How to Champion Your Gifted Child: Everything You Need to Know!
By Teagan Taylor
You are your child’s #1 support system, and with that often comes a daunting amount of responsibility. However, as parents, we love our children dearly and want what’s best for them, even if that means knocking down barriers and asking hard questions. If you’re a parent of a gifted child, this especially holds true, as gifted education tends to be misunderstood, misrepresented, and underfunded.
Looking for ways to advocate for the unique needs of your gifted or potentially gifted child? Well this post is your one stop shop! This is a great time for advocacy as the school year ramps up with testing and classes are getting underway. We are here to provide some insight since change only happens when multiple stakeholders work together for the best of our future generations!
Over several weeks, we will share 5 important topics that parents are often curious about when seeking to advocate for their gifted child. For each topic are questions educators have received from parents over the years, and also questions generated by Chat GPT. We do our best to address these questions and provide you some valuable resources, so click away at the links! Happy reading!
Topic 1: Understanding Giftedness
Q: “What does it mean to be "gifted"? How is it different from a high-achieving student?”
A: The term “gifted” is not universal. There are many types of giftedness; it expresses in all backgrounds. How we identify giftedness looks different from state to state, school to school. Everyone has strengths, talents, and things they are “gifted” in. But “gifted” in the educational sense of the word usually applies to a very small percentage of the population who think/process in a much more advanced way due to the unique way their brains work. Gifted education falls under the exceptional needs (special education) umbrella, and recently the term Neurodivergent has been used to apply to gifted learners as well. NAGC has a great definition of giftedness, but also refer to your district or state’s definition (Here is North Carolina’s). Sometimes a “high-achieving” student is also gifted, or sometimes they are simply high-achievers who perform well academically. Believe it or not, many gifted students don’t perform well academically due to social emotional differences.
Q: “How can I support my gifted child’s social-emotional development?”
A: This is an important question. Every child as they grow, experiences challenges socially and emotionally. They start to question who they are and their place in the world. Gifted children tend to ask deep and more serious questions earlier in life. So you might have a 6 year old who is asking what happens when life is over. You might have a student who is completely distraught when a pet passes away, or a 13 year old who can’t move on from one small detail in a conversation. Some gifted children aren’t sure how to fit in with their peers because they can’t relate to them cognitively. If this sounds familiar, do not fear! There are alot of great supports and strategies out there to help you, help your student through these tough moments (see below for some ideas!) . Remember, the main thing is to be the calm to your child’s storm.
Q: “What are common myths and misconceptions about giftedness?”
A: Unfortunately, there are many! Gifted students should always receive good grades…gifted students are well behaved…gifted students need more work...gifted students should teach their peers...the list goes on. Gifted education and research has been around for many decades now, but we are still explaining to the general public what giftedness is, and why it’s so important to support and fund gifted education. To combat and dispel these myths, some solutions include setting up more comprehensive college courses on giftedness, having parent information sessions to explain the world of gifted education, providing professional development for all teachers, and even helping our own students understand who they are as learners. Below are common misconceptions/myths and some actual truths about giftedness.
For more information on this topic, check out NCAGT’s They’ll be Fine podcast episode(s): E02/E03, E05, E06/E07, E17, E18, E22, E29
In the comment section below let us know what questions you have about “Understanding Giftedness” that weren’t addressed above, or perhaps what tips/resources you have gained when advocating for your child!
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