"More than 60 years ago one of the earliest researchers on the cognitive and affective development of the gifted warned that extraordinarily gifted students were children at risk.  Subsequent research on the psycho-social development of the exceptionally and profoundly gifted suggested that the social development of these children is significantly more accelerated than is implied by Terman and his colleagues." Miraca Gross, Exceptionally Gifted Children

The 10 most commonly asked questions about highly gifted children by Kathi Kearney

Who are the highly gifted?  How many are there?  How do I know??  These and many other questions answered...
 

Advocating for Exceptionally Gifted Young People: A Guidebook by Davidson Institute for Talent Development

While the main goal of advocacy is appropriate educational placement, related goals include meeting the young person's social, emotional, and interest-based needs. An essential component of effective educational advocacy is recognizing what you hope to achieve...
 

The effects of acceleration on the social and emotional development of gifted students by Lynn Pollins

The potential effects of acceleration on the social and emotional development of gifted students were examined from two perspectives.  No study, regardless of its orientation on these dimensions, has demonstrated any permanent or significant negative effects of acceleration on social and emotional development. There is no validity to the argument that acceleration is harmful to the social and emotional development of gifted youths...
 

Exceptionally Gifted Children, 2nd edition by Miraca Gross

If you have an exceptionally gifted child, Read This Book! A fascinating study of a small group of exceptionally gifted (IQ>160) children, Gross follows these children over 20 years, and includes extensive details about their interests, family background, progress through school, and social and emotional as well as academic status. Gross shows that when these children are not allowed to learn at an appropriate pace and level it places them at serious risk.  Also available from from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca
 

Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Students: An Underserved Population by Miraca Gross

Our task as educators is to place the extremely, gifted child in the environment that will least restrict her opportunities for socialization. Research suggests that the inclusion classroom, with age peers, may not be the most appropriate environment.
 

Indecent Exposure Does the Media Exploit Highly Gifted Children? by Elizabeth Meckstroth and Kathi Kearney

Whether the media exposure is accidental, or by choice, families of highly gifted children must be careful, and aware of their actions and responsibilities when dealing with the media and their highly gifted children.  Handy advice for all parents...
 

Factors in the Social Adjustment and Social Acceptability of Extremely Gifted Children by Miraca Gross

Whereas ability grouping with age-peers, or a moderate degree of acceleration, may be an appropriate response to the academic and social needs of moderately gifted students, they are not adequate to the needs of the exceptionally and profoundly gifted. Extremely gifted students require a carefully designed and monitored program of radical acceleration, linked to ability grouping and individualized instruction...
 

From "the saddest sound" to the D Major chord: The gift of accelerated progression by Miraca Gross

Although the academic acceleration of gifted and talented students is probably the most comprehensively studied and evaluated of all educational interventions, many teachers are reluctant to accelerate gifted students for fear they will suffer social or emotional damage. Yet research suggests that "the bird that's tethered to the ground" is at much greater risk of social isolation and emotional maladjustment through inappropriate grade placement with age-peers
 

Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest Young Minds by Jan and Bob Davidson, with Laura Vanderkam

The Davidsons, creators of educational software and founders of a nonprofit foundation that helps educate gifted children, offer an absorbing look at how our nation is neglecting children of exceptional intelligence. The Davidsons make a compelling case for re-approaching giftedness as a potential disability (to give more attention to gifted kids) and an even stronger argument for parents, teachers and citizens to consider the potential loss to American society in the costliest imaginable terms.  For excerpts and review, visit Genius Denied

 

Gifted Kids at Risk: Who's Listening? by Pat Schuler, Creative Insights

It is time to say clearly: bright kids are not better, yet they are different; and because they are, they face different issues...
 

Guiding the Gifted Child: A Practical Source for Parents and Teachers by James T. Webb, Elizabeth A. Meckstroth, Stephanie S. Tolan

The classic text of this field
 

The Highly Gifted by Kathi Kearney

Understanding Our Gifted columns, from 1988 to 1990.  Topics include School Placement, The Early College Option, Highly Gifted Children In Isolated Rural Areas, Advocating for Highly Gifted Children, and many more...
 

