Gifted children are a gift or a curse. Psychological features of their development, training and education

What is giftedness

Psychology does not know the words “gift” and “curse”. In the language of science, giftedness is pronounced abilities in one or more areas, for example, a keen ear for music.

A gifted child is a child who demonstrates abilities and successes that exceed the achievements of his peers, and sometimes even adults.

The basis of giftedness is innate inclinations, but without social influence, appropriate upbringing and education, they will not turn into abilities, talent and genius.

What is giftedness?

• sports;
• musical;
• artistic;
• acting;
• social;
• humanitarian;
• technical;
• academic (increased ability to learn, master and understand material from any field);
• intellectual (analytical skills, success in a specific subject);
• creative (expressive emotions and non-standard thinking).

As you can see, not all types are directly related to the average secondary school. For example, musical or artistic talent will show little of itself there. But such a child needs not just additional education (being carried away by music, he will forget or will not find the strength to study), but a basic special education. We are talking about centers for the development of children's giftedness, schools with a special focus, etc.

In a broad sense, talent is divided into intellectual and creative.

Manifestation of characteristics of gifted children in interpersonal relationships

Every child with high intellectual potential spends a certain amount of time with books, encyclopedias, and educational programs. Moreover, this desire comes from the child himself. At the same time, like ordinary children, such a preschooler needs to communicate with others.

The motivational-need sphere of a gifted child is determined by a combination, on the one hand, of the need for communication and a positive attitude towards others, and on the other hand, of the need for self-realization and the desire to dominate. This complex set leaves an imprint on the specifics of relationships and interactions between children.

Relationships in the game

Play activities are important for gifted preschoolers. Especially the role-playing game, because it arouses interest and emotional response. But games must be intellectualized so that there is room for thinking and creative imagination to develop.

Often gifted preschoolers insist on playing “their” game. They offer their own plot, where a set of roles is already provided, and in which they see themselves as the main character. The suggestions of others are ignored. But they can be flexible if several children prefer a different game. However, even in this case, a capable child will make some changes to the plot proposed by others - this transformative function is important to him.

Peers react favorably to a gifted child if he is distinguished in communication not only by initiative, but also by goodwill, compliance, fairness in the distribution of roles and similar positive qualities.

Children with a high level of development of cognitive abilities often build favorable interpersonal relationships, but competition may be observed in play and productive activities.

Ambidextra and ambitcerebral talent

In the last few years, a third variant of gifted children has been identified - ambidextrous (equally high development of the right and left hemispheres). This type looks like dual behavior (like two children in one) or hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Up to a certain point, the hemispheres work alternately or the abilities inherent in one of them are noticeable. Equal expression of hemisphere activity occurs spontaneously. This literally looks like a breakthrough and a big leap in development. This is the moment of peak brain development. Nowadays, ambidextrous people reach full maturity on average by the age of 16.

Since 2008, psychologists have identified especially gifted children, or ambitcerebral children, among ambidexters. Their hemispheres not only work simultaneously and in parallel, but also solve different problems. For example, a child writes different texts with both hands at the same time. The peak of mental development of especially gifted children occurs even later than that of ambidextrous children - 23-27 years.

The problem is that before this peak, children look overly infantile and developmentally delayed. They have difficulty graduating from school, and have difficulty mastering a profession. But as soon as the leap occurs, they demonstrate outstanding abilities. They become successful professionals and get a well-paid position. It is possible that Albert Einstein belonged to this category (he was kicked out of college twice for problems with mathematics).

Giftedness problems

Giftedness is a deviation with a plus sign. This is a deviation from the average statistical norm, but in a positive direction. Any deviation requires the attention of a psychologist and causes misunderstanding on the part of society.

What difficulties do gifted children face?

• bullying by classmates, incompetent adults and teachers;
• loss of motivation to learn (the program is too simple);
• internal anxiety due to the inability to fully realize potential.

