Gifted Children – Your Child Could Be The Next Einstein

Have you ever wondered if your child is gifted? Many parents do, looking for the traditional signs – the expression of a gift in verbal, numerical, or spatial reasoning. However, the truth is that not all gifted children display their talents in these means.

These three areas are highly regarded for good reason. Used in conjunction to measure the overall IQ, or Intelligence Quotient, of an individual, these three indicators are quantified and averaged into a score or overall IQ. The average IQ is 100; a score that would indicate a child can solve problems and analyze situations on par with the average intelligence of those in the same age group.

Traditional Measures of Gifted Children

When a child has an IQ significantly above the average, they are considered gifted. However, there is more than one level of gifted when discussing an extraordinary child. The first milestone is around the 130 mark, rising as high as 150. This range is where children will often perform as much as one or two grade levels above their peers. They can grasp more complex concepts and ideas than they are being taught and seek greater challenges.

The next level is that of the profoundly gifted – those children with IQs at or above 180. It is hard to numerically quantify the level of intelligence children at this tier display. It is manifest not only in the knowledge they retain, but in their ability to solve complex problems, understand the intricate rules of geometry and algebra, or memorize musical compositions instantly at ages as young as four. Children who are this gifted will display their gift in any number of wondrous situations, starting at a very young age and are almost always seeking a challenge intellectually.

A Comparison of Gifted and Non-Gifted Children

As reported in Gifted Child Quarterly in July of 2000, Thomas Oakland, an Education Psychology Professor at the University of Florida tested a sample of 1,554 gifted and non-gifted students between the ages of 8 and 17. He used the Student Styles Questionnaire, an advanced measurement of extraversion, creativity, decision making style, and a general preference for order.

The results show many general correlations in gifted students throughout the group. Some of his findings include:

o Gifted students are 29 percent more likely to have active imaginations than non-gifted students.

o Gifted girls are 55 percent more likely to have active imaginations than non-gifted girls.

o Girls of both groups preferred making decisions on the basis of values rather than logic.

o Gifted boys are 28 percent more likely to prefer making decisions on the basis of values (rather than on logic), as compared with non-gifted boys.

o Although more girls than boys prefer organized styles to a more flexible style, gifted students in general do not show a preference for organization over flexibility.

o Gifted and non-gifted students show no differences on measures of extraversion.

While these results show that there is a general difference between the gifted and non-gifted students, there is a greater correlation between how a child performs and the ability of both parents and teachers to understand the child and how they interact with the world. Across the board, regardless of intellect, children perform better in school when their parents and teachers understand the individual personality trait profile of the child. When their unique temperament and approach to life is actively engaged and nurtured in both home and school, the child will almost always perform better, in some cases even bringing out the traits of a gifted child that may not have been exhibited before.

Recognizing if your Child is Gifted

The key to recognizing your child is gifted does not rest in simply looking for their ability to compose music at the age of four or them solving a 2,000 year old math problem before they are 10. There are a number of signs you can look for, many of them much more subtle than the broad spectrum of the Intelligence Quotient test. The following signs are all good indicators that your child may be of above average intelligence. Look for them early and follow up:

o A long attention span.

o A preference for novelty.

o Over activity to physical sensations.

o A good memory for recognition of previous experience.

o Early onset of language.

o Intense curiosity, drive, and persistence.

o Obsessive interests.

o Metacognitive ability (that is, the gifted think about how they think and can talk about their learning and problem-solving strategies).

o Typically, the ability to read one or two years before beginning kindergarten.

o The ability to excel at abstract logical thinking.

o A fascination with numbers and numerical patterns.

o Typically a more solitary or introverted nature.

o A preference for older children.

o Difficulty finding compatible peers of any age.

o Twice as many social or emotional problems as average children.

o A fiercely independent and nonconformist nature.

o The ability to derive pleasure from work.

o Positive self-esteem about their intellectual ability.

One thing you should always remember though is that not every child is the same. The biggest problem with measurements such as the IQ test is that they generalize a great deal of traits. Your child’s emotional development, home life, social experiences, and general outlook on life can all effect when and how thoroughly their gift expresses itself. In some instances, a child may not display their gift until they are almost fully grown, well into their young adulthood. In other cases, it may appear shortly after birth.

IQ test means Intelligence Quotient,with the help of IQ tests intelligence test you can measure your ability of your work in any field, if you get high IQ level in IQ intelligence test that means there is chances of highly complex jobs.

Seven New Ways To Be Smart

Imagine for a moment that you lived in a world where only people who were very skilled at musical ability were considered to be valuable. And in this world, only those people who were musically talented were considered to be intelligent. Everyone who didn’t have musical ability was considered to be slow-witted and intellectually inferior.

In this imaginary world, only those people who were the greatest singers, composers, and instrumentalists could run for the office of president, or enter the upper levels of any corporation.