Homeschooling with Profoundly Gifted Kids by Kathryn Finn

At the very least, parents of profoundly gifted children will need to enrich the educational experiences their children receive from standard schools. At the most, they assume responsibility for the whole learning process...  An excerpt from High IQ Kids: Collected Insights, Information, and Personal Stories from the Experts
 

Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual; A Guide for Whole-Grade Acceleration by Susan G. Assouline, Nicholas Colangelo, Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, Jonathan Lipscomb, Leslie Forstadt

For schools or parents, the Iowa Acceleration Scale provides a systematic and thorough approach to considering and implementing academic acceleration for gifted and talented students in grades K-8; read Hoagies' detailed review.  Also available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca
 

Parents' Perspectives of Early College Entrance For Profoundly Gifted Children: Readiness Issues and 1st College Class Options and Testing for Admittance and Choosing Enrollment Options by Beth Wright

A comprehensive look at early college, from soup to nuts!
 

"Play Partner" or "Sure Shelter"? Why gifted children prefer older friends.. by Miraca Gross

A recent Australian study compared conceptions of friendship held by average ability students, moderately gifted and highly gifted primary school students. Average ability display age-appropriate development, associating friendship with sharing of material goods, reciprocal assistance with common play interests. Gifted children, however, display friendship expectations which usually characterise children some years older, associating friendship with trust, intimacy and the sharing of deep confidences. Highly gifted children particularly seek fidelity, and friends who will accept them as they are - the "sure shelter"
 

Radical Acceleration of Highly Gifted Children: An Annotated Bibliography of International Research by Miraca U.M. Gross and Helen E. vanVliet, a Templeton Foundation grant project

The first-ever annotated bibliography of international research on highly gifted children who graduate from high school three or more years early.  Tidbits include "Educators who most actively supported acceleration were those individuals who had received some training in gifted education. Those who were most vocal in their opposition admitted to having no such training," "In all studies the attitudes of students towards acceleration were positive both in terms of their academic needs and their social and emotional needs. Students in all three studies reported high levels of satisfaction, academically and emotionally, when the curriculum was challenging and provided them with options, and when they were allowed a voice in its design and execution," and "The percentage of individuals married was about the same for men in all groups, with a slightly higher rate of marriage for highly accelerated men. Women who were members of the highly accelerated group were less likely to marry. Separations and divorces occurred less often among the highly accelerated subjects." (requires ^{Adobe Reader})
 

Radical acceleration and early entry to college: A review of the research by Miraca U.M. Gross, in Gifted Child Quarterly

Research provides strong support for the use of thoughtfully planned and monitored radical acceleration as a process allowing educators to respond to the academic and affective needs of a significant subgroup of the gifted population. These students earn higher GPAs, and they are more likely to complete college on time or early, earn general and departmental honors, make the dean's list, enter graduate school, engage in research, and embark on prestigious careers. Research also documents positive outcomes for social and emotional development...
 

Small poppies: Highly gifted children in the early years by Miraca Gross

Highly gifted children are frequently placed at risk in the early years of school through misidentification, inappropriate grade-placement and a seriously inadequate curriculum. Additional factors are their own early awareness, that they differ from their age-peers, and their consequent attempts to conceal their ability for peer acceptance...
 

What is Highly Gifted? Exceptionally Gifted? Profoundly Gifted? And What Does It Mean? by Carolyn K.

The question is often asked, is my child highly gifted, or exceptionally gifted, or profoundly gifted? What does his score mean? What does her level of giftedness imply?
 

Ageism by Adela

What really determines a person's ability to take these things upon his- or herself is that nebulous quality of maturity, not the strict, legally defined quantity of age...
 

Analogy Anthology: A Variety of Analogies for Gifted Education

Many excellent analogies explaining gifted education...
 

Asynchrony: Homeschooling an Exceptionally Gifted Child

Exceptionally gifted children are so different from their age mates, they often do not fit in school situations...
 