Gifted children are antisocial if they understand that the environment is not suitable for them. They express their negative attitude towards studying (due to boredom) by violating discipline and absenteeism. Social (leadership) talent, developing chaotically, results in destructive behavior and hooliganism. In a regular school, gifted children inevitably have problems with adaptation.

The child does not understand his giftedness, and even if he senses it intuitively, he is lost without the support of an adult. In conditions of uncontrolled giftedness, the child is arrogant and selfish. For him, other children are not interesting, especially since he sees his superiority. To prevent such reactions, competent work of parents and psychologists is necessary:

• timely identification of giftedness;
• directing it in the right direction (appropriate training);
• explaining the normality of this phenomenon and preventing the birth of a god complex (education).

In psychology, there is the concept of “giftedness syndrome,” which implies a person’s painful pride, a constant desire to assert himself and demonstrate abilities. Later this causes neuroses, depression, and disorders. Some gifted children reach great heights in the future, some become “average”, and some make history (art, science), but often end their lives early and sadly.

The education system promotes holistic personal development and an individual approach to each child. But in practice this is not implemented everywhere. Yes, and it is physically difficult to simultaneously work with gifted, lagging, and normally developing children. And in the classrooms such a “vinaigrette” is obtained, especially in rural schools or small towns, where there is no differentiation in the educational system and there is one institution for everyone.

Features and problems of gifted children

Children with special potential - mental or creative - are distinguished by high cognitive motivation, which is expressed in enthusiasm, research activity, and a sensitive response to new information.

Cognitive motivation and achievement motivation are the leading drivers in the development of gifted children. They are active, proactive, and ask a lot of questions.

As a rule, such preschoolers understand the first time when their questions are answered in a detailed and logical manner. It’s just that one answer is often not enough for them; they want to go deeper into the topic. Accordingly, the following questions and guesses are heard (“Can this be?”, “What will happen if...”). It’s great if adults find the desire and time to start a conversation with the “why”. But they often rein in and limit an overly inquisitive preschooler.

Children's insistence in satisfying their cognitive needs is perceived by some adults as inappropriate obstinacy and importunity, and they strive with all their might to “standardize” the baby.

Another group of parents also stands out. Who noticed the originality of their child and immediately saw in him a future winner of Olympiads, an inventor, a scientist... In this case, they load the child with all kinds of developmental activities. The child receives an overabundance of knowledge, tries to assimilate everything... and an emotional breakdown occurs.

Such strict requirements, instead of stimulating, inhibit the rapid intellectual development of a preschooler and harm personal development. Gifted children are characterized by increased sensitivity and vulnerability. Inflated expectations of parents turn out to be an unbearable burden for the child and lead to a loss of self-confidence. To the point that the preschooler categorically refuses to engage in something that just recently captivated him (doing mathematics, playing chess, learning a foreign language, etc.).

Other types of difficulties may arise among peers. Misunderstanding by other children of the interests and statements of a particularly developed peer often becomes a barrier in communication and can provoke conflicts, or even isolation.

A gifted preschooler is more attracted to the company of older children, as they are more knowledgeable and enlightened. But in this circle, the child prodigy is also not accepted as one of their own, because he is still small.

In the intellectual sphere, gifted children are significantly ahead of their age, but in the emotional and personal sphere, the development of the majority of such children corresponds to the age standard.

Diagnosis of giftedness

In order to avoid the transformation of positive deviation into negative, it is necessary to identify giftedness in time and help the child to realize himself as an individual. To do this, you need to know the types, characteristics and signs of giftedness.

Do you know, for example, that giftedness can be leadership? The mother considers the child stubborn and obnoxious, the teachers cannot cope with the power of the “clan” that he organized, and the child simply needs appropriate development conditions, since he is socially gifted.

Identification of giftedness is a systematic process. Abilities are not revealed by one method. Giftedness is calculated through the process of assessing a child's development. It does not arise at a specific period of development, but manifests itself both at an early age and in preschool and school. It is important to regularly analyze your child’s progress. This is possible with the help of developmental training, for example, according to the Elkonin-Davydov system.

