giftedness

[Indea88]

I spoke in complete sentences, recited books, knew a gazillion words at 2, mom claims I was intuitive and compassionate. Was I gifted? Probably not.I am an underachiever and did not learn a very valuable gift, that of resilience. This is what I teach my gifted son.There are many markers for giftedness,three being creativity, cognitive IQ, and independent critical thinking. My 11 year old has all three in addition to a sense of humor and a love of life. I quess his emotional IQ restricted his acceptance into his schools Enrichment program.He scored 98 and 99 % in all areas on the Terra Novas and still did not qualify. Be careful how you use the word gifted.

[ChristaN]

Indea,

I am not sure what your point in posting this here is. Are you concerned that too many of us are labeling our children as gifted incorrectly? I believe that most of the people who post in this forum in regard to gifted issues are working on dealing with the different emotional and developmental needs of gifted children.

I believe that both of my girls are bright. I do not know if one or both of them are "gifted" in the strictest sense of the word. My younger dd may have a higher IQ than my older one; I just don't know. However, I post mainly in relation to my older dd b/c she is the one who has issues in relation to her development that make parenting her in the most appropriate way more challenging. For the most part this relates to extreme sensitivity, struggling with the large injustices in the world, processing life if a more mature way than her same aged peers and difficulty in understanding why other six year olds don't think and worry about things in the way she does.

[NoHiddenFees]

Originally Posted by Indea88

I spoke in complete sentences, recited books, knew a gazillion words at 2, mom claims I was intuitive and compassionate. Was I gifted? Probably not.

Giftedness and achievement are not the same thing. Achievement, in school and in life, does not correlate strongly with IQ past about 140 (using the old scale), i.e. moderate giftedness. In many school districts, neither does entrance into gifted programs. I would recommend you read Smart Girls by Barbara Kerr to see if you recognize yourself in any of her profiles. Perhaps a visit to Hoagies as well.

If you are worried your son is not being well served by your school district, there are steps you can take. Hoagies has a weath of information about how to deal with school systems. FWIW, the Terra Nova is an achievement test, not an IQ test, although it is often used for screening into gifted programs.

[allgirls]

Indea88...it sounds to me like both your son and yourself are indeed gifted but that you are dependant upon outside markers to tell you so. When those didn't say what you expected to hear you just figured you were completely wrong...my feeling is that you are probably right and the tests are off or really don't test for giftedness

I have a feeling that my 2 year old is gifted...there are some pretty easy to see indications of high intelligence in her but for me it's more abstract...she is just "different" and the older she gets the more I see it.

I don't use the term "gifted" often anyway(actually, never, but then I don't use the label AP either and I definitely am)...because she is what she is without the word but there is some unidentifiable something about her...her understanding and her compassion are so far ahead of what it should be at her age....well I just can't describe it. But if you met her you would notice...everyone notices.

I too was/am gifted...no doubt about it...(I did have IQ tests when I was ten which indicated I was) however as to achievement...I haven't done too bad but I am no rocket scientist. I am driven to learn...but on my own and don't fit well into regular classes and school settings...I did earn good grades when I did apply myself though....my DH is also gifted...never tested but he's so incredibly smart it's scary...in a different way from me...and I think he has no clue..

I am not sure what the point of your post is..if it's to stop people from using the term gifted too lightly, well...that's a personal choice....I post occasionally on the gifted thread because I see my child in their children and myself in the parents. It feels safe. Many of the children on that thread haven't been identified by testing as "gifted" and I really dont' think it matters. I believe they are especially when I hear some of their stories!

Maybe you were calling your child gifted and now feel like you were completely wrong because that test said so...I wouldn't...he is what/who he is no matter what a test says. The school systems don't serve many children in the way they deserve. I hope you can find a way to get him the education he deserves.

Cheers