Questions and Answers About Special Programs

What is this thing called giftedness?  Is it just a smart student – a good student at the top of his or her class?

  Giftedness describes a student who has high potential in one or more areas and because of that high potential has developed in an asynchronous manner.  That means if you take development in four basic areas: physical, intellectual, social, and emotion – you see uneven development with these children.  They are like their peers physically, but unlike their peers intellectually.  In the field of the education of gifted and talented youngsters, we look at this asynchrony as a learning exceptionality because that describes the child’s experience more accurately.  This is a student who thinks differently – not just someone who earns good grades.

  Children with other learning exceptionalities are covered under a federal law entitled IDEA.  This law requires a careful assessment of the child and the preparation of an Individual Education Program (IEP) plan.  This plan must be written and reviewed on a regular basis.  At this point, approximately 35 states mandate some services for gifted children, however, it varies from state to state.  Some states require the preparation of an IEP for gifted children.  This IEP carries the same weight as it would for a child with disabilities.  Other states or school districts prepare and individual plan called a Differential Education Program (DEP).  This is sporadic across the country.