A checklist was developed to assist parents in identifying gifted young children. The checklist was refined on the basis of several research studies, then printed in a major daily newspaper. Twenty-one parents who felt that their children fit the descriptors in the article brought their children in for testing. Sixty-six percent of the children were found to be in the gifted range on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. Those children who fit the characteristics but tested below the gifted range had all had ear infections in the first year of life, and 75% of these children had had chronic ear infections. When parents' perceptions of their children's abilities are not confirmed by test results, children may, in fact, be gifted/handicapped.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Baska, L. (1983). Are parents good identifiers of giftedness in their young children?. Unpublished manuscript. Chicago: Chicago Public Schools.
2.
Bayley, N. (1970). Development of mental abilities. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.), Carmichael's manual of child psychology (3rd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 1163–1209). New York: John Wiley.
3.
Brumbaugh, F. N., & Roshco, B. (1959). Your gifted child: A guide for parents.New York: Henry Holt.
4.
Ciha, T. E., Harris, R., Hoffman, C., & Potter, M. W. (1974). Parents as identifiers of giftedness, ignored but accurate. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 18, 191–195.
5.
Dickinson, R. M. (1956). A technique for locating and for assessing the unmet needs of gifted children in the public schools. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Denver.
6.
Dickinson, R. M. (1968). [Crucial factors in optimum use of giftedness by disadvantaged children]. Unpublished research. (Cited in R. M. Dickinson, Caring for the gifted.North Quincy, MA: Christopher, 1970).
7.
Ehrlich, V. Z. (1978). The Astor Program for Gifted Children: Prekindergarten through grade three.New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.
8.
Ehrlich, V. Z. (1982). Gifted children: A guide for parents and teachers.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
9.
Gallagher, J., & Moss, J. (1963). New concepts of intelligence and their effect on exceptional children. Exceptional Children, 30(1), 1–5.
10.
Hagen, E. (1980). Identification of the gifted.New York: Teachers Collge, Columbia University.
11.
Harter, S. (1979). Perceived Competence Scale for Children.Denver, CO: University of Denver.
12.
Harter, S., & Pike, R. (1983). Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children.Denver: University of Denver.
13.
Hollingworth, L. S. (1942). Children above 180 IQ Stanford-Binet: Origin and development.Yonkers-on-Hudson, NY: World Book.
14.
Jacobs, J. (1971). Effectiveness of teacher and parent identification of gifted children as a function of school level. Psychology in the Schools, 8(2), 140–142.
15.
Katz, E. L. (1981). Perceived competence in elementary level gifted children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Denver.
16.
Krinsky, R., Jackson, N. E., & Robinson, H. B. (1977). Analysis of parent information in the identification of precocious intellectual development in young children. In H. B. Robinson, N. E. Jackson, & W.C. Roedell (Eds.), Identification and nurturance of extraordinarily precocious young children: Annual report to the Spencer Foundation (pp. 31–44). Seattle: University of Washington, Child Development Research Group.(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 151--095)
17.
Marland, S., Jr. (1972). Education of the gifted and talented. Report to the Congress of the United States by the U. S. Commissioner of Education. Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office.
18.
Martinson, R. A. (1974). The identification of the gifted and talented.Ventura, CA: Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office.
19.
Raven, J. (1985, October 4). The identification of gifted students and the nature and development of intelligence. Inservice presentation for the Denver Public Schools.
20.
Renzulli, J. S., & Hartman, R. (1971). Scale for rating behavioral characteristics of superior students. Exceptional Children, 38, 243–248.
21.
Renzulli, J. S., Smith, F. H., White, A. J., Callahan, C. M., & Hartman, R. K. (1976). Scales for rating the behavioral characteristics of superior students (SRBCSS).Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.
22.
Richert, E. S. (1982). National report on identification: Assessment and recommendations for comprehensive identification of gifted and talented youth.Sewell, NJ: Educational Improvement Center-South.
23.
Robinson, H. B., Jackson, N. E., & Roedell, W. C. (1977). Identification and nurturance of extraordinarily precocious young children: Annual report to the Spencer Foundation.Seattle: University of Washington, Child Development Research Group.(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 151--095)
24.
Roedell, W. C., Jackson, N. E., & Robinson, H. B. (1980). Gifted young children.New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.
25.
Rogers, M. T. (1986). A comparative study of developmental traits of gifted and average children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Denver.
26.
Sattler, J. M. (1974). Assessment of children's intelligence.Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
27.
Seagoe, M. V. (1958, Summer). Some learning characteristics of gifted children. Lecture delivered at UCLA Workshop on the Gifted (Cited in R. A. Martinson, The identification of the gifted and talented.Ventura, CA: Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office, 1974).
28.
Silverman, L. K. (1983). Personality development: The pursuit of excellence. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 6, 5–19.
29.
Silverman, L. K. (in preparation-a). Gifted education: A developmental approach.Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill.
30.
Silverman, L. K.(in preparation-b). Hunting the hidden culprit in underachievement: Is it ear infections?G/C/T..
31.
Silverman, L. K., & Rogers, M. T. (1983, November 10). An instrument for early identification of the gifted. Paper presented at the National Association for Gifted Children Thirtieth Annual Convention, Philadelphia.
32.
Silverman, L. K., & Waters, J. L. (1984). Silverman/Waters Checklist for Identifying Gifted Children.Denver, CO: The Gifted Child Testing Service.
33.
Silverman, L. K., & Waters, J. L.(in press). Cognitive and social competence in gifted children. Roeper Review.
34.
Stott, L., & Ball, R. (1965). Infant and preschool mental tests: Review and evaluation. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 30, 4–42.
35.
Strong, D. J., & Fedder, D. (1961). Measurement of the self-concept: A critique of the literature. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 8, 170–178.
36.
Teele, D. W., Klein, J. O., Rosner, B. A., & The Greater Boston Otitis Media Study Group. (1984). Otitis media with effusion during the first three years of life and development of speech and language. Pediatrics, 74(2), 282–287.
37.
Terman, L. M. (1916). The measurement of intelligence: An explanation of and a complete guide for the use of the Stanford revision and extension of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale.Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
38.
Terman, L. M. (1925). Genetic studies of genius: Vol. 1. Mental and physical traits of a thousand gifted children.Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
39.
Terman, L. M., & Merrill, M. A. (1960). Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Manual for the third revision, Form L-M. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
40.
Webb, J. T., Meckstroth, E. A., & Tolan, S. S. (1982). Guiding the gifted child: A practical source for parents and teachers.Columbus: Ohio Psychology Publishing.
41.
Willard, L. S. (1968). A comparison of Culture Fair Test scores with group and individual intelligence test scores of disadvantaged Negro children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1, 584–589.
