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Differentiating characteristics of the Gifted Child. |
Possible problems |
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Huge store of facts. Supurb long term memory. |
Bordom and impatience in class. |
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Very fast thinker. |
May get frustrated with others who think slowly in comparison. |
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Very advanced comprehension |
Hates rote-learning. Gets called "Smart-Alec" or similar. Irritated by the level of presentation of school work. |
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Creative thinker. |
May be seen as disruptive. |
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Long attention span on things of interest. |
Resents being interrupted. May not even listen. |
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Highly curious. Many interests. |
Starts many projects - perhaps does not finish them when the concepts have been drained and the work becomes tedious. May not work well in a group. |
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A high degree of Norm-referencing. That is the act of comparison of oneself to others. |
May become arogant or elitest if not given the opportunity to mix with intellectual peers. Over inflated self esteem. May be intollerant of others and call them stupid. Alternatively, may down-grade performance in order to fit in or simply hide abilities. |
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Great verbal ability. |
Dominates discussions. Uses this skill to avoid doing difficult tasks. |
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Advanced use of language. |
This may alienate the child from age peers. |
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Generates original thought. |
May be argumentative, oppositional to other's set ways of thinking. Resents conformity. |
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Sees off-beat solutions and has wild opinions. |
Frustrated at not being understood. Others might consider the child odd or weird. |
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Persistent anf goal-directed |
Others may view this as stubborn and uncooperative. |
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Thinks in abstract terms very early in life. |
May be preoccupied with death or the meaning of life. Might reject detail in favor of concepts which may be seen as disrespectful by others - e.g. atheist belief. |
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Deep thinker |
Hates deadlines and therefore might avoid doing work at all rather than do half a job. |