Much attention has been paid in recent years to the subject of giftedness. We do not intend here to delve into a subject matter that is the domain of psychologists and experts (the network of associations, research studies, trained professionals has intensified in our latitudes also). Instead, we are interested in approaching the subject as operators of an educational institution. Attention to issues concerning children, their well-being, teaching, learning and related studies, as well as the ongoing training of staff is central to our daily work.
The issue of giftedness is a complex concept, with non-universal definitions. In short, we can describe a person as gifted as one who possesses above-average intellectual potential (per age group) in one or several areas.
In order to have a giftedness profile, the IQ (intellectual quotient) assessment must be above 130, while between 120 and 130 we speak of High Potential. A person with above-standard cognitive abilities combines extraordinary intellectual resources: from above-average intelligence, to extraordinary comprehension and analysis skills; impressive memory, intense emotionality, often highly acute senses. Indeed, it might be seen as a different way of being intelligent, where the quality of thinking in the processing of data is not linear and sequential, but simultaneous. Starting from an information, a stimulus or an idea, therefore, the person with high cognitive potential will find himself immersed in a web of thoughts, a tangled net not necessarily governed by a logical process. In this way, different axes of thought develop, giving rise to a true arborescence, i.e. a tendency to reason by branching thoughts (i.e. by opening brackets), rather than in a sequential and linear manner.
If on the one hand, therefore, gifted children seem to have an advantage over their peers, on the other, they show certain characteristics that tend to become a source of deep difficulties: there is often a strong developmental dissynchrony (in the different areas: motor, emotional, social, etc.), a tendency to get bored easily if not very stimulated, difficulties in establishing positive relationships, ostracism, hyper-adaptation, emotional disorders, with consequent social and school failure.
As with any type of neurodiversity, in recent years the Ticino public school has also incorporated a series of indications aimed at recognising, accommodating and appropriately stimulating children assessed (because this is a real cognitive assessment) as gifted. Once the giftedness is identified, interventions are therefore activated aimed at promoting the child’s self-regulation strategies, ‘rebalancing’ the various growth sectors and helping the school and family in correctly taking charge and enhancing the talent. In the school context, for example, the child can be included among the Special Educational Needs (BES, in Italian) and benefit from a Personalised Educational Plan (PDP in Italian), feeling stimulated and recognised in his skills, but also and above all understood in his emotional and relational difficulties.
Present for several years in Ticino and beyond, the association Zetapiesse – Rete insubrica per l’alto potenziale cognitivo e il talento passionately promotes a series of initiatives aimed at informing, sensitising, training professionals (as well as supporting the protagonists!) in the field of giftedness.
Fondazione Medacta for Life supports and promotes the activities of Zetapiesse. Having already attended trainings for teachers and educators provided by the association on the subject, the foundation is now sponsoring (as well as benefiting from) the next International Conference organised by ZPS: The Emperor’s New Clothes: High Potential, Double Exceptionality and Executive Functions – 7/8 September 2024.
Info and registration on Zetapiesse website.
