Researcher David Lubinski, a renowned psychologist at Vanderbilt University has been studying gifted adolescents and teens since the 1970’s. He has learned much about this exceptional population. His research has generated more than 300 research articles and papers. Lubinski and his colleagues conducted a long-running longitudinal study of more than 5,000 gifted 12-year-olds. They followed these individuals throughout their education and lives. Many of them went on to become top professors, CEOs and successful surgeons. The individuals that had these outcomes were encouraged by their teachers and their parents. They received special attention that other gifted students in this study were not as lucky to receive. The others, who did not receive special attention from their schools and parents, did not fare as well. They did not live up to the potential indicated on their test scores. There has been other research that has supported this finding, as well.
Research suggests that gifted students benefit significantly from extra investment. Two recent research studies found that, among gifted young people, those who had been given special accommodations, like enrolling in special classes or taking college-level courses in high school, were much more likely to earn doctorates than those that did not receive these special benefits.
Although research indicates that gifted children benefit from additional accommodations, many do not receive any. Most of the state and federal education dollars go towards addressing the problems of students who have learning disabilities or who are falling behind rather than being spent on gifted children education. The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law in 2002, by president George W. Bush, penalizes schools who do not spend considerable resources and funds on low-performing students. A provision of this law, called Title I, allocates more than $14 billion to schools to develop programs that focus on students that are behind. Programs for gifted students do not receive anywhere near the amount of funding that these other programs get.
Often, gifted children in regular classrooms are medically mislabeled and misunderstood. Many gifted kids become bored and behave in inappropriate ways, especially if their giftedness is not fostered. Many are wrongly diagnosed with behavior disorders.
What are the signs of giftedness in teens? What can you do to help support your gifted adolescent or teen?
Signs of Giftedness in Adolescents and Teenagers
Skilled at Reading
Many gifted teenagers are avid readers. They may like to read a variety of books and may already be reading young adult novels by the time that they are in high school.
Extremely Curious
Your gifted teen may be extremely curious about ideas, objects, events and situations. They may be fascinated with figuring out how things work. Although they might have an intense curiosity and need to learn, this interest may not extend to their school subjects.
Perfectionalistic
Many gifted teens are very perfectionistic. This may lead to anxiety, especially when things do not work out the way that they want.
If you believe that your adolescent or teenager may be gifted, what can you do? The best thing to do is to have your child evaluated to determine if they are gifted. It is also a good idea to consult a mental health professional if your adolescent or teen is showing signs of anxiety or depression as these issues can prevent a gifted child from meeting their full potential.
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