It is also necessary to use tests, but you cannot make a conclusion based on the results of one diagnosis. For example, high performance in itself does not mean giftedness. And low scores on a creative or emotional intelligence test are not a sign of a lack of creativity or social aptitude.

Comprehensive personal development, analysis of abilities and successes in various areas will help to identify giftedness. To do this you need:

• involve the child in different types of activities (educational, gaming, subject-oriented, aesthetic, etc.);
• alternately offer different types of activities and celebrate the child’s successes in sports, science, competitions, contests, Olympiads, conferences, festivals, intellectual games;
• parents, teachers and psychologists work together (to jointly evaluate the child’s progress);
• conduct expert diagnostics of personality traits, separately study areas in which experts note great success.

Observation of a child lasts a lifetime, since giftedness is dynamic. After placing a child in special conditions, observation is doubly necessary. This will confirm or refute the decision made. Sometimes children are mistakenly placed in special centers, mistaking a high level of development and socialization for giftedness.

How this manifests itself in practice: many children can read before entering first grade; at the beginning of the year they are ahead of everyone else in reading speed, but by the end of the year the rest of the students catch up with them and even surpass them. “Imaginary giftedness” works the same way.

Children from families where parents dream of a gifted child often find themselves falsely referred to special institutions. They are superior to their peers, but it is difficult for them, since they do not have innate inclinations. Gifted children are happy to move in the direction where their abilities are higher. It is psychologically difficult for an ordinary child to meet the expectations of his parents.

Psychology “Gifted Child”

Lyudmila Mineeva

Psychology “Gifted Child”

Chapter 1. Psychological and pedagogical characteristics of a gifted child

1.1. Concept and definition of giftedness in children

GIFTED - a significant advance in mental development compared to age norms or exceptional development of special abilities (musical, artistic, etc.)

. [1, p. 78]

The giftedness of children can be established and studied only in the process of training and upbringing, during the child’s performance of one or another meaningful activity. Manifestations of mental giftedness in a child are associated with the extraordinary possibilities of childhood. It must be borne in mind that in the early preschool years, rapid mental development occurs in all children, making a decisive contribution to the development of intelligence during childhood. [2, p. 14]

The main difficulty in identifying signs of giftedness during childhood is that it is not easy to identify the individual in them, which is relatively independent of age. Thus, the high mental activity observed in a child, a special readiness for tension, is an internal condition for mental growth. And it is not known whether it will turn out to be a stable feature at subsequent age stages. A child’s creative aspirations and his production of new trains of thought can also be classified as harbingers of giftedness , but this is not a fact that they will receive further development. At the same time, early manifestations of giftedness do not yet predetermine a person’s future capabilities: it is extremely difficult to foresee the course of the further development of giftedness . [2, p. 24]

Gifted children who demonstrate outstanding ability in one area are sometimes no different from their peers in all other respects. However, as a rule, giftedness covers a wide range of individual psychological characteristics . Most gifted children have special characteristics that distinguish them from most of their peers. [3. c, 24]

Gifted children , as a rule, are distinguished by high curiosity and research activity. Psychophysiological studies have shown that such children have increased biochemical and electrical activity of the brain. [2, p. 79]

Gifted children perceive the lack of information that can be assimilated and processed Therefore, limiting their activity is fraught with negative reactions of a neurotic nature. Gifted children at an early age are distinguished by the ability to trace cause-and-effect relationships and draw appropriate conclusions; they are particularly passionate about building alternative models and systems. They are characterized by faster transmission of neural information, their intracerebral system is more branched, with a larger number of nerve connections. Gifted children usually have excellent memory, which is based on the early acquisition of language and abstract thinking. They are distinguished by the ability to classify and categorize information and experience, and the ability to widely use accumulated knowledge. [3. c, 27]

Most often, attention to gifted children is attracted by their large vocabulary, accompanied by complex syntactic structures, as well as the ability to pose questions. Many gifted children enjoy reading dictionaries and encyclopedias, inventing words that, in their opinion, should express their own concepts and imaginary events, and prefer games that require the activation of mental abilities.

