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. If the nonverbal result is more than 10 points below the verbal result, psychomotor training is recommended. Drawings, games and sculpting can help a child learn to coordinate his movements and improve spatial orientation. This kind of training is also most effective when begun by age five or six.
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. During the sessions, the therapist will try to assess how the child has developed and how the testing discrepancy might have arisen. Sometimes a child with motor or orientation problems will be afraid of simple daily tasks, such as tying her shoes. She knows she will probably make mistakes and have to start over--perhaps enduring ridicule from siblings, parents or friends. If the parents try to help, they are unwittingly increasing her dependence on Mommy or Daddy. Yet if they are not around, she will quickly feel abandoned. To help the child regain her sense of independence, the therapist will try to get her to understand that failure is a normal part of life and not a catastrophe.
Child prodigies may also distort their own personalities to the point where they become unrecognizable. Psychiatrists call this the development of a false self. This problem may occur because these extraordinarily sensitive young people often feel deeply the subtle reactions of family members. As a result, they may overinterpret even the slightest sign of dissatisfaction. To please their parents, they deny their own needs and behave in a way they think matches their parents' expectations. They all but disappear behind a mask of compliance. To prevent this development of a false self, parents should offer a highly gifted child several varied activities and accept without judgment whatever the child chooses to pursue. It is important to encourage a child's special interests so that she does not lose motivation or a willingness to work.
Knowing the potential pitfalls within a child prodigy's world, and how to counter them, can significantly improve each girl and boy's chances for success with their double-edged gifts. And society will be more likely to benefit from their future contributions, whether in art, science, public service or wherever their brilliance leads them.
This article was originally published with the title Watching Prodigies for the Dark Side.
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4 Comments
Add CommentI totally agee with the findings in this article. I have a child who I call an underachieved gifted child. His IQ was 130, yet he struggle in school. He had behavioral problems, yet wanted fairness. He understood all his work, yet would not show it. If able to give answers verbally(while tapping pencil), he got 100%. When timed, had to write answers, and sit quietly, the scores were less than 60%. We struggled with this issue my son's education until he was a junior in high school. Then he decided to achieve, but only to pass and prove he would. I also believe not being able to give him the resources to expand his imagination and creativity was hurtful. If I was able to expand on all the interests and curiousities he had as a child, He may have learned better. Income and rural areas can be hurtful for these children. I am so glad there is internet available for my younger children. My son is a soon to be college student and a Soldier who has been to Iraq. He has done well for himself, even though he still fears failure a little bit.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe asyncronous development is frustrating as a child may be very talented in art or music but have much difficulty in other subjects. Also, the highly gifted is more able to see or feel the differences in aptitude for particular things but may have a hard time explaining it. Since it affects such a small percent of the population, few people can relate or understand the child, which is really what leads to depression.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree somewhat with this article. Emotional Paralysis and the fear of failure have a huge impact on academics. However, an IQ test does not measure anything except how to take an IQ test. Children should be assessed on study skills and academic related problems, not on IQ tests. I have an IQ 130-137 and i have dyslexia as well. But my biggest help was from a mentor who showed me my academic weaknesses and determined the root of my reading and comprehension problems, he also showed me how i learned best. Because of that i have to learned how i learn best, and it has boosted my college academic success.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHaving made a cursory examination of the DCD area of study, it becomes clear there are 2 distinct camps in terms of "effect" in a pragmatic account.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPrivate practitioners clearly favor positive diagnosis from any number of predispositions; lack of training, unfocused eagerness, the business model of professional development, subconsciously/consciously anxiousness over grants/funding/clients, etc, that, combined with the hyperbola and obfuscation for the layperson due to lexicology and the inflationary statistics provides the panic motivations to accept the diagnosis and process.
The public practitioners labor under the political institutionalization of providing diagnoses to fit their employers needs, more often as marginalizing the quantitative extremes necessitating resource provision due to social net policies/practices and skew the statistics to negative diagnoses.
In one case a 13 year old male was definitively pronounced wiith DCD, based predomionantly on his hand writing. Not wanting to tie his shoes was counted in as not being able to, and other therapist-deemed anomalies were actually due to having received no training in those particular areas.
Tutored briefly for seconds he quickly demonstrated perfect capacity.
However, while he consistently demonstrated acute capabilities, such as learning to solder and complete a robotics project in a matter of minutes, these other, at 1st questionable levels of ability, which triggered exception by the practioner, were all in the realm of least preferential tasks.
The subject received several mental tools to use for these least favored tasks, that were designed to be easy and fun and attention applied to creating an awareness of the particular subject at hand like art and drawing, the way it should be taught in school to foster interest and motivation.
I am sorry too say all, but only 1 was "corrected" immediately - tying his shoes. He knows how - but it is the 'style' for him and in socialization patterns - near mandatory for "street cred".
His entirely family on his father side are all extremely intelligent but hate writing - script, excelling in most disciplines. It is a choice
I know the diagnosis of my son is faulty, but have come across an inordinate abundance of medical profession arrogance with negligent concerns for misdiagnoses in the last 10 years.
Sporatic examinations through considered conversation has demonstrated far too many know-it-all charlatans that can barely cover-off on historical work much less any current studies.