Many gifted children are mis-diagnosed as developmentally delayed, according to an article in The New York Times (free, registration required).  In fact, because some behaviors are similar, about 25% of gifted children are treated as delayed, and no one ever realizes they are actually gifted.  It is important for parents to make sure their gifted children received the proper attention.  According to the article, “Preschool and the early grades generally turn off gifted kids: they are told to stop asking so many questions and wait their turn. They need an appropriate learning environment. If not, seeds for underachievement are sown.”

This was an eye-opening article for me.  It is scary to think that as parents, we need to bone up on child development specialty knowledge to make sure our children do not fall through the cracks, but that appears to be the case.  The statistics of mis-diagnosis are very concerning, and makes you wonder if more testing should be done in schools to make sure that children are placed appropriately.  It is a tough call.