Boy genius set to become youngest-ever grad of Independent Study High School program by Joe Duggan, Lincoln Star Journal

Like any 10-year-old kid on the cusp of summer, Brandenn Bremmer can't wait to seize the days.  There are golf balls to hit. There are fish to catch. There's tents to pitch and campfires to build. And there's robots to program and Venus fly traps to propagate and Beethoven piano concertos to polish.  But first, there's a high school diploma to pick up.  Also Farm family adapts to raise boy who may graduate high school in two years and Boy genius ready for bigger things.  A sad ending:  Parents struggle with loss of 'child prodigy'  also by Joe Duggan.  But a happy memorial, his original music, Elements and Dimensions
 

But What About the Prom? Students' Perceptions of Early College Entrance by Kathleen Noble and Julie Drummond

This study examined student perceptions of early college entrance, focusing on the reasons students choose this unusual educational option; their experiences with peers, regular-age students, and professors; and the effects of skipping high school on their social, emotional, and intellectual development (requires ^{Adobe Reader})
 

A Call for Understanding by Jean Schweers

I am concerned about the lack of understanding that highly and profoundly gifted children get in the educational system
 

The challenge of the highly gifted/special needs child by Meredith G. Warshaw

The problem for twice-exceptional children ... is that they learn an even more damaging lesson: that if they cannot do a task right away, they won't be able to do it at all...
 

Challenging Highly Gifted Learners Barbara Gilman, Frances A. Karnes, and Kristen R. Stephens

Focuses on challenges to highly, exceptionally and profoundly gifted learners.  Assessment ceilings, educational strategies, parent advocacy and more...
 

Coping Through Awareness: A transformational tool for coping with being highly gifted by Andy Mahoney

Coping for a highly gifted person requires knowing oneself and becoming more aware of what is truly involved with being highly gifted. Coping is also a process that should allow one to contend better with his giftedness throughout life. Yet coping poses many challenges and is not free of emotional strife or tension... Coping through the stages of Awareness, Acknowledgement, Appreciation and Acceptance
 

Dangerous Minds by Jay Mathews (Washington Post)

Niels, studying engineering at Rice, remembers his school days not as a 100-yard dash but a series of interesting choices that kept ennui at bay. Niels sums up for his generation: "Being bored sucks."
 

Discovering highly gifted students by J. Hansen

The principle reason for identifying highly gifted children is to help them get a better education than they probably would get otherwise. Tests designed for age-peers are powerless in yielding information to meet this end. One effective method of discovering highly gifted students is by above-level testing...
 

Discrimination against Excellence by Kathi Kearney

Education's Responsibility to The Highly Gifted: In Hippocrates's words, "First, do no harm." School personnel must read the literature on extreme giftedness, arid take the time to understand the individual child...
 

District shares gifted lessons by Bridget Barry, Dallas Morning News

The Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district has what's believed to be the only program of its kind in the state to meet the needs of its profoundly gifted students. "Gifted students shouldn't be made to sit and wait till everyone else in the class catches up to them," Ms. Charlebois said...
 

Diverse Populations of Gifted Children: Meeting Their Needs in the Regular Classroom and Beyond by Starr Cline and Diane Schwartz

Written to help classroom teachers identify and plan for gifted children from special populations, including children with disabilities, minorities, the learning disabled, preschoolers, the exceptionally gifted, gifted females and underachievers
 

Educational Research and Educational Policy: The Strange Case of Acceleration by James J. Gallagher

One of the clear differences between educational policy and educational research data involves the date of entrance into school. There is no reason, based on what we know about individual differences and individual growth rates, why a single date, such as a birthday, should be chosen to determine when a person will enter the educational system
 

Effective Techniques for Teaching Highly Gifted Visual-Spatial Learners by Linda Kreger Silverman

Great teaching strategies for your highly gifted visual-spatial learner... (requires ^Adobe)
 

Exceptionally Gifted Children: Different Minds by Deirdre V. Lovecky

There are few descriptions in the literature of the cognitive processes of exceptionally gifted children. This study, based on testing profiles, parents' anecdotes, and observations from therapy sessions with moderately and exceptionally gifted children delineates some of the characteristic modes of thinking that differentiate exceptionally gifted children from their more moderately gifted peers...
 

