Your Child, the Genius!

At the end of the 20th Century, Time magazine voted Albert Einstein to be the Man of The Century. Yet in elementary school, Albert was such an under achiever in all subjects other than math and science that his parents suspected that he might be “retarded.” As it turned out, Albert preferred to learn on his own and had taught himself advanced mathematics and science by the time he was a teenager. What was his learning style anyway?

Did you know that gifted students can also have a learning disability? Many children with higher IQ’s can also have Attention Deficit, dyslexia, or be on the autism spectrum. It is important that we help all of our geniuses to be the best that they can be! We have to be very careful never to shame them for their disability simply because we do not understand it.

For example, children who are on the autism spectrum have the following labels depending where they are on the spectrum: autistic disorder, Rett’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, Asperger’s disorder, or PDDNOS. What each of these has in common is that that they are all neurological disorders and are usually evident by age 3. Children on this spectrum will are characterized by having struggles with social interaction skills, communication skills, and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. These children need accommodations every bit as much as a child who cannot walk needs a wheel chair! It is important that we coach these children in appropriate ways when they struggle with focus, following auditory directions, or struggle with social skills.

Here are some tips for the classroom:
• Use visual supports in the classroom
• Post a schedule for the day, write instructions on the board or on their paper.
• Make sure to send home important announcements and written instructions for assignments. (These children really struggle with auditory directions and written ones can be a lifesaver for them!)
• Have structured, consistent, predictable classes
• Provide opportunities for these children to interact with non disabled peers who model appropriate language, social, and behavioral skills
• Provide social skills classes that explicitly teach acceptable social behaviors.

Below are a couple of websites to find out more:

http://www.nationalautismresources.com/pdd-nos-school-.html


http://www.nichcy.org/informationresources/documents/nichcy%20pubs/fs20.pdf