. No one understood me
anyway and what was the point of all of this nonsense. I
got put a year back and put on medication.
J. (16 years) – Highly gifted/clinical depression
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PARENT AUTUMN 2019 | 29