Education of the Special Populations of the Gifted

Week 7 — Introduction

Gifted children, especially young ones, often have difficulty in making friends. The average child starts to make friends (psychologists say gets into the peer state) at about the age of seven. At this time there is a marked withdrawal from the family and the child finds someone just like himself, same age, same sex, same clothes, same breakfast food, same TV shows, with whom to identify. Parents often think the child has fallen under the evil influence of the neighbor's child and the neighbor thinks the same thing. Despite parental anguish the child is learning a most important lesson—how to identify with others. It is terribly important to be able to get along with and be liked by other members of your own sex, and this is the time when boys learn to be "regular fellers" and girls learn the same lesson.

Educating The Ablest—A Book Of Readings On Education Of Gifted Children

Defining giftedness in young students (birth to age five) can be challenging. One of the most significant problems with this special population is their uneven development in the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical domains. This week we’ll look at characteristics of this special population, explore ways in which they can be identified and provided with necessary supports and services.

Since very young gifted students (ages 2-6) are often in inclusive settings in nursery, preschool, and kindergarten programs with a very diverse population of students with differing needs, providing for all of them in classrooms today is not an easy task. This week we’ll be exploring ways in which needed services and supports can be designed to meet the needs of all gifted students. The In-Depth Required Reading this week examines the need for the development of a full continuum of services for the gifted, including environments that foster inclusion with their non-gifted peers.