Isn't every child gifted and talented
in his or her own way?
Every child is has special gifts and talents.

“The child who does well in school, gets good grades, wins awards, and "performs" beyond the norms for his or her age, is considered talented. Like cheetahs, highly gifted children can be easy to identify. If a child teaches herself Greek at age five, reads at the eighth grade level at age six or does algebra in second grade we can safely assume that child is a highly gifted child.”

* (From "Is It a Cheetah" By Stephanie S. Tolan © 1996 Stephanie S. Tolan)

Homeschooling can be the most rewarding and most challenging task you will ever undertake. Homeschooling the gifted child presents its own special set of challenges. Does your child seem bored easily? Do you wonder if he has some sort of attention deficit? Does your student move from one task to another often without completing them? Perhaps your student is gifted. Can you answer yes to most or all of these questions?

My Student....

Although there are many listings of the characteristics of gifted students, this is the list you'll see from the "experts" that truly gifted students will exhibit these characteristics. Truly gifted children have specific educational needs that are not generally addressed, or adequately addressed, in mainstream schools.

Because of such characteristics, the learning needs of these students can present difficulties in the traditional classroom. Boredom and a lack of appropriate challenge can “turn off” these students. Behavior and attention span problems can arise and society loses these talented students.

Experience has shown me that knowing the dominant learning style and personality type of your gifted student is one of the most important elements to your homeschooling “method”. The next important element is knowing your own dominant learning style and personality type. They may not match your student’s and that can come into play when you are the mentor for your gifted homeschooler.

OK, you’re not sure what learning styles are. The key word back there was “dominant”, your gifted student will slide into many of these styles and personalities on a daily basis. It’s the dominant style and personality that you’ll need to learn to deal with. I think that psychologists will tell you that there are ways to test, or determine the dominant learning style and personality of your student, we had the tests done and they didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know about my student. The tests just gave me the “labels” I needed to research further. If you are comfortable with testing and can afford it, do it. If you are willing to go with what you already know about your student, you’re probably going to be accurate in your own assessment. Either way, find out what your student’s learning style is!

You Don’t Want To “Label” Your Child
It is a fine goal to avoid “labeling” your child, but giftedness can be as much of a learning disability as a “gift”. [Read a brilliant article on Unschooling and labeling by Lisa Rivero!] Not wanting to know or not discovering if your child is gifted can be detrimental to his well being. Knowledge is your best friend when it comes to guiding the gifted child. Sometimes gifted children are misdiagnosed as having attention deficit disorders. Though ADD and ADHD are valid conclusions for some children, if you suspect your child is gifted, don’t settle for this diagnosis until you have exhausted your other choices. Giftedness means that you must communicate and mentor in a way that is different than the student that has not been "defined" as gifted. From the article “Assessing Gifted Children" by Julia B. Osborn, Ph.D. of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development (www.davidsoninstitute.org) “The general perception is that these youngsters, with abilities and strengths in many areas, have no special needs, educational or otherwise, that merit serious clinical attention. For this reason, it is important that parents who suspect that their child may be gifted search for a professional with experience in working with this population. “

How Do I Find Out For Sure?
There are many good books on the subject of Giftedness in Children. The book I always recommend is “Guiding the Gifted Child: A Practical Source for Parents and Teachers by James T. Webb, Elizabeth A. Meckstroth, Stephanie S. Tolan . If you don’t want to “self diagnose” the situation, the best next step you can take is to have your child assessed or tested.

The most commonly used tests administered are the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), the Stanford-Binet (SB) (these basically measures IQ). The WISC and SB need to be administered by a psychologist. Once the test is administered the psychologist can interpret and guide you.

There are other academic tests with high ceilings, for example, the Woodcock-Johnson. I have firsthand experience with the Woodcock-Johnson Achievement Test. This test is sometimes used in the public schools for diagnosing learning disabilities because it offers such a broad spectrum of results. The result sheet you receive is easy to interpret and can help guide you in planning your homeschool program. The Woodcock-Johnson Achievement test can be administered by a licensed educational psychologist, psychologist, neurologist, or learning disabilities specialist. [Read more on gifted and acdemic assessment here]

Like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck
So, your child is gifted and you find yourself like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck. You consult with experts, you read about giftedness, you meet with teachers, you look at each other and say "Now what?"

Find other parents to talk to. Do research on your particular situation. There is plenty of information about giftedness available these days. For example, check out our website www.brightkidsathome.com. Make decisions about your lifestyle and school choices. Realize that the road ahead will be an adventure. Remember that humor is important!