Exceptionally High Intelligence and Schooling by Ellen Winner

Exceptionally intelligent children differ qualitatively from their peers and often are socially isolated and underchallenged in the classroom. Research on educational options for these children shows existing programs to be effective. Little money is spent in the United States on education for gifted children, and distribution of special programs varies widely... (requires ^{Adobe Reader})
 

Foundations for understanding the social-emotional needs of the highly gifted by Ellen Fiedler

Theoretical perspective for shedding light on psychosocial correlates of gifts based on Dabrowski. According to Dabrowski, the theory has two key facets: levels of emotional development and overexcitabilities or areas of intensity that individuals may possess...
 

Frequently Asked Questions About Extreme Intelligence in Very Young Children by Kathi Kearney

Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in the very highest ranges of intelligence often demonstrate very specific characteristics. A recent developmental study of 241 profoundly gifted children between 160 and 237+ IQ (Stanford-Binet Form LM) found that...
 

Genius May Be an Abnormality: Educating Students with Asperger's Syndrome, or High Functioning Autism by Temple Grandin

Intellectually gifted children are being denied opportunities because they are being labeled either Asperger's or high functioning autism... It is essential that talented children labeled either high functioning autism or Asperger's be trained in fields such as computer programming, where they can do intellectually satisfying work
 

Gifted and highly gifted students: how do they score on the SB5? (Identification Discrepancies) by Shannon Pratt (subscription required)

Despite attempts to develop a test useful for determining giftedness, there were several early indications that the test was not operating in the expected manner. The gifted sample included in the validity studies received a mean Full Scale score of 123.7--over 6 points below the general standard of 130 for gifted-program participants. In an additional study Riverside documented that students performing at a prodigious level received a mean score of 130, a score much lower than expected. In addition to the lower means, it seems odd that a sample made up primarily of moderately gifted students would only score 6 to 7 points below a sample in the profoundly gifted range...
 

Giftedness: The view from within by Martha J. Morelock

The different reality that marks giftedness... and how it plays out in physical, emotional, and practical asynchronies
 

Girl Prodigies, Some Evidence and Some Speculations by Lynn T. Goldsmith

While the prodigy phenomenon has recently begun to receive attention, the gifts and fates of girl prodigies have largely remained unnoted. This article represents an effort to call attention to the existence of extraordinary talent in young girls by collecting, for the first time, a number of cases of girls' early prodigious achievements...
 

Guidelines for Grade Advancement of Precocious Children by John F. Feldhusen, Theron Proctor & Kathryn N. Black

Practical guidelines for making grade advancement decisions... Grade advancement is a legitimate and valuable method of meeting the needs of some intellectually or academically gifted students. Grade advancement is a way of bringing some gifted and talented children up to a level of instruction closer to their levels of achievement and pace
 

Hard Won Truths by Juliet

Rules to live by, for parents of highly, exceptionally and profoundly gifted children... Worth the time to read even if you don't think you have one of these!
 

Helping Your Highly Gifted Child (ERIC Digest #477) by Stephanie S. Tolan

Areas of concern and practical suggestions based on the experience of other parents and the research available...
 

High IQ Kids: Collected Insights, Information, and Personal Stories from the Experts edited by Kiesa Kay, Deborah Robson, Judy Fort Brenneman

Profoundly gifted kids often get the least help in school. It's assumed they're smart enough to succeed on their own, plus teachers (and parents) feel out of their depth with these unique kids. A blend of personal stories and practical strategies, scholarly articles and entertaining essays from a community of voices—parents, educators, authors, researchers, and other experts—this book addresses the joys and challenges of raising and teaching...
 

The Highly Gifted Baby by Kathi Kearney

Information about highly gifted infants is often scattered, retrospective, and anecdotal. We know relatively little about highly gifted babies because, unlike developmentally delayed or mentally handicapped children, gifted infants seldom have been studied...
 

