The first autumn of my tenure in Fulton, two delightful young vendors knocked on my door, selling candles and candies for the annual school fundraiser. Taneque was about eight and Ashley was ten.  

Early visitors to my new and meagerly furnished abode, they sat politely at the card/dining table and discreetly perused my sparse retirement beginnings, while I attempted to select something that cost less than $300 (it seemed) from their catalogues.

Their voices tugged at my concentration and I strayed from the catalogue, entertained and intrigued by the fluidity of Taneque’s non-stop chatter as she created such abstract integrations as the irregular tremor of my ceiling fan (which had escaped my notice) and recess during her day at school. My oh my, what a bright child!

Ashley sat very quietly, but would occasionally interject "Shhhh, Taneque …let Miss Linda concentrate.” 

They returned later in the fall to deliver my order and stopped by once more before Christmas, -- as Ashley said, ”just to see how you’re doing.”  They really were delightful and when they stopped by the following spring to ‘check on me’ I promised an end- of -school luncheon, and then at the end of summer a back to school pizza party.

At the parties they loved playing Husker Du (a Swedish version of Memory but with a single  large circular board instead of the little square cards) which Taneque usually  won, and word games which she swiftly mastered along with mental tic tack toe that she and  played – just mind to mind, no paper, no pencil.  

All the while, Ashley sat quietly, sometimes calming Taneque and some times checking in conversationally with Miss Betty or whoever else may have joined us for lunch.

But, that Taneque my, my, my, what a smart child! I do wonder if she is gifted!

Defining Giftedness

The dialogue on giftedness is vast, varied, and hotly debated but generally includes reference to such early statements as those of:

 The National Association for Gifted Children in the U.S., who define giftedness as:

Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.  

And The U.S. Office of Education Marland Report that states:

According to the definition, gifted and talented children are those who demonstrate achievement and/or potential ability in any of the following areas:
1. General intellectual ability
2. Specific academic aptitude
3. Creative or productive thinking
4. Leadership ability
5. Visual and performing arts
6. Psychomotor ability

Psychomotor ability has been dropped from most current discussions, and the following “Signs of Giftedness” are frequently included as preliminary flags.

There are likely as many definitions of giftedness as there are gifted children and it’s interesting to note that while nurture can play a significant role, fascinating new research on the physiology of giftedness confirms the strong role of nature, as well. 

Of course, many believe, as do I, to the chagrin of multitudes of colleagues, that all children are gifted.

One must simply discover the gift ! J  

Determining Giftedness

Giftedness is generally determined by teachers and psychologists and usually includes the administration of an IQ test. IQ tests are primary gauges of giftedness. There are ‘fun’ IQ tests online, but the most widely accepted tests are administered by professionals and among professionals the Stanford-Binet IQ test and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), are the most respected.

Interestingly enough, though there should not be, the results can be different depending on the test.  My child tested into a preschool for gifted children by a psychologist who administered the Slosson, which is considered a culture free IQ test.  Later in the year, the director noticed that my daughter hadn’t been tested with the preferred Standford Binet or WISC but by then she was doing so well in the school that it didn’t matter. The following year, though she had proven success in a gifted environment, she was, nonetheless, not invited  to the Gifted program in her elementary school. Later when I took a graduate class in IQ testing, I administered the WISC to my daughter along with two of her fifth grade “gifted class” friends. They tested in the gifted range; she tested in the good strong high average range (as do I). All three maintained good elementary grades and the principal recommended my daughter for the middle school gifted program. She was not invited to participate in the full middle school program however she was included in all of the projects they generally reserve for gifted children and continued to do well.  She showed up for high school with great grades, community awards and a bubbly personality and after what seemed like only a half hour meeting with her counselor, was placed, along with her two gifted friends, in the most advanced classes. She moved swiftly and easily through high school and a four-year college degree and now at twenty-seven, she has a grand career in finance with a NY Wall Street firm. Her friends encountered family disruptions and other difficulties along the way. They, unfortunately, haven’t finished college yet and haven’t quite found a professional career niche. That they seem entirely happy with what they are doing, however, begs the lesson of our entire discussion and is excellent fodder for another discussion on another day :-).  Nevertheless, the point of all of my bragging is two-fold: 1) Different evaluation tools may give different results for the same child and 2) Giftedness does not ensure traditional life success. In fact, many experts debate whether there is a connection at all.

If, however, the idea of giftedness is appealing and your child fits the profile of the above “Signs of Giftedness” checklist, or if you just have a gut feeling that your child is gifted you may want to start by talking to your child’s teacher or the school psychologist. You may also want to research the Internet to find different programs and though expensive ($200-700 range) pursue independent testing. If your school does not provide independent testing, giftedkids.about.com suggests contacting: your state's Gifted Organization,  the school administration office of the nearest large city, the Educational Psychology Departments of universities or local psychologists.

Giftedness can be very complex and we’ve mentioned that it comes in many forms. As such, an article on a Psychology Today blog  reminds us that the focus of gifted programs can vary from school to school and if your child’s ‘gift’ is not compatible with the local school you may want to search for a program that is. They further remind, that whether your child fits the standard mold or not – adults should make every effort to personally nurture every child's gift .

"The point is, while gifted children are on a fast track to mastery, that journey will likely require considerable advice, instruction and encouragement from parents and teachers. Gifted children have much to learn in order to maximize the development of their tremendous potential"
                         Anthony Le Storti, Director of the Center for Creative Studies at Gwynedd-Mercy College

So while Taneque's intellect is center stage and easy to nurture, Ashley’s consistently caring, empathetic, peacekeeping, and intuitive abilities - - as explored in the Emotional Quotient (EQ) research and thought by many to be a greater predictor of success than IQ - - are more discreet and easily overlooked.

Needless to say, on that autumn day while I cooed “My, my, my Taneque, what a bright child!”  I should also have been cooing “My, my, my, Ashley, what an intuitive child !