Gifted children are also distinguished by increased concentration of attention on something, perseverance in achieving results in the area that interests them. However, the diversity of interests characteristic of many of them sometimes leads to the fact that they start several things at the same time, and also take on too complex tasks. They also have a penchant for clear patterns and classifications. For example, they may be captivated by compiling some tables of historical facts, dates, or writing out information that attracted their attention in different sequences. [2, p.13]

It is very important to catch in a timely manner and not to miss the features of the relative constancy of individuality in children who are mentally ahead of their age. giftedness is a fairly stable characteristic of individual manifestations of extraordinary intelligence that grows with age.

1.2. Development of a gifted child and his self-esteem

Psychologists consider the child’s self-concept to be the most important aspect determining the development of giftedness Self-perception of an individual is formed on the basis of subjective and objective assessments of the people around us. R. Burns believes that the self-concept plays a threefold role. It contributes to the achievement of internal consistency of the individual, determines the interpretation of experience and is a source of expectations.

K. Tekex draws attention to the fact that the role of parents in the child’s acquisition of a positive self, the basis of personal consciousness of being, is irreplaceable, and other people can take care of physical development, intellectual growth or the improvement of his special talent.

School has a significant influence on the formation of a student’s self-concept. In a modern school, the ability to comply with the norms and rules established in an educational institution, correct answers, and good academic performance are valued. A gifted child often begins to experience pressure from others from the first moment of school.

Understanding one's otherness unbalances a capable student. He begins to understand that others evaluate him differently from everyone else, and this feeling makes him think of himself as “strange.” There is a feeling of alienation to which gifted children . A student with a high level of ability often begins to hide his abilities in such situations.

R. Burns believes that the school, first of all, considers the manifestations of verbal intelligence to be the main value; practically no attention is paid to other abilities and nothing is done for their development. This kind of talent remains unclaimed at school, and if a student does not have an intellectual gift, then he feels incapable of any activity, which practically dooms him to failure and failure. Many teachers still demand a clear, correct answer, denying originality and flexibility in the answers. As a result, the development of creative thinking and independence in gifted children is inhibited, which leads to a decrease in the level of self-perception.

If a child feels that those around him believe in his abilities and recognize his value as a developing personality, then this will stimulate his positive self-perception and self-development. The student will realistically assess his capabilities and will see the ultimate goal of his activities. Otherwise, the child will not realize the possibilities for internal growth, which will lead to the loss of many development reserves.

Self-esteem plays a significant role in the development of personality. Self-esteem finds its expression both in the activity side of a person’s life and in the process of personality formation.

It is noted that the level of self-esteem correlates with the nature of the child’s creative activity. Children's drawing styles were studied. Children with high self-esteem turned out to have original, humorous drawings that showed creativity and originality. Children with an average level of self-esteem were more constrained and less expressive in their work. Schoolchildren with low self-esteem drew small figures; their insecurities and complexes were felt in the drawings. The drawings revealed clear differences in the perception of oneself and others.

The learning process for children becomes a process of constantly comparing themselves with others, evaluating themselves. An important task at this stage is to develop in the child differentiated, deep and accurate knowledge about himself, the ability to use various characteristics when assessing himself, and to respond adequately to the assessment of personal qualities.

In the study by A.V. Zakharova o'.

For successful activities, support and a favorable atmosphere are necessary. But the results of activities must be assessed realistically and objectively. It has been noted that cooperation between adults and children is effective in developing a child’s optimal way of self-assessment. This factor leads to effective activity and creates favorable conditions for the development of personal characteristics that will allow them to act effectively and successfully in the future.

Psychologists especially emphasize the fact that the opinions of others influence the process of developing a child’s self-esteem. Under the influence of value judgments of parents, teachers, peers, the child begins to have a certain attitude towards achievements in activities (primarily educational, towards himself as an individual.

Psychologists note that children with different levels of self-esteem have different personal qualities.