Highly Gifted Children at Home by Karen Morse

Homeschooling is an option that can provide the highly gifted child with an accelerated curriculum, flexible pacing, meaningful enrichment, substance and depth in areas of strength and interest. Without an engaging and stimulating learning experience, problems abound...
 

Highly Gifted Children in Full Inclusion Classrooms by Kathi Kearney
Niños Altamente Superdotados en Aulas de Integración de Kathi Kearney, Traducción autorizada, 2004 by Isabel López Gómez

It is ironic that in an ideological environment which stresses "full inclusion" in regular classrooms for children with severe disabilities, highly gifted children are still being excluded in many ways...
 

Highly Gifted: Discrimination Against Excellence by Kathi Kearney

...each time a highly gifted child is deliberately held back academically, each time a school policy prohibits academic acceleration or continuous progress, we need to ask, "What messages are we giving all children about developing talents, about the value of academic achievement, and about intellectual diversity?"
 

Highly Gifted and the Press by Kathi Kearney

Extraordinary children receive extraordinary attention. Lots of questions to consider if your highly gifted child is approached by the press...  Also read Indecent Exposure: How Global Media Exploits the Gifted (PowerPoint), presented for Global Awareness Division, NAGC, Charlotte NC, November 2006
 

Homeschooling Highly Gifted Children by Kathi Kearney

Homeschooling for highly gifted children is sometimes an option when nothing else works out -when the school cuts the gifted program, eliminates any ability grouping, refuses to allow acceleration, or is genuinely rigid in its stance. However, just as often, homeschooling allows the ideal educational program for a highly gifted child to unfold, by providing maximum flexibility...
 

How to Handle a Hard-To-Handle Kid: A Parent's Guide to Understanding and Changing Problem Behaviors by C. Drew Edwards

Writing with authority and compassion, Edwards explains why some children are especially challenging, for reasons from ADHD to profoundly gifted, then spells out clear, specific strategies parents can use to address and correct problem behaviors with firmness and love
 

I never wanted to be one of THOSE moms by Barbara Cooper

I don't want to sound like one of those horrible stage mothers – frankly, I was in denial about all this. But my oldest daughter is a pretty special child. I mean, ALL children are special but she's special in a quantifiable way.  But...

 

And then there is The Apology.  Why do we feel we have to apologize for what our children are, for what we are?
 

 

I Noticed Your Child... by Wenda Sheard

A letter to a friend, whose child has caught your attention as potentially highly, exceptionally or profoundly gifted...
 

In Praise of Elitism by Jim Delisle, in Gifted Child Today

If being an elitist means that I still believe in a distinct quality of giftedness that is the domain of the few, not the many; and if being an elitist means that I believe gifted individuals need to be understood as the complex intellectual and emotional beings that they are, ... then an elitist I shall be...
 

Indecent Exposure: How Global Media Exploits the Gifted NAGC presentation by Betty Meckstroth, Kathi Kearney and Annemarie Roeper

Why do parents talk to the media?  Why do schools?  What's the history of the prodigy in the media?  What are the dangers?
 

Insights from SMPY's Greatest Former Child Prodigies: Drs. Terrence ("Terry") Tao and Lenhard ("Lenny") Ng Reflect on Their Talent Development by Michelle C. Muratori, Julian C. Stanley, Lenhard Ng, Jack Ng, Miraca U. M. Gross, Terence Tao and Billy Tao (requires NAGC Gifted Child Quarterly subscription)

Although it would certainly be inappropriate to make sweeping generalizations about the needs of academically talented students from the two remarkable case studies presented above, the information gleaned from the histories of, and interviews with, Dr. Terry Tao and Dr. Lenny Ng, and the comments by their fathers, may be of assistance to educators of the gifted and talented...
 

An Integral approach to the Social and Emotional Development of the Profoundly Gifted by P. Susan Jackson, The Daimon Institute for the Highly Gifted

Physiological development is necessary but not sufficient for cognitive development, which is necessary but not sufficient for interpersonal development, which is necessary but not sufficient for moral development, which is necessary but not sufficient for ideas of the good.  To develop social and emotional capacities our PG children have a critical need for role models, encouragement and modeling, information and meaningful appropriate learning opportunities... (requires ^{Adobe Reader})
 

The intellectual and psychosocial nature of extreme giftedness by Philip Powell and Tony Haden

Comparing the differences of average, moderately gifted and extremely gifted individuals has implications for educators, parents, and psychologists...
 

