Parents

Introduction to Giftedness

What is Giftedness?

According to the NAGC, giftedness is defined as "Students with gifts and talents perform—or have the capability to perform—at higher levels compared to others of the same age, experience, and environment in one or more domains."

NAGC Introductory Article

Key Things to Know

There is no one way to be gifted.

Every child is different. Every child learns differently. Schools and districts vary in their gifted identification processes. With that being said, giftedness in a student can be shown in one or more domains. A child who is gifted in math may or may not be gifted in reading. Students who are gifted do not have to show giftedness in all subjects.

Support for your student is crucial to their success.

Ensuring not only you're supporting your student, but the school as well is important for the success of your child. Identification as gifted is less important than ensuring their academic needs are being met. Acceleration in certain topics and making sure educators are differentiating so your child grows at school is crucial.

Identification is not always cut and dry.

Identification for gifted programming is not always as cut and dry as it seems. Assessments, teacher recommendations, and classroom performance are the biggest ways to identify a student for gifted programming, however, this does not always have the biggest impact. Ensuring you advocate for and challenge your child can help them succeed further.

How does Giftedness vary from Child to Child?

"[Gifted] students are unique individuals with varied and multifaceted talents and interests. Some demonstrate mastery in multiple areas while others excel in a single subject" (Davidson Institute, 2023).

Common Characteristics of Gifted Children:

Ability to comprehend material several grade levels above their age peers
Surprising emotional depth and sensitivity at a young age
Strong sense of curiosity
Enthusiastic about unique interests and topics
Quirky or mature sense of humor
Creative problem solving and imaginative expression
Absorbs information quickly with few repetitions needed
Self-aware, socially aware, and aware of global issues

Common Characteristics of Profoundly Gifted Children:

Rapid Comprehension
Intuitive Understanding of the Basics
Tendency toward Complexity
Need for Precision
High Expectations
Divergent Interests

How to Know if Your Child is Gifted:

Students do not need to show every single on of these characteristics to be considered "gifted". Giftedness comes in many forms and shows itself in many different ways.

Depending on the circumstance, some gifted students are more likely to have behavioral issues and experience frustration, while others love school.

Taking a step back and seeing their progress is a good step to knowing if your child is gifted or not. Don't discount them because of behavior issues at school, they could simply just be bored.

Growing your Student Outside the Classroom

Differentiation doesn't stop when your student leaves the classroom! There are a variety of things you can do outside the classroom to continue to help your child grow and thrive as a student.

Finding extracurriculars that suit their interests and/or gifts
- I.E., if your child is gifted in mathematics, you might want to encourage them to take part in a math or robotics club
Summer programs designed for gifted students
- A great opportunity for your child to meet other gifted students and get exposure to different types of giftedness and challenges
Doing challenging work with them outside of the classroom that suits their interests and gifts

Being overall involved and interested in your child's education is an important step into ensuring they're growing and thriving as a learner.

Parent Resources Regarding Giftedness

National Association for Gifted Children

Better known as the NAGC, the National Association for Gifted Children is full of informational and important topics relating to giftedness. Their standards are also used as models in the classroom.

Our Gifted Kids Blog

Filled with so much information about the best practices and support plans in parenting a gifted child, Our Gifted Kids blog is a great resource for parents and guardians of AIG children. It's definitely worth a look through their blogs with a wide variety of topics, all pertaining to the parents of gifted children.

Giftedness Knows No Boundaries Podcast

This episode, titled "Are Schools Helping Our Gifted Children Reach Their Personal Best?", provides insight into whether gifted children are receiving the educational challenges and resources they need inside the classroom. This can be eye-opening for parents and important to hear, as it makes parents question whether their children are receiving the support necessary for their growth.

Gifted Child Society

The Gifted Child Society is a nonprofit organization. They put research into furthering the knowledge on giftedness and how that affects students.

Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted

This organization is here to help parents and teachers better understand the emotional needs of gifted students, including acceptance, love, and support.

Opportunities for Gifted Children

Duke TIP

Duke TIP is a prestigious program for gifted youth run by Duke University. The above-linked resource details the program, including other educational opportunities aside from Duke TIP. Since this opportunity is run by Duke University, it's very notable and well-researched and includes amazing enrichment opportunities for the pre-college highly gifted minds. I encourage parents to take a look at this page, as there is so much to learn about the opportunities offered for their gifted children!

Gifted Summer Programs by Field of Interest

This resource, created by the Davidson Institute, lists so many summer programs for gifted students based on their interests. Whether your child is interested in dance, engineering, or leadership, there are programs available for every unique gifted learner. This resource is a gateway into outside of school programming for gifted students and keeping them engaged and learning even during the summer months-- that's why I recommend this source.