Gifted
BRIGHT BOYS: Finian Corcoran (2) with his older brother Andrew (8) and mum Agatha
Most parents want to believe their children are special or gifted. While it may be true that many kids are talented and intelligent in different ways, there are quite simply some kids who are way over the top.
It's estimated that there are 20,000 children in this country who are "gifted" -- in other words they have very high ability.
Everybody knows a bright child who works hard and is considered a high achiever in school. Typically these children are in the top 10pc -- 15pc of intellectual ability. But the children who are in the top 5pc category and above are considered "high ability". These kids have enormous learning potential. They stand out from the others in three key areas -- they learn faster, earlier and differently. They are the ones who may be referred to as gifted, talented or exceptionally able.
At his last dental check-up, Stephen Corcoran stood back as he listened to his eight-and-a-half-year-old son, Andrew, discuss the various parts of the brain with his dentist. Not something most young children of his age might do. But Andrew is a particularly gifted child, and one of the high achievers in this country.
Mum, Agatha, and Dad, Stephen, from Rathcoole, first noticed the signs when their son was just nine months old. "We had been reading to Andrew since he was just a baby. But Andrew loved to follow the words intently."
It was the couple's first baby and they presumed all children behaved like Andrew. But there were other tell-tale signs that Andrew was exceptional. "As a very young baby, he began to recognise numbers, and one day he began pushing the numbers in the lift when we asked him."
signs
And then the signs got stronger. "The first time we really thought about this special ability was when Andrew was around one year and nine months," says Agatha. "We were at a friend's house, and she pointed to a window on her landing and asked what shape it was, and Andrew said 'a semi-circle'. My friend nearly fell over!"
Later on at Montessori school, Andrew took an interest in trains. "He taught me things about trains that I could never have taught him," says Agatha. "His maths teacher read a story about trains and afterwards Andrew said to her: 'You could have told them about the pantograph'."
Andrew's parents are modest about their own abilities, and claim they don't know where Andrew got his. Agatha works as a part-time book-keeper and Stephen is a communications engineer. They also have five-year-old TJ and two-year-old Finian. TJ is already showing some high ability signs. "One day, when he was two years old, I took a detour home. When we got to the junction he said 'wrong way'. So he was watching it all," says Agatha.
Andrew was assessed by an educational specialist when he was five. They were put in touch with the Irish Centre For Talented Youth (CFTY) at DCU. As a result Andrew takes extra tuition at the Centre during term time every Saturday. He has been on some of their courses, and will also take part in their summer camps.
The courses are geared for the six to seven year-olds and then the eight to 13 year olds. The older group enjoy activities such as exploring Joyce's Dublin, analysing animal bone fragments from medieval Ireland, conducting potency tests on penicillin, and discussing rocket technology with NASA astronauts.
LABEL
Agatha is reluctant to state Andrew's IQ, preferring not to give her child an unnecessary label. "His ability is just one aspect of his personality, of his whole being", she says. "It would be the same as if we had a child good at football." Despite high intelligence, Agatha explains that there can be a difference between their emotional, physical and intellectual parts.
"For example, I came across a mother of a six- year-old. She told me he adored reading, especially in the areas of astronomy, palaeontology, evolution of life, physics and Spongebob Squarepants!"
"With Andrew we just see him as a bright child who has different needs. He has great friends -- he's not a bit like a professor! Last week he wanted to be a heart surgeon, and this week a limo-driver!"
She adds: "He is happy at school. Homework is just your average run-of-the-mill exercise."
The CFTY claim that other children's abilities can go unrecognised and they can feel isolated and not understand why. Unlike many other countries, there are scant resources available in Ireland for exceptionally able kids. They say the biggest myth about intellectually able kids is that they need no help in school. The Centre claims that sometimes, instead of finding themselves at the top of the class, gifted children are left languishing unchallenged in remedial classes.
Agatha says her son is academic and loves languages. When he was six and a half, he surprised them at a Chinese restaurant when he counted to five in Chinese.
"We had to ask the waitress if he was right."
Andrew also learns Irish.
The Corcorans are not pushy parents and are not overly-protective of their children's special abilities. "We have to balance this with the whole family", adds Agatha.
"We like to give Andrew a taste for different things. He loves swimming and cycling and he will be going to scouts." They don't swamp him with after-school activities.
"Andrew is really good at maths. His last course with the Centre was on medicine and he loved it. The previous term he did board games and he has also learnt some arts and crafts.
"High ability is not something you can look for in your child, it just jumps out at you."
For further help check out: www.dcu.ie
- Brenda Woods
