Is my child really gifted?
April 1st 2007 20:57
To many parents being told by a psychologist that your child is gifted elicits mixed emotions - surprise, joy, pride, puzzlement, worry, doubt, even fear.
Wth the assortment of tests available nowadays that is supposed to help distinguish if a child is in fact gifted you may think spotting the gifted child has become easier. I personally think it has not and all these tests are still very much subjective and not fool-proof.
Research has revealed many types of mental and emotional disorders we've never heard of before - ADHD, Asperger's, etc. And since many doctors are more prone to believe that a child who is exhibiting extraordinary intelligence must have a mental or emotional imbalance instead of being gifted, a lot of children, and even adults, are being misdiagnosed.
That is why i strongly believe that medicating a child isn't always the first option, it should actually be your last resort (unless it's an emergency of course). As a parent we must explore all other possibilities before we medicate our children. Even if these tests that are deemed to pinpoint giftedness isn't 100% reliable, we should first give it a try before moving on to another option.
Many children have been misdiagnosed as having ADHD and put on medication only to find out later on that the child's inattentiveness and/or restlessness in class is in fact because he is bored and he is ntellectually advanced than the grade level he is in.The problem is the medicines our kids are popping in their mouths all have side effects, some even compromise their well-being.
So if you're wondering if your child is gifted, have him tested and let the results guide your next step.
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Comment by Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
Although not gifted my cousin had a lot of reading problems when he was younger and was often just brushed off as being lazy and a 'problem child' and they wanted him on Ritalin. Later they discovered that he had dyslexia and as soon as they began to cater for that he started to come right.
Great post!
ash
Comment by Candice
You made some great points there. The willingness of the medical profession to dish out pills is scary. I have read countless stories about kids with ADHD who were much improved after preservatives and additives were taken out of their diets. I wonder how much this is a contributor to this disease?
Comment by Hope
Gifted Parenting
Ritalin is a very strong drug and there are reports of it having severe negative effects on kids. I'm glad they were able to diagnose your cousin correctly, imagine what would've happened if he was put on Ritalin?
Candice,
I've read too that certain additives, especially caffeine magnifies the condition of ADHD.
Thanks for your comments, really appreciate it!