Self-esteem and the nature of its changes significantly influence the course of the child’s mental development . Its impact on the formation of giftedness . A number of authors believe that gifted children often have low self-esteem and social insecurity. gifted self-esteem tends to change dramatically in response to the slightest setbacks. Increased demands on oneself, the desire to bring everything to perfection, the desire not to let parents down with failures can become reasons for self-flagellation and self-humiliation.

Factors that have a similar impact on the self-esteem of a gifted child are as follows :

inflated standards for evaluating one’s performance and a feeling of dissatisfaction that arises in cases when the results achieved are lower than expected;

extremely high personal standards that develop under the influence of others, a critical attitude towards oneself and a painful feeling of one’s inadequacy to these requirements, the fear of not meeting the expectations of others;

increased sensitivity, inability to adequately cope with the slightest failure;

response to failure in school (it is known that high creative and intellectual talent can be combined with low performance at school);

objective and subjective difficulties of a gifted child’s entry into a children’s team (the “black sheep” effect, the phenomena of “social” and “emotional imbalance” (in which a high level of intellectual and creative development does not correspond to the development of communicative and emotional processes);

discrepancy between high intellectual development and the development of motor skills (the phenomenon of “motor imbalance”)

.

These factors not only contribute to the emergence of low self-esteem, but also, as a result, inhibit the development of the child’s inherent abilities.

1.3. Difficulties of mental development of gifted children .

The position on the harmonious mental development of gifted children has been repeatedly revised throughout the history of psychological and pedagogical study of the phenomenon of children's giftedness .

Modern research shows that harmony in the development of various aspects of the psyche of a gifted person is a relative rarity. [3, p. 203] More often you can encounter unevenness, one-sidedness of development, which often not only persists throughout the life of a gifted person psychological problems for him . According to J. S. Terassier, gifted children and adolescents often suffer from so-called dyssynchrony in the rate of development of the intellectual, affective and motor spheres; under "dyssynchrony"

refers to the effect of accelerated development of one of
the mental processes in combination with the usual (age-appropriate)
or even delayed development of another [3, p. 206]

For J. S. Terassier, dyssynchrony of mental development is a holistic phenomenon. At the same time, he proposes to differentiate two main aspects associated with dyssynchrony: 1) internal, i.e. associated with the heterogeneity of the rates of development of various mental processes ( intellectual-psychomotor or intellectual-affective dyssynchrony , as well as with unevenness in the development of a separate mental process (for example, in intellectual development there is often a dissynchrony between the process of mastering linguistic means and the ability to reason, and 2) external - reflecting the characteristics of the interaction of a gifted child or adolescent with his social environment (teachers, parents and relatives, other children)

.
[3, p. 205] It is assumed that dyssynchrony can act as a cause of maladaptive behavior of a gifted child or adolescent in his relationship with the environment.
Features of learning can both strengthen and weaken dyssynchrony. A common type of dyssynchrony is associated with differences in the pace of development of intellectual and communication processes. It is known that a high level of intellectual development not only does not guarantee a child, or even an adult, success in communicating with other people, but is often combined with great difficulties in establishing contact and communicating, and this is where the phenomenon of intellectual-social dyssynchrony manifests itself. [4, p. 75]

Although gifted children with communication difficulties often successfully interact with partners via the Internet, one should be aware that the communication processes undergo significant changes compared to traditional forms of communication. [4, p. 79]

Firstly, the content of a number of communicative goals changes, and some complex communicative actions that require a high level of development of socio-perceptual, emotional processes (empathy)

and social competence in general. Secondly, the methods of practical implementation of communicative goals are being transformed.

