Social Challenges of Highly Gifted Children

Perfectionism

• While some people may consider perfectionism a positive behavior, in extreme levels it may negatively affect the social development of a child. In a presentation to East Carolina University, Elizabeth Fogarty states that unhealthy levels of perfectionism may make highly gifted children believe that they always have to perform highly, leading to stress when they fail. If you notice that your child strives to perform at high levels, try to make her understand that making mistakes is all part of normal development. Introducing activities that do not involve grading can also be helpful.

Introversion

• Some gifted children may prefer keeping to themselves over spending time with peers. Differences in cognitive and linguistic abilities may contribute to introversion, as these children have more advanced insight. Educational Psychologist David Palmer states in Psychology Today that while some highly gifted children spend time with older people or gifted peers, some enjoy doing activities such as reading, writing and observing alone. Encourage a highly gifted child to participate in activities involving cooperation, such as team sports, to improve social skills.

Sensitivity

• Sandra Berger reports in Family Education that highly gifted children have an increased social and intellectual sensitivity. These children have heightened consciousness of their surroundings, and this affects their awareness of expectations from parents and peers. Berger notes that parents, teachers and other close people inadvertently add their expectations to the child̵7;s own aspirations. This makes the sensitive child vulnerable to criticism when he does not meet the expectations, regardless of whether his achievements are appropriate for his age. Having age-appropriate expectations for your child may positively affect his social development.

Adjustment Problems

• Highly gifted children may be prone to adjustment problems when compared to non-gifted peers, notes Linda Versteynen in the New Zealand Journal of Gifted Education. Gifted children consider themselves different because of their intellectual abilities, and this perception makes it more difficult for them to socialize with other children, adds Versteynen. These children are also more likely to suffer from low self-esteem. Teachers can introduce cooperative learning activities to help highly gifted children improve social skills and boost self-esteem.