Table Of ContentHELPING THE CHILD OF EXCEPTIONAL
ABILITY
ROUTLEDGE SPECIAL EDUCATION SERIES
Edited by Bill Gillham, Department of Psychology, University of
Strathclyde
ENCOURAGING LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Phyllis Hastings and Bessie Hayes
INDEPENDENCE TRAINING FOR VISUALLY HANDICAPPED
CHILDREN
Doris W.Tooze
WORK PREPARATION FOR THE HANDICAPPED
David Hutchinson
TOYS AND PLAY FOR THE HANDICAPPED CHILD
Barbara Riddick
TEACHING POOR READERS IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL
Christine Cassell
TEACHING READING TO MENTALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN
JamesThatcher
DAILY LIVING WITH A HANDICAPPED CHILD
Diana Millard
HANDICAPPING CONDITIONS IN CHILDREN
Bill Gillham
A BASIC ATTAINMENTS PROGRAMME FOR YOUNG MENTALLY
HANDICAPPED CHILDREN
Bill Gillham
Series Foreword
The Routledge Special Education Series is explicitly intended to give
experienced practitioners in the helping services the opportunity to present a
wide range of remedial programmes and techniques which they have developed
in practice. The basis of the editorial policy is the belief that there exists much
‘good practice’ which warrants wider dissemination in book form. The present
project is, therefore, concerned with the communication of ideas and methods
developed by those who use them in their working lives.
Helping the Child of Exceptional Ability is a book for teachers and parents,
and anyone else who seeks to understand more about ‘giftedness’ and the way it
can affect a child’s progress and relationships. It is not a document based on
formal research, nor does it seek to be a teaching manual. It presents a personal
view of the implications for a child, the family and the school, when that child
demonstrates exceptional talents or precocious intellectual ability.
B.G.
Helping the Child of
Exceptional Ability
SUSAN LEYDEN
First published 1985 by Croom Helm Ltd
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection
of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
© 1985 Susan Leyden
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Leyden, Susan
Helping the child of exceptional ability
(Routledge special education series)
1. Gifted children—Education.
I. Title
371.95 LC3993
ISBN 0-203-97397-6 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-415-05173-8 (Print Edition)
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1. Introduction: Beyond ‘Normal’ Expectation 1
Chapter 2. Infant Stages 5
Crying 7
Sleep 10
Play and Exploration 12
The Development of the Self Concept 16
Chapter 3. The Pre-school Years 19
Widening Horizons 19
Relating to Other Children 20
Family Relationships 25
Chapter 4. Formal Schooling Begins: The Case for Partnership 29
Two ‘Problems’ for the Psychologist 29
Reviewing Teaching Methods and Resources 34
Reducing a Child’s Frustration 35
Avoiding Isolation 36
Chapter 5. Individual Needs and Collective Rights: A Question 39
of Balance in the Primary Years
Pupils: 39
Belonging to a Group
Experiencing Success and Risking Failure
Learning Styles
Personal Contact Time
vi
Teachers: 45
Personal and Professional Qualities
Resources and Support Within the School
Parents: 50
Shared Help and Information
Parents’ Expectations
Chapter 6. Transition: A Case for Professional Co-operation 53
Puberty 55
The Implications for Exceptional Children 56
Ways of Meeting the Problem 57
Chapter 7. The Secondary Phase: Adolescence Exemplified 61
Chapter 8. Creating a Climate for Growth 67
The Recognition of Exceptional Intellectual Ability 68
Class Organisation and Learning Opportunities 72
The Prejudice of Sex Stereotypes 77
The Handicap of High Achievement 81
Endpiece 85
Appendix A. Summary of Methods Used for Assessing Ability 87
Appendix B. Intelligence Testing and Exceptional Ability 89
Appendix C. Behavioural Checklists to Help in the Recognition of 91
Exceptional Ability
Appendix D. Bloom’s Taxonomy 93
Appendix E. Providing Opportunities for Intellectual Growth 95
Further Reading 99
About the Author 103
Index 105
Preface
Public interest in the care and education of exceptionally able children tends to wax
and wane according to current political and economic concerns. Whether or not
such interest is topical or fashionable at any given time, the fact remains that
exceptionally able children exist. They live within their families; they attend our
schools; they are loved and cared for by their parents; and they are taught and
guided by their teachers. Parents and teachers are not primarily concerned
whether there is a national interest in certain labelled groups of children. They
are concerned with individuals, with the child they know; and for whom they
strive to do their best to promote a healthy and happy development.
Exceptionally able children are first and foremost children. Their need for love,
understanding and acceptance is as great as that of any other child. Love may be
readily available to them. Understanding and acceptance may prove more
difficult.
The picture presented here is the result of several years spent working with
pupils, parents and teachers, and of listening to children describe their
experiences. The interpretation owes much to the author’s own search for
understanding about the growth of self-knowledge and the management of
relationships. All children described are based on actual case studies, though the
names and some details have been altered in the interests of maintaining
confidentiality.
The book could not have been written without encouragement and support
from many people, particularly Ethel Milroy for the experience and wisdom she
so generously shared; Bill Gillham for suggesting it in the first place, and for
constant trust in its development; Gervase Leyden for his support and patience,
and helpful comment. I am grateful for the excellent photographs by Jan
Siegieda and Sam Grainger (p. 16) which illustrate the book, while Marvin
Close’s witty cartoons prevent it from being altogether too serious. Above all,
thanks must be due to the children themselves and their parents, who through
their generosity and willingness to share their thoughts enabled me to learn.
S.L.
viii
CHAPTER 1
Introduction: Beyond ‘Normal’ Expectation
Katie was a startlingly pretty child with a mass of auburn curls, huge blue eyes,
and dimples. She sang with a true clear voice, took dancing and guitar lessons,
and enjoyed writing stories. She was an avid reader. She was also an out-going
child, very much at ease in the company of adults whom she liked to entertain
with bright social conversation. She was confident in manner, even a little
gracious. Her parents adored her; I disliked her on sight. For Katie was only 3
years old. Poor Katie. Apart from her doting parents, no-one felt comfortable in
her presence. Everything about her jarred one’s expectations.
First there was the contrast within the family. Both parents were in their late
40s when Katie was born, and both were as plain as she was beautiful. They
were usually taken to be her grandparents. Then there was the mismatch between
her age and the manner and content of her conversation. The unexpectedness of
it, the discomfort of being addressed in such adult terms by such a tiny child
aroused a sense of indignation and disapproval in those who met her. On top of
all this were the surprising accomplishments. A 3-year-old is just not expected to
be able to do all the things that she did, and with such evident enthusiasm. Katie
was something discordant. She was an exceptional child— and no-one liked her.
Another example. A friend came to tea bringing with him Anthony, his 9-year-
old son. Seated round the table we talked of this and that, of mundane affairs,
ordinary concerns, until someone asked the boy about his interest in some
science project. From an awkward and rather taciturn lad, he became
transformed: his eyes lit up, his hands moved rapidly in the air, words poured
forth—theories were expounded, experiments explained in lengthy and (for us)
confusing detail, research findings elaborated, hypotheses raised only to be
discarded, and the whole peppered with references and personages and texts
beyond the understanding and experience of any others present. The rest of the
company watched with mounting feelings of amazement and dismay. I
remember thinking that we were hearing something remarkable, that Anthony
was displaying a level of understanding and knowledge that was not at all in
keeping with his age. I was also aware of the general discomfort and unease that
this was causing. We simply did not know how to respond. We understood
almost nothing of what he was saying. He, on the other hand, was so engrossed
in his subject, and so caught up in the telling, that he left no room at all for the