Intellectual Assessment of Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Children by John D. Wasserman, from Ringing the Bell Curve: Saving and Surviving Amazing Kids (forthcoming)

Exceptionally and profoundly gifted children... have been found to have qualitatively and quantitatively unique cognitive characteristics that differentiate them from intellectually gifted children performing at the lower ranges of intellectually gifted ability...  The SB L-M remains unmatched in its breadth of procedures and is probably truer to the changing nature of cognitive-intellectual abilities over development than any other test subsequently published...
 

International, high-ability adventures: an interview with Miraca Gross from Roeper Review

Miraca is a leading international authority on the education of gifted and talented children, particularly in the areas of ability grouping, acceleration, socio-affective development, and the highly gifted...
 

An Interview with Stephanie Tolan by Douglas Eby

If I'm at a conference about highly gifted kids, the parents are there, knowing their kids are so different, and yet when I say 'Where did this kid come from?' they will say 'We have no idea.'
 

Issue awareness in young highly gifted children: do the claims hold up? by Catya von Karolyi (by subscription)

If, conceptually, we consider issue understanding of greater relevance to issue awareness than evaluation of issue importance, we can conclude that the evidence provides support for the hypothesis that highly gifted children show earlier issue awareness than do typical children. This awareness appears to have emerged without highly gifted children having greater access to information about issues in the home....
 

Knee Deep in Paradise by Brett Butler (the comedian and actress, not the ball player)

The whole story of a typical path of extremely gifted people who are neither recognized nor served, with such brutal truth that one is amazed anyone can tell such tales on oneself
 

Life In The Asynchronous Family by Kathi Kearney

From asynchrony within the gifted child to asynchrony in the family to asynchrony in the larger society, from the "early empty nest" syndrome to schooling and other bureaucracies, a great summary of life with the gifted child!
And the follow up to the "Life with Max" article quoted in Kathi's article, More Life with Max by Patti Estes
 

A Look Back at Educational Non-Acceleration: An International Tragedy by Julian Stanley

Many intellectually brilliant youths eager to proceed faster educationally have been prevented from doing so by their parents, educators, or psychologists. This brings to mind the horrible Greek legend about Procrustes, who forced his guests to lie on a very long or a very short bed and fitted them to it by stretching them if the bed was too long or by cutting off part of their legs if the bed was too short. The age-in-grade lockstep is a Procrustean solution endorsed by all but a few.
 

Meeting the Needs of Twice-Exceptional Children by Meredith G. Warshaw

Many highly gifted children have other special needs – learning disabilities, ADHD, Asperger Syndrome, sensory integration disorder, etc. This can be very challenging, both in terms of identification, and in terms of finding ways to address both the gifted and special needs sides of the child adequately...
 

Musings on our report card by Hilary Dale

An IQ score this high is surely not a predictor of first grade success. "You see, we don't think he's really all that smart. Those silly tests are meaningless."
 

My Profoundly Gifted Boys - Bundles of Contradictions by Miriam de Vries

My 11-year-old boys (yes, twins, no, not identical, although you wouldn't know it to look at them!) are BOTH profoundly gifted, which at least gives them someone similar to fight... errrrr... play with...
 

Official Home Page of the PG Cult

For a little laugh when you need one...  Are you a member?
 

One Profoundly Gifted Kid's -- Now Grown Up -- Story by Deborah L. Ruf

There are many different ways to raise and educate a profoundly gifted child... There are important social and emotional issues to be considered when guiding a family that has a profoundly gifted child... how we found the academic fit that kept Charlie at least moderately challenged while giving him the social opportunities we felt he needed...
 

Overexcitability and the gifted by Sharon Lind

...intensity, sensitivity and overexcitability are primary characteristics of the highly gifted. These observations are supported by parents and teachers who notice distinct behavioral and constitutional differences between highly gifted children and their peers...
 

