How do gifted children meet other gifted children

Tuesday, 09 November 2010 12:28

Why does it seem so hard for gifted children to meet children like them? Where are the venues and societies that actively help this? I'd like a "giftedmatchmaker.com" or some such service. And I'll be happy to pay.

What gifted children want, just like any other child or adult, is a soul mate. A special friend. Or if not one special friend, just a group of friends that are like us. People who are excited to see us, think on our wavelength, can laugh with us at the same things, and have interest in the same things.

While most organisations do a great job of providing information, there are still opportunities to do a better job in introducing children to each other.

We have attended some of the picnics for gifted families and some of the activities (note: my sincere thanks to the organisers - many of whom are probably volunteers or underpaid for the great jobs they do) but these have not been particularly helpful to identify other kindred spirits.

There are so many definitions of gifted - you can be gifted in literature, art, music, science, maths etc. You can be in the top 5% or in the top 0.005% - and children along this spectrum are affected differently and think differently. You can be a child but be aged from 2 years to 18 years.

Societies and organisations seem reluctant to ask people: exactly, what is your child gifted in, and to what extent? Do you have a test on this or other examples?

Now, I know that might sound very confronting. But I don't mind registering my child - assuming the details would be held confidential - and saying: "Sam is 5. He is off the richter scale in numbers, but very poor to average in art and music. He is 2-4 years advanced in reading. If you find another child like this, we are happy to give them our details and to be in contact"

Now, even when we find that other 5 year old, that one in a million boy or girl, we might find that their personalities are not similar and that they don't strike up a friendship. That's ok and perfectly normal - but at least we have come one step closer to trying to identify other likeminded spirits.