Are you or your child intellectually Gifted?
Because the skills and talents of Gifted cognitive skills are so diverse, not all people exhibit all characteristics all of the time or across all domains.
One of the many interesting things about bright minds is they can demonstrate Gifted levels of cognitive skills in some areas and have obstacles to learning in other areas. Individuals may demonstrate exceptionally well developed verbal expression, problem solving, or conceptual thinking but struggle with spelling, producing written material or calculating math.
Gifted screening will help to identify intellectual strengths and determine if the gifted programming requirements of your academic program, while also identifying any areas of learning difficulties, learning differences or areas that would benefit from supports. Recommendations will be made for the most beneficial academic programming based on each unique cognitive profile.
Matching individual strengths with academic options
There are many alternative school setting options available such as a full time Gifted Program, a regular classroom, or a combination of placement in a main stream academic classroom with added enrichment, or in conjunction with therapy for anxiety or social skills etc. and tutoring for specific skill sets, which are critical to explore to best address all aspects of the uniqueness of each individual's learning needs. Knowing your or your child's intellectual strengths and differences through our assessments will help provide the "manual" to what you or your child needs, to provide a framework for designing the most effective individual, academic and family therapy programing to improve learning, communication, behavioural problems, social or family relationships.
Learn About Intellectual Potentials
In our Gifted Screening assessments, we focus on identifying not only areas of a individual’s cognitive development that may reach gifted levels, but we also explore how their strongest skill sets can be applied to support and improve areas of learning, social or communication needs.
We place importance on carefully reviewing all the educational options available for each child, adolescent and adult learner, and will discuss how emotional maturity, social and physical development, as well as any additional factors (such as Tics, autism, ADD/ADHD, OCD, anxiety) may be factors to consider when making the best decision for the most optimal academic placement.
Common Gifted Characteristics & Traits
There are common characteristics that many Gifted individuals tend to demonstrate, which may include:
- Unusual alertness, even in infancy.
- Sense of independence stronger than others of same age
- Rapid learner; puts thoughts together quickly.
- Excellent memory for sometimes unusual details.
- Noticably mature vocabulary and complex sentence structure for age.
- Advanced comprehension of word nuances, metaphors and abstract ideas.
- Enjoys solving problems, especially with numbers and puzzles.
- Often self-taught reading and writing skills as preschooler.
- Deep, intense feelings and reactions.
- Highly sensitive and can be emotionally vulnerable.
- Thinking is often abstract, complex, logical, and insightful.
- Idealism and sense of justice are evident and important at early age.
- Concern with social and political issues and injustices in general.
- May display longer attention span and intense concentration skills
- Preoccupied with own thoughts—often called a "daydreamer".
- Learn basic skills quickly and with little practice.
- Asks probing questions.
- Wide range of interests (or extreme focus in one area).
- Highly developed curiosity.
- Interest in experimenting and doing things differently.
- Puts ideas or things together that are not typical.
- Keen and/or unusual sense of humor, sarcasm and wit.
- Desire to organize people/things, or take commanding role through games or complex schemas.
- Vivid imaginations (may have imaginary playmates when in preschool) and rich fantasy worlds.
