Gifted yet struggling
Can a child who is intelligent struggle to attend, learn and achieve good grades in school? Some parents find it difficult to understand how their child who is highly curious, articulate and extremely good at absorbing new ideas could dislike reading or writing so much.
It is very possible for a highly intelligent child to struggle with learning and this is referred to as being twice exceptional. Usually, twice exceptional children are very advanced or “gifted” in one or more areas of ability as compared to their peer group but have significant difficulties in one or more areas of functioning, such as attention, learning, behaviours and social skills.
Giftedness is most commonly identified as intellectual giftedness or typically a score of 130 or more on a standardised measure of intelligence.
Nevertheless, different children may have different profiles of strengths and weaknesses, depending on which areas of giftedness and difficulties they have. For instance, a child could be intellectually gifted and have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or a Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) such as dyslexia, or more than one of these.
Twice exceptional children’s profiles are often complex as they would show signs of both exceptional ability as well as difficulties. Some characteristics may include:
-Showing superior intellectual abilities such as exceptional language skills, a keen interest in complex concepts, excellent critical thinking and abstract reasoning skills.
-Showing creativity, originality and unconventional thinking in problem solving such as generating unique ideas or making unusual connections between concepts.
- Showing inconsistencies in academic performances such as having exceptional skills in one subject but showing underachievement in another subject.
- Struggling with executive functioning skills such as planning, initiating or following through with tasks, organisation, time management and self-regulation.
- Showing social emotional difficulties – struggling to fit in with their peers, feeling misunderstood, isolated, frustrated and/or experiencing anxiety, low self-esteem.
An assessment to investigate twice exceptionality can help:
- clarify the child’s unique strengths, needs and challenges.
- minimise the impact of the child experiencing frustration, failure, underachievement and disengagement in learning and prevent emotional or behavioural reactions from becoming entrenched.
- the child gain recognition and validation of their struggles and access to specialised services (e.g., for dyslexia), classroom accommodations and access arrangements for examinations.
- enable parents, educators and other professionals to develop personalised and targeted plans to support the child’s needs in light of his/her strengths.
- lead to improved academic and social outcomes when relevant and timely intervention and accommodations for the child are given.