On the outside, highly gifted students seem to have it all together. After all, soaring test scores, academic accomplishments and creative talents tend to stand out. Yet, children with high intelligence often encounter difficulties in school and at home that are unique to their peers. As a parent, recognizing and knowing how to handle these challenges will help you build your child’s confidence as they navigate through their school age years.
Gifted and Talented, but Low Self-Esteem
At first glance, it would seem that being gifted should help a student feel confident. However, that is often not the case. The traits of a highly gifted student sometimes make them appear and feel different from their classmates. This can lead to bullying, depression and social isolation. Look for signs that your child is struggling with low self-esteem such as negative talk, mood swings and avoiding their peers. If you see your child’s self-confidence dwindling, help them get into a hobby and encourage healthy social activities such as volunteering that will make them feel better about themselves.
Perfectionism in Highly Gifted Students
Gifted students set high standards for their performance, and it is common for them to become preoccupied with doing everything perfectly. This can lead to procrastination when your child is worried about starting an assignment that they are unsure of how to complete, or your child may spend large amounts of time studying or practicing their skills. Try to avoid correcting your child’s mistakes every time one is made, and remind them to be kind to themselves when you see they are happy with perfectly acceptable work. It may also be necessary to guide older children through their assignments so that they can learn when it is okay to take a break.
Giftedness as Asynchronous Development
Asynchronous development simply means that your child may excel in one area while they are behind in another. For example, a young child may still struggle with math assignments even though they write essays at the high school level. This often becomes obvious during grading periods when you may wonder why your child continues to have low scores in certain courses, or your child’s teacher may claim that they only do the work in subjects they find interesting. When faced with this challenge, it is important to support highly gifted children in the areas in which they are weak by providing tutoring and after school classes while also ensuring they have opportunities to practice their stronger skills.
Boredom and Burnout Among Gifted Learners
When a highly gifted student is placed in an average classroom with little support, they are at risk for becoming bored. To top it off, they also have running lists in their head of skills to practice, assignments to complete and tests to ace that can leave them burned out. Failing to turn in assignments because they are deemed too easy, skipping class and dragging their feet about going to school in the morning are all signs that your child is bored and on their way to burning out. To prevent this, consider enrolling highly gifted children in a gifted school or placing them in enrichment classes or after school programs that provide them with new experiences that stimulate their interests.
It often comes as a surprise to parents that highly gifted students fall under the category of exceptional children in education. While highly gifted children often seem to have everything together on the surface, it is common for them to be struggling with issues deep inside. Fortunately, you can help your child conquer these challenges by being available to notice the signs of a struggle and providing them with support throughout each stage of their education.