![]() ![]() Sometimes a child with motor or orientation problems will be afraid of simple daily tasks, such as tying her shoes. During the sessions, the therapist will try to assess how the child has developed and how the testing discrepancy might have arisen. If the discrepancy between verbal and nonverbal IQ tests is greater than 20 percent, family therapy should also be considered, to improve interaction among family members. This kind of training is also most effective when begun by age five or six. Drawings, games and sculpting can help a child learn to coordinate his movements and improve spatial orientation. If the nonverbal result is more than 10 points below the verbal result, psychomotor training is recommended. Whether a child's spatial orientation is age-appropriate can be demonstrated by comparing performance on the verbal and nonverbal sections of an IQ test. But if treatment begins only a year later, the correction can take twice as long-extending the chance that the child gives up on school. For instance, in five-year-olds, phonics training can clear up dyslexia within six to 18 months. Earlier detection means quicker correction. So what is to be done? The first step is to recognize exceptional intelligence as well as developmental disorders so that parents and teachers can intervene. The ironic and unfortunate result is that an extremely intelligent child may fail dramatically in school. The discrepancy between the child's own high expectations and the discouraging evaluation from the adult world may lead a boy or girl up a blind alley that is hard to resolve. Because both scores are typically combined, the overall result may be just average. A gifted child might excel in questions that probe verbal intelligence, say, but perform miserably on spatial reasoning skills in the labyrinth part of the test. In some cases, IQ tests mislead parents and teachers as well. For example, highly gifted children may be acutely aware of a lack of physical coordination or spatial orientation, which also undermines their self-image. Moreover, with their heightened self-awareness, gifted children keenly feel a personal loss caused by any developmental disorders. With their well-developed sense of right and wrong, prodigies consider punishment undeserved, and they may withdraw further. As a defense, the child gradually loses interest in schoolwork and begins to isolate himself from social interaction. The consequence is anxiety that may even shade into depression. A steady diet of frustration eats at his self-esteem. He therefore encounters difficulty understanding why his efforts meet with so little success. From the moment such a child enters school, he finds that he gets poor grades even though he comprehends everything easily. The consequences are particularly severe for a highly gifted child. Dyslexia affects about 10 percent of children, regardless of their intelligence. He also kept himself away from the other children because he doubted they would accept him.ĭevelopmental disorders can exacerbate the trap. His fear caused his academic performance to be barely average. Jeffrey's behavior reflected this constant sense of imminent failure. Unlike classmates who typically approach exams with a certain detachment and answer one question at a time, some highly gifted children relentlessly consider the implications of each answer and what the risks are of making an error. ![]() This awareness can immobilize them to the point of emotional paralysis, a quiet demon that parents and teachers must watch for. Because these children are so insightful at such a young age, able to make sense of adult ideas, they are constantly aware of the potential risk of failure. For some of the most talented-those with IQs in the 140 to 150 range-their gifts can turn out to be a trap. They may have fewer friends, but that is usually because they make greater demands of acquaintances.Īnd yet there is a dark side. Contrary to popular belief, child prodigies do not on average have more school or social problems than their less gifted peers, according to longitudinal studies. They may shine in music, math or science. For many such youngsters, their extraordinary intellect gives them a real advantage in school. Two to 3 percent of children are considered highly gifted, showing IQ scores of at least 130. The therapist administers a special intelligence test, and Jeffrey turns out to have an IQ of 150-far above the average for his age. His teacher finally recommends that he be taken to a child psychiatrist for evaluation. He knows his parents are disappointed in him, too. At recess he avoids classmates and keeps to himself. He doesn’t retain what he is taught, and his grades are bad. JEFFREY IS JUST NOT interested in elementary school anymore. ![]()
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