gifted children thinking differently?

[Kuovonne]

I know that gifted children think and process information differently from typical children. I've read about them needing less repetition, processing things faster, and getting bored more easily. Thus, gifted children need to be taught differently from typical children.

 

However, do gifted children think and process information differently from each other? Of course, a profoundly gifted child thinks differently from a moderately gifted child. However, what about two moderately gifted children? Would they process information in totally different ways from each other?

 

Are these variations within gifted children different from variations within typical children?

 

This question is idle curiousity because I don't have any gifted children, just accelerated ones.

[2smartones]

Yes, everyone's different. Even gifted kids.

[zaichiki]

I know that gifted kids make connections faster (and perhaps connect things that most kids wouldn't realize to connect) and need less repetition, but other than those two points, how do they think differently than typical kids?

[2smartones]

Depends on the kid and the level of giftedness, I suppose. Some think outside the box better than others, while others "see the future", meaning... they see "cause & effect" better than their peers. That allows them to think of a completely different solution to an original problem, which may seem outside the box to others, but in reality, it's an inside the box answer to a secondary problem no one else has seen yet.

[Donna]

Every single person on the earth thinks and processes things differently whether they are gifted or below average in IQ.

[Embassy]

I know that gifted kids make connections faster (and perhaps connect things that most kids wouldn't realize to connect) and need less repetition, but other than those two points, how do they think differently than typical kids?

 

I think this quote sums it up well:

 

[Gifted] is not a matter of degree but of a different quality of experiencing: vivid, absorbing, penetrating, encompassing, complex, commanding

-- a way of being quiveringly alive.

 

--M. Piechowski

[8filltheheart]

I can share some of my general observations from among my own children b/c they do exhibit some interesting differences (though, to clarify, I wouldn't claim any of them are gifted, more just accelerated, except my math guy.)

 

My Aspie has the ability to multi-task to the extreme while appearing to have pay zero attention to what is going on. However, if you ask him a question, he can tell you what every single other person has said. (freakly accurate recitations which I find very bizarre given that his WISC scores place his auditory and visual processing speeds in the 1% (and no that isn't a typo)

 

My gifted math/science guy sees the world in patterns. He sees patterns every where (except in spelling.:D) I can't explain it other than where I piece things together to interpret them, he sees the world as a whole, finds the patterns, and disassembles it. He is an incredible strategian and a hard opponent in strategy games!!

 

My advanced 6th grader just seems to absorb. Can't say anything leaps out as unusual except her ability to learn so quickly and that she has strategies that are very complex for her age.

[La Condessa]

I know that gifted kids make connections faster (and perhaps connect things that most kids wouldn't realize to connect) and need less repetition, but other than those two points, how do they think differently than typical kids?

 

My youngest brother (16 years old) is definitely gifted, but he actually makes connections slower than other kids. But once he has covered something, he will know it perfectly for the rest of his life-meaning that the normal method of teaching, with repetition to cement knowledge and frequent review, is just a huge waste of time for him. He does not have the ability to skim over something in reading, or give a general estimate when he does not know an exact number, or focus in on one thing when there is anything else happening around him. Everything must have his full focus and concentration. This is the kid who will come home really upset and angry with himself for getting a 97% on his AP Calculus test. But he didn't qualify for the gifted and talented program at school, because it was a timed test.

[zaichiki]

And then along these lines I wonder how anyone can truly know how another person thinks.

 

I think it is obvious when kids make connections faster, make connections the other kids aren't making, and need fewer repetition to really own a new skill. These are things we can see and measure.

 

Other than that, qualitative observations come to mind: persistent, passionate, driven. Can't measure these things of course, but the words really describe how my kids behave (and how they think?) when it comes to their areas of interest. IMO that is different from typical kids, but I don't really know.

[Kates]

Well, there have been neurological tests that have proven that gifted kids actually do think differently than non-gifted kids.

 

Basically, where most people have to go from working memory, to short term memory, to long term memory (meaning repetition and rote), gifted kids go straight from working memory to long term memory (present it in a way that interests them, and they've got it down). With them, the trick isn't to review it till they get it - this can actually be detrimental - it's to get it through the door in the first place.

 

Gifted kids tend to hyper-perceive whatever's around them - they see it "in living color" to the extreme. My son says it's like "living in HD". Every color is vivid, every sound is heard, every movement is picked up. At times, this can get really overstimulating, exhausting. (It's not much help that he needs less sleep than everyone else here - not only does his brain not shut off, but he honestly doesn't need the sleep.)

 

The only "filter" he has for taking in this info is choosing what to retain and what to let go. Once it's in, it's pretty much in there forever - meaning, if it doesn't hit him as relevant and important, he's not going to let it in to his working memory (the first level of taking in information). If the info is important to him, he can see it the first time and have it down pat.

 

Other words that describe gifted kids...driven, passionate, ambitious. It's not because they want to show off, it's because their brains move so incredibly quickly that they see possibilities everywhere. They make connections that others don't, they forsee conclusions to secondary and tertiary problems that others haven't stopped to look at yet. They'll all exhibit it in different ways - some will need to sit and analyze every bit of it before they "let it in", others will just seem to absorb the world around them - but they'll all share certain characteristics that make teaching them rather interesting. Traditional texts and techniques are not going to work for them - they are often so far out of the box that "the box" makes no sense to them whatsoever.

[Gratia271]

Well, there have been neurological tests that have proven that gifted kids actually do think differently than non-gifted kids.

 

Basically, where most people have to go from working memory, to short term memory, to long term memory (meaning repetition and rote), gifted kids go straight from working memory to long term memory (present it in a way that interests them, and they've got it down). With them, the trick isn't to review it till they get it - this can actually be detrimental - it's to get it through the door in the first place.