Another common type of dyssynchrony is caused by uneven development of intellectual and psychomotor processes - the latter are responsible for human motor activity. The presence of giftedness in the psychomotor sphere is widely recognized, it is actively diagnosed: teachers and trainers carry out on an ongoing basis the selection of promising children and adolescents for sports, ballet, circus skills, etc. It is quite well known, even from everyday observations, that giftedness in the psychomotor sphere sphere is often combined with underdevelopment of the intellectual sphere of a child, teenager or adult. Long hours of classes and training, lack of free time, severe physical fatigue of talented athletes do not contribute to the development of their intellectual abilities. Another option is well known: a characteristic of intellectually gifted children can too often be a delay in the development of psychomotor skills , i.e. muscle tightness, clumsiness, awkwardness and insufficiently fast motor reaction. There are often cases when the best “mathematician”

class or
a gifted young poet in physical education classes finds himself among the lagging students. This causes ridicule and even persecution from classmates. Early experience of such conflicts with peers has a negative impact on the formation and development of the character of gifted children and adolescents . Moreover, they often do not know how to establish themselves in a peer group, are not physically developed enough to stand up for themselves in clashes, they are not aggressive, so they avoid clashes - as a result, relatively many gifted children and adolescents acquire a reputation as cowardly “mama's boys.” or daughters
,” which also does not contribute to the harmonious development of their character. [4, p.86]

A very common type of intellectual-psychomotor dyssynchrony is poor writing skills in children who show giftedness in the intellectual sphere. According to a number of researchers, this is due to differences in the speed of intellectual and psychomotor processes in such children. Being insufficiently formed, written speech conflicts with the fast pace of cognitive activity. The child’s efforts aimed at getting rid of this type of disharmony can result, on the one hand, in a sharp decrease in the pace of intellectual actions, and on the other hand, in a noticeable deterioration in the quality of writing - illegibility, sloppiness, numerous typos and omissions of significant elements of the message. [4, p. 89]

Gifted children are at great risk of social isolation and rejection by their peers. The real level of abilities of gifted children is not understood by those around them, and the normal development process for such a child is considered as an abnormal inability to live in society. Such children have difficulty finding like-minded friends and have problems participating in peer games that are not interesting to them. Children adapt to others, they want to seem like everyone else. Teachers very often do not recognize gifted students and evaluate their abilities and achievements negatively. The complexity of the situation is aggravated by the fact that the children themselves are aware of their difference. [2, p. 153]

Social isolation is not a consequence of emotional disturbances, but the result of the conditions in which the child finds himself in the absence of a group with which he could communicate.

Chapter 2. Child giftedness

2.1. Features of adaptation of gifted children

Gifted children are ahead of others in the number and strength of perception of surrounding events and phenomena: they capture and understand more. They see, hear and feel more than others under the same conditions. They can monitor several events simultaneously. The intonations, gestures, postures and behavior patterns of others do not fall out of their field of perception. A gifted child is often compared to a sponge, absorbing a wide variety of information and sensations. But this ability to perceive goes hand in hand with the vulnerability that comes from hypersensitivity. Their normal egocentrism leads them to take everything that happens personally.

of a gifted child with a great deal of patience and calm . These children need help to understand that not all discouraging remarks and comments apply directly to them and that people sometimes say and act crazy, but without the intent to hurt.

Thanks to their breadth of perception and sensitivity, gifted children deeply experience social injustice. Hollingsworth talks about this in her book Gifted Children

: “A person whose perceptions chronically outpace his capabilities is always under stress.”

It is difficult for parents accustomed to their surroundings to adequately perceive the insatiable desire of a gifted child to correct the injustice of society.

Dislike for school. This attitude often appears because the curriculum is boring and uninteresting for a gifted child . Behavioral problems in gifted children may occur because the curriculum does not match their abilities.

Gaming interests. Gifted children like complex games and are not interested in those that their peers of average abilities enjoy. As a result, the gifted child finds himself isolated and withdraws into himself.

Conformity. Gifted children , rejecting standard requirements, are thus not inclined to conformism, especially if these standards run counter to their interests or seem meaningless.

Immersion in philosophical problems. for gifted children to think about things like death, the afterlife, religious beliefs, and philosophical issues to a much greater extent than the average child.

Discrepancy between physical, intellectual and social development. Gifted children often prefer to socialize and play with older children. Because of this, it is sometimes difficult for them to become leaders, since they are inferior to the latter in physical development[12,91].

