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that is my confused face :) The more I read about giftedness, the less I wish I had. Other people in my support group seem to understand it perfectly, or pretend to :) I just get more and more confused. What is it? What do you do with it? That's all I want to know! It seems everyone has a different answer.


 What I think it is: I think it is a higher than above average ability to understand how to do things. For example, Sevren was able to communicate very early on, as well as do things with numbers. Granted, he has exposure to those things (letters, numbers, we didn't do the 'baby talk' with him at all, we probably used bigger words than we should have with him, but he quickly understood what we were talking about), but he also has done a lot of things on his own. I worked with him some on reading, but within the last 6 months he went from getting frustrated with the word "says" to the ability to read words like "caution" "warning" "mountain" or "management". I know I didn't teach him those, and I definitely know that his dad didn't teach him those. He also understands basic multiplication but is easily frustrated on double digit addition. Or I'm not explaining it correctly? Anyway, this is why I apply intellect to giftedness.


 What I think you do with it: Obviously foster it. Additionally, fight for their right to get the education they need and deserve. Try to get them with their intellectual peers, or at least close to it. Special programs are offered at a school in our district. All the kids get bussed there. However, they seem to take the top 5-10% smart children, not just gifted children (by my understanding of what gifted truly is). My conclusion is that there would not be a program if they waited for only truly gifted children to be there. I am almost certain I have exhausted my support group in trying to grasp what giftedness really is, and where the line is between 'really smart' and 'gifted'. Although, that's not entirely true. What confuses me the most is the creative-gifted. What I am understanding of the qualifications for the creative-gifted, A LOT of people would fall under that category. So, is giftedness not as uncommon as we think? Possibly the intellectual portion is, but not so much the creative side? Or, are there unidentified characteristics of the creative-gifted that are not established yet? Maybe I'm the only one who does not understand what makes someone 'merely' outstandingly creative, and what makes them creative-gifted.


Here is what one article found here suggests are the traits/differences
These individuals typically possess: An array of interests. These individuals have a broad information base established through personal interest that then allows them to make connections across areas of knowledge to a greater extent than their peers.
 Open to novel, complex, and ambiguous stimuli. Creative individuals remain child-like in their perceptions of the world, genuinely curious, and willing to explore new and different avenues of investigation.
 Capable of defocused attention. This characteristic relates to the ability of creative individuals to scan the environment for data or stimuli that might fit with their work. This ability may be analogous to the synectics process in creative thinking where students are encouraged to describe relationships between two seemingly disparate objects like a doorknob and a plate.
 Flexible in respect to cognition and behavior. Creative individuals remain playful with ideas and their manifestations rather than rigidly locking in on a line of thought.
 Introverted. These individuals enjoy solitary pursuits, working alone many times because their energy comes from inside, not from other people.
 Independent, autonomous, unconventional, and iconoclastic. This quality speaks to their lack of being easily swayed by majority opinion or outside views and allows them to take unpopular stances on issues or unconventional views.

 How many people do YOU know that fall under this category based on these traits? I don't think I fully understand. But I wish I did. Maybe I'm missing something with my son that I haven't fostered?