Assessing Potential
The Age
Wednesday May 23, 2001
MICHAEL and his wife assumed their daughter was pretty ``normal". After all, didn't every 18-month-old, sucking on a dummy, confidently work on the computer, he joked at the information night run by the CHIP (Children of High Intellectual Potential) Foundation.
Several years on, Michael helped out in his daughter's class. The other children worked steadily at their two-times table, but his daughter was ``miles away" and even gave the wrong answer. But that didn't make sense, Michael says, because she had learnt her tables years ago.
Michael and his wife had her assessed and learnt that she - and later her brother - had high intellectual potential.
``Teachers don't know your children when they start school and they expect them to learn the same things," Michael says. ``They don't understand that these children learn differently. They may have heard about giftedness and, if they've been lucky, they've had an hour's lecture on it in college."
Like many parents of CHIP children, Michael and his wife battled to make schools understand his daughter's needs. (It's not unusual for these children to go to a number of schools, he adds.)
At one point, when his daughter was tearful and complaining of ``tummy aches", they were summoned to the headmaster's office and told: ``You have to put your faith into the school and butt out, or else leave the school."
Despite their difficulties, Michael says the assessment gave them more confidence in approaching schools with their concerns and made teachers more willing to listen to them. Another parent, Heather, says assessment of her son, who had taught himself to read when he was three, ``resolved a lot of issues".
``We felt he was bright and loved learning, but we weren't sure if he was a CHIP child," Heather says. ``When we had him assessed, we went through a range of emotions. We were relieved and pleased that our intuitions were right, but it was a very intense time." She read as much as she could on giftedness and talked to many schools. ``If the principal isn't interested, then don't go there," she advises parents. ``The assessment meant we could take it to schools. Our son started at an accelerated level and it proved to be the right decision academically and socially."
Another parent, Adina, discovered that her four children had high intellectual potential. ``We found the assessments enormously helpful, particularly when dealing with teachers," she says. ``Often they are misled by a child who is struggling to learn and they take the view that you're a pushy parent. You need to have the strength to say: `You're making a mistake'. The assessment assisted us to do this."
Psychiatrist Dr John Davis says schools generally coped well with children whose IQs were up to 130. ``But the further they are from 130, then the more difficult they will find school. That's why we need to know how high their IQ is."
For example, children with an IQ between 130 and 144 require advanced work, some form of ability grouping, some subject acceleration or early entry to school. Those with an IQ of 145 to 159 require challenging academic enrichments and fast-paced work, and children with an IQ between 160 and 179 need an individualised program, advanced placement and radical acceleration.
James Brown, an extension studies coordinator at an independent school, advises parents to approach teachers in a positive (``let's work together to achieve common goals") rather than confrontational (``here's my child's IQ test, do something about it") manner. ``Most teachers have the learning outcomes of their charges at heart and they want to see progress in their class," he says. ``But many don't have a lot of experience working with gifted children."
It is important that parents get a high-quality assessment (including the child's background, strengths and learning styles) so that teachers take it seriously, he says. Parents should also seek an ``ally" in the school, such as the principal, special needs teacher, classroom teacher or the secretary.
The two most commonly used assessments - the Stanford-Binet and Wechsler intelligence scales - are required to be administered by registered psychologists, who usually charge for the service.
* Parents' surnames withheld at their request.
© 2001 The Age