| If Your Child: | This Can Mean: | Encourage Talent By: |
| -is an avid reader, consuming everything | -that she takes both pleasure & information from printed word |
-reading with your child, having her read to you, and reading as a role model |
| -seems very emotional, reacts to happy or sad situations with a great degree of intensity | -that his ability to feel is very mature, more adult-like than child-like | -reassuring your child that such intensity is okay and helping him find ways to express his care |
| -prefers friendships and relationships with people older than she | -that her sense of socialization is more refined than age peers | -locating other gifted children, older kids, and adults for socializing |
| -refuses to do schoolwork or homework that he is quite capable of doing | -that required tasks may be so easy that your child finds them purposeless | -talking with his teacher, asking that his pace match his knowledge level |
| -often “fidgets” or is out of her seat at school, in a world of her own | -that her need for intellectual stimulation is going unmet | -observing when your child is “on task” and able to concentrate and share this with teacher |
| -imagines out loud, creating make-believe worlds | -that you have a child who sees nuances and gray areas | -playing along with his imagination, asking for more details |
| -scores very well on standardized IQ and achievement tests, but has low grades in school | -your child doesn’t see the purpose of learning something they already know | -telling your child that learning can and does occur anywhere |
| -understands humor that is more subtle and mature | -that she has a fine command of language and understands puns and irony | -sharing different types of word games and puzzles with advanced language levels |
| -understands complex concepts and sees patterns | -that your child is a conceptual thinker (global) | -studying and playing with big ideas instead of memorizing rote facts |
| -is highly focused on one topic, often to the exclusion of others, but shifts frequently to other topics | -that he is absorbing so much new information that one discovery leads to another | -exposing your child to new ideas, books, people, museums, etc. to encourage interests |