Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about giftedness in early childhood

Kita

What specific features are important to consider for preschool-age children?

The development of same-age children can vary greatly, especially at a very young age. Accordingly, the time windows considered “normal” for the successful completion of certain developmental stages are broad. It is not advisable to label very young children as “gifted” in terms of a stable characteristic or trait. Otherwise, there is a risk of overburdening children with unrealistic expectations of their (cognitive) performance.

The early development of a child in one or more areas can also be an expression of a temporal developmental advantage in comparison to his or her peers. Thus, it is very important to continuously monitor and assess the development of a child’s abilities over a longer period of time. This is the best approach to assessing whether a child is gifted or talented in terms of his or her exceptional potential for achievement.

Furthermore, a young child’s developmental trajectory is strongly dependent on the specific environmental conditions in which he or she is growing up. This also applies to the development of high abilities. This development often depends on whether children are given opportunities to explore their individual abilities in various ways and, with the right motivation, whether they are also given opportunities to benefit from individual support for their specific interests. In other words, encouraging and supporting children according to their individual ability level is very important for gaining a better understanding of their achievement potential. This should be seen as an important part of a process-based giftedness assessment and not the complete opposite approach, where giftedness assessment is a prerequisite for any type of individualized support.

Understanding

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