 

Gifted kids tend to hyper-perceive whatever's around them - they see it "in living color" to the extreme. My son says it's like "living in HD". Every color is vivid, every sound is heard, every movement is picked up. At times, this can get really overstimulating, exhausting. (It's not much help that he needs less sleep than everyone else here - not only does his brain not shut off, but he honestly doesn't need the sleep.)

 

The only "filter" he has for taking in this info is choosing what to retain and what to let go. Once it's in, it's pretty much in there forever - meaning, if it doesn't hit him as relevant and important, he's not going to let it in to his working memory (the first level of taking in information). If the info is important to him, he can see it the first time and have it down pat.

 

Other words that describe gifted kids...driven, passionate, ambitious. It's not because they want to show off, it's because their brains move so incredibly quickly that they see possibilities everywhere. They make connections that others don't, they forsee conclusions to secondary and tertiary problems that others haven't stopped to look at yet. They'll all exhibit it in different ways - some will need to sit and analyze every bit of it before they "let it in", others will just seem to absorb the world around them - but they'll all share certain characteristics that make teaching them rather interesting. Traditional texts and techniques are not going to work for them - they are often so far out of the box that "the box" makes no sense to them whatsoever.

 

Exactly!

[LittleIzumi]

 

The only "filter" he has for taking in this info is choosing what to retain and what to let go. Once it's in, it's pretty much in there forever - meaning, if it doesn't hit him as relevant and important, he's not going to let it in to his working memory (the first level of taking in information). If the info is important to him, he can see it the first time and have it down pat.

 

 

Oh my. That helps to explain so much. I love this board :lol:. That's seriously how it is--either it NEVER. GETS. IN. AT. ALL. or she knows the entire thing by heart.

[MissKNG]

how do they think differently than typical kids?

 

Here's an example!

 

I was a "typical" math kid. When trying to understand math concepts, I would get to a wall and no matter how hard I tried, I could never get over that wall. And I'm not talking about upper end mathematics here. My big girl seems to always be on the other side of the wall (on her own) or quickly leaping over it.

[lisabees]

(It's not much help that he needs less sleep than everyone else here - not only does his brain not shut off, but he honestly doesn't need the sleep.)

 

Other words that describe gifted kids...driven, passionate, ambitious.

 

Two of my boys have trouble sleeping. They cannot turn their brains off. Too many ideas. They have notebooks at all times to record their ideas.

So similar to dh - scary, actually. Their ideas will always torment them, I fear. Dh always told me he was always waiting for that one BRILLIANT idea that will change the world. Hmmm. Exactly like my kids.

 

The passion. That's the wonderful thing about homeschooling. These kids need to time to explore and investigate their passions. Homeschooling can provide time and opportunities to do that.

 

My gifted math/science guy sees the world in patterns. He sees patterns every where (except in spelling.:D) I can't explain it other than where I piece things together to interpret them, he sees the world as a whole, finds the patterns, and disassembles it. He is an incredible strategian and a hard opponent in strategy games!!

 

 

Aaah - this is my 7 year old. Everything is in patterns. She sees images in everything. She compares two things that have nothing to do with each other - puts them in categories that I wouldn't even consider. I'm not sure if that even makes sense. She is also my very imaginative one. She has never been tested, but I imagine she is gifted. (eta: MEP math is perfect for her.)

 

Now, my 14 year old has an average IQ and is dyslexic. He is freakishly visual-spatial. His "intelligence" amazes me the most, yet he has an extremely slow processing speed and working memory. He is always a few steps behind everyone. But, his emotional intelligence and visual-spatial intelligence is truly amazing.

Edited November 16, 2010 by lisabees

[MissKNG]

Two of my boys have trouble sleeping. They cannot turn their brains off. Too many ideas. They have notebooks at all times to record their ideas.

 

.

 

 

My big girl says that her "brain doesn't stop moving.":lol:

[beachpotato]

Basically, where most people have to go from working memory, to short term memory, to long term memory (meaning repetition and rote), gifted kids go straight from working memory to long term memory (present it in a way that interests them, and they've got it down). With them, the trick isn't to review it till they get it - this can actually be detrimental - it's to get it through the door in the first place.

 

Tell this to my parents. It's not my fault my memory is selective! :tongue_smilie:

[LisaKinVA]

I have found that playing music helps me go to sleep. I've been suffering from over-active brain for far too long. Seems to help my children too. The extra "noise" seems to shut out the inner "noise."

 

My children all think way differently from their peers. It's exhausting.

[LittleIzumi]

I have found that playing music helps me go to sleep. I've been suffering from over-active brain for far too long. Seems to help my children too. The extra "noise" seems to shut out the inner "noise."

 

 

Or TV. Or audio book. Dh uses a loud fan.

[HeidiD]

My Aspie has the ability to multi-task to the extreme while appearing to have pay zero attention to what is going on. However, if you ask him a question, he can tell you what every single other person has said. (freakly accurate recitations which I find very bizarre given that his WISC scores place his auditory and visual processing speeds in the 1% (and no that isn't a typo)

 

 

I wouldn't believe those scores are an accurate measure of his abilities. According to her scores, my Aspie daughter should be incapable of many things she actually accomplishes with ease. :lol:

[HeidiD]

My big girl says that her "brain doesn't stop moving.":lol:

 

Yes, I can relate to that. I used to blame intensity, constantly percolating mind and need for less sleep on a lack of mental discipline (and have spent years watching my husband snore while I lay awake thinking :)). What a relief when I found out it's just a wiring variation! :)