Parenting highly gifted children: The challenges, the joys, the unexpected surprises by Kathi Kearney

For families of highly gifted children, the practical consequence of this situation is that the parents and children themselves often must use their own resources to seek out information about extreme giftedness and its impact on schooling and family life...
 

Parents of the extraordinarily gifted by Linda Silverman and Kathi Kearney

Describes the impact of the extraordinarily gifted child on family life and the specific issues these families face...
 

Perfectionism and the Highly Gifted by Shaun Hately

Suggestions for parents to avoid or alleviate the perfectionism and depression often experienced by the highly gifted child, written by a highly gifted young adult
 

Performing Arts Instruction for Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Children by Beth Wright

What special considerations do parents and educators need to make when planning performing arts instruction for exceptionally and profoundly gifted (hereafter referred to as eg/pg) children? Such children are marked by specific traits, about which parents and educators must be familiar in order to properly accommodate this special population...
 

Private School and the Profoundly Gifted by CAS

Then it happened. En route from one classroom to another, the Head introduced me to a colleague in administration as a visiting potential parent with a special needs child: “Mrs. S. has a son in 2nd grade who's reading at 12th-grade level.”
The mood of the tour changed abruptly. The colleague turned away and positively sneered: “Oh? Who says?”
 

Profoundly gifted guilt by Jim Delisle

Parents of profoundly gifted children often feel isolated in seeking solutions to these and other life dilemmas. Each dilemma seems dire and life-changing (how else could you describe the decision to allow a 10-year-old to begin taking college courses?) and parents of profoundly gifted children often feel as if the wrong decision will result in the most awful of consequences...
 

Raising Robert by Rachel Waugh

Recently my son won the weekly math competition at school. The question was, “What place in the Fibonacci series does the seventh root of the number 1,522,435,234,375 hold?”* It's the kind of question that makes most grown-ups hyperventilate, but Robert, 6, did it on the bus that morning for fun. Since that Friday was also pajama day, he received his prize (a book of math puzzles) wearing his Curious George pj's... With college
classes looming closer than puberty, we are facing some uncharted territory...
 

Reading at 8 Months? That Was Just the Start by Michael Winerip

Alia, who is 13, and will earn her undergraduate degree from the State University at Stony Brook this spring, has been stunning people for a long time, beginning with her parents, who thought it odd when she started reading words at 8 months old...
 

Real Genius by Benjamin Potter

It's a story almost worthy of Hollywood.  In fact, similar tales have been spun with typical West Coast dazzle, where gifted children often are depicted as frail recluses, robot-like super-geeks or bumbling social misfits.  Twelve-year-old Alex Brueggeman, however, has a cheery disposition that lacks the drama of the silver screen. Instead, he lives a well-balanced life that includes attending the University of Memphis as a sophomore
 

Resources for Students Who Are Highly or Profoundly Gifted (ERIC Fact Sheet)

Quick summary for your spouse, school, or others... great resource list for these terrific children!
 

Should we tell them they're gifted? Should we tell them how gifted? by Draper Kauffman

There seems to be a consensus that gifted kids know they are gifted - either because they observe it or because we put them in situations where it's obvious. The next question seems to be ... do we let them know their IQ score?
 

The Smartest Kid in America by Jim Delisle

Recently, the Fox Television Network, in a bold and misbegotten attempt to garner high ratings during the "sweeps month" of May, decided to locate the smartest kid in America. Call it a pint-sized version of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?"
 

Stuck in Another Dimension: The Exceptionally Gifted Child in School by Stephanie Tolan

For six years I have tried to educate an exceptionally gifted child in a school system not designed to handle him
 

Teasing and gifted children by Patricia A. Schuler

Many gifted children and adolescents are targets of teasing and bullying. Some of their peers and teachers may perceive them as "too verbal", "too bossy", "too smart," "too nerdy." Because gifted children and adolescents tend to be highly sensitive to others, their reactions to being teased are extremely intense...
 

Testing and Measurement of Highly Gifted Children

See Testing and Assessment...

