Every parent is concerned with their children’s learning capabilities. As parent’s we often wonder if our child is where he should be developmentally. So when a school tells us that our child is gifted or exceptional, what exactly does that mean? You may think your child is gifted but maybe your school does not agree. Below you will find what exactly gifted and exceptional really means.
When a teacher tells you your child is gifted it could mean broadly or specifically. A gifted child excels in areas of study either creatively, intellectually or in specific areas of academics. Your child may be way ahead of his peers in his reading level but cannot write a complete sentence. Also, your child may excel across the board on all subjects. Parents will often find that their gifted children have a hard time making friends with children their age. Either because the child is so far advanced the other kids feel put off by that or because they choose not to associate with their peers. Most gifted children are very humorous because of their quick thinking minds and they tend to get along with people who are older than they are.
Exceptional children encompass all children who have some type of learning disability. These children can be either in a traditional classroom setting or need to be taught in a separate classroom depending on what their individual needs and learning ability happens to be. Gifted children and exceptional children often have the same personality traits with the exception of their learning ability. There are children who are classified as twice exceptional because they are not only gifted but they also have a learning disability. The gifted may be overlooked because of the disability.
The school uses screening tests for both gifted and exceptional children. So that your child will get the best education that they can receive.