In a world like that, would you be one of the people who would easily succeed? Or would you be shut out of all the best opportunities?

If you had grown up in such a world, would you consider yourself to be intelligent? Would other people think you weren’t very bright because you couldn’t carry a tune?

If you happened to be very good at reading and mathematics in a world where only musical ability was regarded as valuable, would you decide that these other abilities you possess weren’t important?

Do you think it would be fair that other people decided whether or not you were smart based only on this very narrow definition of intelligence?

What if you lived in a world where only athletic ability counted? Or a world where only artistic ability was respected?

You can easily see by these examples that deciding to value musical ability only, while disregarding other forms of intelligence, would be very unfair and quite unrealistic. And the same would be true if we decided that only artistic ability, or only athletic ability mattered.

Yet in a way, something similar does happen in the world we live in. In our world, and particulary in our schools, people tend to value one particular type of intelligence very highly, and they often regard other forms of intelligence as less valuable.

If you happen to be talented at reading, logic and mathematics, you likely did very well in school. You were probably be regarded as very intelligent by your teachers and your peers, and you grew up confident about your intelligence and your ability to succeed.

That is because in our current world, an aptitude for reading, logic and mathematics has been defined as synonymous with intelligence. When you take an IQ (intelligence quotient) test, this narrow range of abilities is what is measured, and then the score is said to be a measure of your intelligence.

So if you happen to do poorly at logic and language because your skills are elsewhere, these tests and our school systems may label you as someone who is not very intelligent.

Standard intelligence tests focus a lot on exploring and measuring a person’s ability to understand logic, language and mathematics. But is that really the same as intelligence? Or is intelligence something broader than that?

Is there more than one kind of intelligence? How should we define intelligence? Can we really measure it? What is intelligence, really?

Several experts in the field of intelligence have proposed that we need to broaden our understanding of what intelligence really is, and the role it plays in successful living. If we define intelligence primarily as an aptitude for mathematical and linguistic/logical thinking, we may be missing other forms of intelligence that are also important.

A Harvard professor named Dr. Howard Gardner has spent many years studying the topic of intelligence in human beings. As a result of his studies, Dr. Gardner has proposed that our current beliefs about intelligence should be revised and expanded.

Dr. Gardner has suggested we consider at least seven different forms of intelligence.

These are:

· verbal-linguistic

· logical-mathematical

· visual-spatial

· musical

· bodily-kinesthetic

· social-interpersonal

· intra-personal.

See if you can discover which of these forms of intelligence is strongest in you.

People who have a strong linguistic-verbal intelligence will respond in a deep way to language and words. They love the way that language sounds and the way that words can be put together to create moods and special effects. A person who is high in linguistic intelligence will get a deep sense of meaning and pleasure from the way that language is used.

Writers, poets, and editors have a very high degree of linguistic or verbal intelligence. People who exhibit a strong need to correct errors in grammar are also very strong in this trait.

People with logical-mathematical intelligence are logical and systematic. They are are very good at analyzing data and they can follow complex chains of ideas to reach a logical conclusion. These people favor reason over passion. People with logical-mathematical intelligence can become successful lawyers, mathematicians, computer programmers, and scientists.

Artists, decorators, fashion designers, sculptors, photographers and architects must possess strong visual-spatial intelligence to succeed in their fields. Among people who have this trait, some will have a glorious, passionate understanding of color. Others will very strongly respond to visual line, texture, or three-dimensional space.

A person with musical intelligence may not necessarily play or compose music, but he will be always be a passionate lover of music, getting far more out of the experience than an average person. Musical intelligence is an ability to understand and respond to music, not just as background noise, but with a capacity to get deep meaning from the interaction of melodies, textures and rhythms.

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is very high in those people who are athletes and dancers. It is also a great asset in actors. These people are extremely attuned to where all parts of their body are located in space and are able to exert very subtle yet powerful control over all their muscles.

People with a high degree of interpersonal intelligence are good at picking up cues to the emotions of others and understanding the emotional states of those around them. They are particularly good at empathizing with others, and they know how to comfort, inspire and lead people. This is a good trait to have in a political leader. It is also a desirable quality in teachers, therapists and salespeople.

Intra-personal intelligence is the ability to deeply know and understand oneself. It is the ability to analyze and assess one’s innermost qualities and behaviors. This is a form of intelligence that may be found in philosophers and spiritual leaders.

These are seven basic qualities or abilities that may be considered as special forms of intelligence. Each of these can be highly developed in certain individuals and can be an important component of a person’s success in life and career.

When you consider Dr. Gardner’s expanded definition of intelligence, which forms do you think are especially strong in you? Which do you think are particularly weak?

When you went to school, did your educational experience address your intelligence strengths? Or did it target the areas in which you were weakest?

IQ test means Intelligence Quotient,with the help of IQ tests intelligence test you can measure your ability of your work in any field, if you get high IQ level in IQ intelligence test that means there is chances of highly complex jobs.