It is mostly due to common stereotypes that gifted children
are occasionally (and I would add unfortunately) portrayed as “geeky,”
“quirky,” or somehow inept at forging and maintaining meaningful friendships or
other types of relationships. The research actually tells a different story.
According to Nancy M. Robinson, professor emerita at the University of
Washington and author of Social and Emotional
Development of Gifted Children “gifted
youngsters, as a group, are probably more robust than an unselected group of
their agemates” when investigating social vulnerabilities. “But neither are
they (gifted youngsters) immune to the social-emotional issues and disorders
that other people endure.”
Because gifted students possess unique intellectual
characteristics, it is rather likely that these characteristics have a direct
impact on personality traits that gifted students develop. In essence, one’s
thinking influences one’s way of presenting oneself or being perceived in social
situations. Linda K. Silverman, director of the Institute for the Study of Advanced
Development, as well as the Gifted Development Center in Denver, Colorado,
presents how some gifted intellectual traits may translate into personality
traits. These traits, in my opinion, can lead to both positive and negative
consequences in social contexts:
1) Exceptional reasoning ability may lead to
insightfulness: this may indicate that gifted youngsters develop a grasp on
social dynamics.
2) Intellectual curiosity may lead to gifted child’s
need to understand: this may indicate that a gifted child asks many questions
about social contexts.
3) Rapid learning rate may lead to a gifted child’s
need for mental stimulation: this may lead to behaviors in social contexts
where a child is perceived to be tuning out or to advance a social interaction
with meaningful comments or observations.
4) A vivid imagination may result in an excellent
sense of humor: this may lead to a gifted child’s tendency to find and bring
about humorous associations in social contexts. Sometimes, the humor is too
imagination-rich for others to follow.
5)
A passion for learning may lead to intensity:
this may cause a gifted child to dwell on certain moments or statements
occurring in social situations.
A 2002 task force commissioned by the National Association for Gifted Children confirmed Robinson’s findings by concluding that “high
ability students are typically at least as well adjusted as any other group of
youngsters.” Interestingly enough, the task force also determined that gifted
children face situations that may present challenges and risks to their
social-emotional development. The following were identified:
1)
Gifted students’ intellectual and social
advancement as compared to age peers may result in “social environments poorly
calibrated to their interests, language, and personal maturity.
2)
School settings that do not match “the level and
pace of their learning and understanding.”
3)
Gifted students may be prone to asynchronies or
uneven internal developments (i.e in a rather general sense a child’s cognitive
development may be far more advanced than one’s social-emotional development).
4)
Gifted students may experience higher “tensions”
due to their “creativity, energy, intensity, and high aspirations, often far
greater than those expected at their age.”
5)
Gifted children may also wish to be “like
everyone else” and thus are tempted to “deny their abilities in the service of
finding friends.”
6)
Sadly, gifted students may encounter milieus
that do not value intellectual traits (anti-intellectual). Such environments
may be unfriendly and negative toward the gifted child.
Research has uncovered various coping skills that gifted
pre-adolescents and early teenagers (ages 11-15) report in terms of dealing
with challenges and risks posed by their intellectual giftedness and associated
personality traits. Thom Buescher, who works with gifted adolescents, has
recorded several behaviors and mindsets that gifted adolescents have reported
to him – these coping skills are listed in order of preferred choices. This
implies that some coping skills are better than others – the ones listed toward
the bottom of this list are not recommended, while the ones on top are indeed
good choices:
1)
“Become comfortable with your abilities and use
them to help peers.”
2)
“Seek friends among other students who have
exceptional abilities.”
3)
“Select programs and classes that are designed
for gifted students.”
4)
“Seek adults to relate to.”
5)
“Focus on achieving at school in nonacademic
ways.”
6)
“Develop talents outside of school.”
7)
“Engage in community activities where age is
unimportant.”
8)
“Avoid programs designed for gifted students.”
9)
“Change language and behavior to mask your true
abilities.”
10)
“Acting like a ‘brain’ so friends leave you
alone.”
11)
“Pretending to know less than you do.”
At a gifted education school such as Quest Academy, where I
serve as Head of School, we have chosen to meet the academic needs of children
in a nurturing environment. As a result, we have adopted a school-wide
character education system that not only facilitates appropriate behaviors in
social contexts, but also performance character, whereby gifted students can
properly reflect on their intellectual gifts in developing a sense of modesty,
industry, patience, and self-discipline.