This list was proposed by another researcher. Whitmore, who studied the reasons for the vulnerability of gifted children , cited the following factors.

Striving for perfection (perfectionism)

.
Gifted children are characterized by an internal need for perfection
. They do not rest until they reach the highest level. This property manifests itself very early. Feeling of dissatisfaction. This attitude towards themselves is associated with the characteristic desire of gifted children to achieve perfection in everything they do. They are very critical of their achievements and are often dissatisfied, hence the feeling of inadequacy and low self-esteem.

Unrealistic goals. Gifted children often set high goals for themselves. Not being able to achieve them, they begin to worry. On the other hand, the desire for excellence is the force that leads to high achievements.

Hypersensitivity. Because gifted children are more receptive to sensory stimuli and have a better understanding of relationships and connections, they tend to be critical not only of themselves, but also of those around them. A gifted child is more vulnerable; he often perceives words or non-verbal signals as a manifestation of rejection of himself by others. As a result, such a child is often considered hyperactive and distractible, since he constantly reacts to various kinds of stimuli and stimuli.

Need for adult attention. Due to their natural curiosity and desire for knowledge, gifted children often monopolize the attention of teachers, parents and other adults. This causes friction in relationships with other children who are irritated by the desire for such attention.

Intolerance. Gifted children often show insufficient tolerance towards children who are inferior to them in intellectual development. They may alienate others with remarks that express contempt or impatience[6,81].

We conducted a small sociological study of children of primary school age, since age is one of the most important in human socialization. The goal of our work is to identify gifted children. The sample size was one hundred people. Of the total number of children surveyed, according to the survey results, 37% consider themselves gifted , and the majority of children (51%)

do not consider themselves
gifted children . The majority of children (67%) talent in the arts, followed by the exact (22%)
and the humanities
(11%)
.
In the majority of children surveyed (58%), giftedness began to manifest itself at school age, and the main factor that most influences the development of a child’s giftedness is upbringing (35%)
.
That is, through upbringing, certain abilities are formed or revealed a child No one knows a child better than his family members. When looking for activities to complement school education, parents should first of all pay attention to the interests and hobbies of the child .
It is also worth observing what children of this age generally prefer to do. The fact that a schoolchild is able to master mathematics, physics, and literature does not mean that parents should immediately surround him with all kinds of aids and textbooks: he will have to study this very soon and in more than sufficient volume. It is necessary to encourage the child to engage, to participate himself, if possible, in something that can expand the experience in all sensory and kinesthetic dimensions. Not only is it fun and interesting, but it also lays a stronger foundation for future teaching and research endeavors.

Psychological features of interaction with a gifted child

Giftedness is a developmental disorder. Any deviation requires special observation and support. 50% of abilities are manifested by four years, 70% by six, and 90% by eight. At this age, parents should communicate especially carefully with their child.

Throughout life, it is important to take into account the psychological characteristics of gifted children. What are these features:

1. Expressed need for self-actualization. Gifted children begin to experience it earlier than their peers. This desire is noticeable already from childhood. It is important to pay attention to this and support it. The need for self-actualization and creative self-realization is the fifth level need according to A. Maslow’s theory. Children actively create and enjoy it.
2. Perfectionism. A gifted child already performs everything as well as he can at an early age. For example, a child tears up a notebook and rewrites it because of one blot. Or he dismantles an assembled airplane model (which he’s been fiddling with for a week) because he’s figured out how to improve it. Before drawing anything, he will find a sample and do everything strictly according to it. This feature hides danger - dissatisfaction with oneself, decreased self-esteem, neuroses, depression. And perfectionism, left to its own devices, deprives a person of will.
3. Independence. Normally, the need for independence is formed by the age of three (three-year crisis). Gifted children learn responsibility, independence of judgment, and self-regulation earlier. You cannot suppress independence, but you need to remember the safety of the child and avoid permissiveness.
4. Social autonomy. Quality similar to the previous one. It assumes that the gifted child does not accept traditional education. He is bored in a regular school. This causes conflicts.
5. Egocentrism. All children and adults are susceptible to it, but in gifted children, egocentrism is less likely to be caused by age and is more common. Egocentrism comes from a sense of one’s own uniqueness and giftedness. Cognitive egocentrism (the desire for personal activity and gaining knowledge from one’s own practice) is more developed. Moral egocentrism is less common than among peers (the ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships helps to better understand people's motives). In communication, gifted children also more easily take the position of another person (communicative egocentrism is weakly manifested).
6. Hypersensitivity, increased emotional vulnerability. Gifted children are constantly observing and paying attention to little things. They take everything they hear and see personally (other children wouldn’t even notice it).
7. Creative approach to chance and perception of difficulties as opportunities. Not every adult can do this, but a gifted child knows how to benefit from any situation.

