Is My Child Gifted or Talented?
Do you suspect that your child may fall within the Gifted or Talented range?
If so, an assessment for such a child can be conducted to identify specific strengths in cognitive abilities and academic strengths. A psycho/educational assessment can assist in providing a greater understanding of your child’s abilities, and support strategies to assist with their education. It is important to note that a younger child may fall within the gifted range on early testing, but this may be due to early development rather than an ongoing ‘gifted’ profile. At times, those found at a young age to be gifted may find their ability is within the ‘average’ range as their peers’ later ‘catch up‘ in their development. Therefore, if assessed at an early age e.g. 6 years of age, a follow-up assessment in approximately 2-3 years is highly recommended to determine the child’s ability level at that time.
Definition of Giftedness
There is no universally accepted definition of what makes up the gifted child. A range of areas of giftedness may be seen in areas such as sport, entrepreneurial, musicality or artistic abilities. Such areas are not usually measured by intellectual ability. However, IQ testing can be used to measure significant cognitive strengths that occur in a very small population. A specialist in the field of giftedness, Dr Deborah Ruf Ph. D. author of 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options, views areas of giftedness across a spectrum from the Moderately Gifted (IQ scores of 120-129 who represent the 90th-98th percentiles) to the Profoundly Gifted (IQ scores of 141+ who represent the 99th percentile range). For more detailed information, please see https://eleanormunsonphd.com/2011/01/defining-gifted
Evidence-Based Test Materials include:
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fifth Edition (WISC-V)
- is an iPad, verbal and paper assessment that investigates areas of strengths and weaknesses of cognitive abilities: verbal comprehension, visual spatial reasoning, fluid reasoning, working memory and visual processing speed, which all together define the full scale intellectual ability (known as the IQ score).
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – Third Edition (WIAT-III)
- is an IPad and paper tasks assessment that investigates areas of strengths and weaknesses in academic skills: reading, written expression and maths.
Useful websites:
http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/overview-giftedness/what-is-giftedness
If you or your child’s school have concerns about your child’s academic progress and/or learning difficulties, Purple Giraffe Psychology would be honoured to help you in investigating your concerns.
Should you wish to know more about how to support your child in the classroom with their ongoing education, please contact Purple Giraffe Psychology via the form or information located on the contact page.