To My Teacher by Shaun

I didn't ask for it. This mind that seems to so repulse you.
It's not my fault I'm different in a way you cannot stand.
I cannot understand why a man like you could fear me.
But fear is what I see in you - it's either that or hate.
 

Top 1 in 10,000: A 10-Year Follow-Up of the Profoundly Gifted by David Lubinski, Rose Mary Webb, Martha J. Morelock, and Camilla P. Benbow

Adolescents identified before the age of 13... as having exceptional mathematical or verbal reasoning abilities (top 1 in 10,000) were tracked over 10 years.  They pursued doctoral degrees at rates 50 times base-rate expectations, with several participants having created noteworthy literary, scientific, or technical products by their early 20s.  This special population strongly preferred educational opportunities tailored to their precocious rate of learning... (requires ^Adobe)
 

Understanding and Encouraging the Exceptionally Gifted by Bruce E. Kline and Elizabeth A. Meckstroth

In this article, five facets of critical development are highlighted: (a) interpersonal relationships; (b) acknowledgement of uniqueness; (c) school adjustment; (d) creative self-expressions; and (e) user-friendly environment. In each area, several interventive strategies are suggested...
 

Vulnerabilities of Highly Gifted Children by Wendy Roedell

This article examines the unique vulnerabilities of children with extraordinarily advanced intellectual skills, and highlights the differences between highly gifted and moderately gifted children...
 

What We've Learned About Gifted Children

Linda Silverman's summary of 17 now 23! years of observations, including "There are way more profoundly gifted children in the population than anyone realizes," "Mildly, moderately, highly and profoundly gifted children are as different from each other as mildly, moderately, severely and profoundly retarded children are from each other, but the differences among levels of giftedness are rarely recognized," and "Brothers and sisters are usually within 5 or 10 points in measured ability."
 

What the Experts Tell Us about Extreme Intelligence by The Davidson Institute for Talent Development

about the Early Years, about Race, Gender, and Family, about Behavior and Conduct, about Vulnerabilities, and lots more...
 

When Schools Fail: Is Homeschooling Right For You and Your Highly Gifted Child? by Karen Morse

In a classroom of 25 to 30 children it is hard for even the best teachers to meet the individual needs of every child. The highly gifted children in our country are the only group of children who receive no federal mandate for a free and appropriate education. Full inclusion classes are the norm in our country rather than the exception, but the diversity and variance of abilities in a regular inclusion classroom is gaping for the child who needs rapid acceleration and engaging material...
 

WISC-III and/or WPPSI-R vs. SB L-M Scores collected by Carolyn K.

This new table of over 50 students shows that... no conclusions can easily be drawn from WISC-III or WPPSI-R subtests ceilings to indicate how MUCH higher a child will score on the SB form L-M, but they nearly all DO score higher...  Now collecting data points for a new table: Data Collection: Old and New IQ Test Score Pairs comparing WISC-III and SB-IV scores to the newest versions, WISC-IV and SB-5 scores...
 

Wunderkinds by Roberta Staley

According to experts, gifted children are not 'normal' and should not be treated as such. Their intellectual needs are as great and demanding as the specialized needs of a disabled child. They shouldn't be in a regular classroom and simply handed extra work, or held up as role models to kids of more moderate intellect. Nor should they be treated as freaks of nature...
 

Yesterday's Whiz Kids: Where Are They Today? by Melissa Hendricks

Preliminary results of a 20-year follow-up indicate that most have been successful. Many achieved advanced degrees. Many rose to outstanding careers at an early age
 

Young + Brilliant, Blessed + Cursed by Patti Hartigan, The Boston Globe

They are barely into their teens, yet they are declared the next Mozart or even a modern Messiah. But child prodigies are often both misunderstood and openly ostracized, and, as adults, they struggle under the burden of their astonishing intelligence...
 

Young Mr. Smith Goes to College by Jennifer Lenhart (Washington Post)

It was the first day of the fall semester at Randolph-Macon, and Greg, a 10-year-old who only three years ago started second grade, was eager to begin his freshman year