RPA: Early Childhood Giftedness

Early Childhood Gifted Education: Fostering Talent Development -- Explores developmentally appropriate talent development in young children at home and in school.

How do I help my child develop his/her potential?

Play and hands on learning activities can help develop social/emotional maturity, academic competency, critical thinking skills, resiliency, and more. The following are suggestions to develop his/her potential:

• Scaffolding helps the child rise to the next level. Think of something a very young child can do by himself, such as a 3-piece wooden puzzle. Plopping him in front of a 24-piece puzzle will likely be too overwhelming; however, if a caring adult sits with the child and gently talks him through the process with a puzzle slightly more difficult than what he can do along, the child can build skill and confidence.

• Pretend Play encourages creativity and interaction with materials and others. Children learn by acting out and simulating real world experiences. Use materials they are interested in to create stories and experiences.

• Foster learning through positive interactive experiences.

• Use developmentally appropriate activities and skills. It is easy to want to push young bright children into academic skills through rote drill and practice. While they may have the ability to perform such tasks, it is important to remember their chronological age and developmentally appropriate practices.

• Read Books – books are a way to dive into fanciful stories, imagination, discovery, and address struggles and events the child is experiencing through characters in the stories.

Early Signs of Giftedness Include:

• Unusual alertness in infancy

• Less need for sleep in infancy

• Long attention span

• High activity level

• Smiling or recognizing caretakers early

• Intense reactions to noise, pain, frustration

• Advanced progression through the developmental milestones

• Extraordinary memory

• Enjoyment and speed of learning

• Early and extensive language development

• Fascination with books

• Curiosity

• Excellent sense of humor

• Abstract reasoning and problem-solving skills

• Vivid imagination (e.g., imaginary companions)

• Sensitivity and compassion

If a child exhibits a majority of these characteristics, parents may wish to have the child assessed by an experienced examiner to find out if the child is gifted. Firstborn children tend to be recognized more often than their siblings. When one child in the family is gifted, it is quite possible that others may also be gifted.

Early identification is recommended (ages 3 through 8) because it permits early intervention, as important for gifted as for any other children with special needs.