The essence of the concept of “giftedness”

Definition 1
Giftedness is the presence of potentially high abilities in a person.

In psychology, giftedness is understood as a special level of development of personal abilities. There is constant interest in the field of science and society in the issue of giftedness. Even those people who are considered geniuses are not always truly scientifically brilliant. For example, Alexander the Great, who is called a brilliant commander, was simply a successful student of the genius of Aristotle.

Psychologists believe that giftedness allows its owner to achieve great results in activities. A person can be gifted in several areas of life.

Psychogeneticists, analyzing the development of the abilities of monozygotic twins, come to the conclusion that talent is half dependent on genetics and half on the environment. The growth and development of the embryo in its pure form is influenced not so much by genes as by the interaction between the embryo and the environment, stress, disease, etc.

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If we talk about true genius, this may mean that the corresponding 200-300 genes have come together in a very successful combination. A child born to such a person will most likely be gifted, because his genes will be mixed with the genes of his spouse and there will no longer be a successful combination. A child of a simply gifted person has a chance to pass on giftedness by inheritance.

People with mental illness may be gifted in certain areas, but statistics say otherwise. People suffering from autism, schizophrenia, and epilepsy have a low level of intelligence that cannot match their talent. However, there are also exceptions here, when the disease greatly transforms the brain, and this transformation benefits giftedness.

Psychologists, in order to identify a child’s giftedness, focus on the parameters “I want” and “I can” - this is the presence of motivation and interest in a certain activity, getting pleasure from it.

The motivational side of “I want” is determined by the fact that the child reacts with great attention to individual stimuli - if these are the sounds of music, for example, then he can listen to them for a long time, stopping the game. Or he draws in various ways, deriving pleasure not from praise, but from the process of drawing.

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This same motivational side includes collecting construction toys, passion for dancing, interest in nature, and observing animals and plants. The child strives to bring his passion to the highest result, investing in this activity energy resources that are associated with another sign of giftedness - the aspect of the activity.

The activity side of giftedness “I can” is a continuation of the desire to engage in activity and leads to high results. This side of motivation is associated with the ability to successfully assimilate information, find innovative solutions and set challenging tasks.

Giftedness is visible in a person’s style of action and personal style, confirming his originality and the creative nature of his abilities.

Note 1

Psychologists define giftedness as the ability to create new meanings, and in this the concept of giftedness intersects with creativity and creative thinking.

Afterword

Giftedness is neither a gift nor a curse. This is a personality trait that, in skillful or unskillful hands, turns out to be one or the other, respectively. Giftedness does not develop on its own. This is not the child’s status, but a direction vector, a hint for parents on how to interact with their son (daughter). Giftedness manifests itself and develops only in activity. And fades away without her.

Raising gifted children is no more difficult than raising ordinary children. The problem is different - the education system is not yet adapted for these children. Not all parents are able to send their child to a specialized institution or send them to developmental sections (almost all additional education is paid). Over the past 10 years, the problem of giftedness and genius has been actively discussed, and the education system has advocated the need to identify and support talented children. This is stipulated in the laws on education, but in practice it does not yet look so complete.