by Jennifer M
(Currents September 2003, Children's Corner Column)

Unlike in the United States, future teachers in Germany are not educated in the field of recognizing and supporting gifted children in the school system. Therefore, it is up to us as parents raising our children in Germany to be on the lookout for giftedness in our children ourselves. The term "highly gifted," in German hochbegabt, is a technical classification for those whose I. Q. is 130 or higher. The only accurate way to determine if your child is highly gifted is to have him or her professionally tested; however, using the list below, you can at least see if your child is potentially highly gifted and then go from there.

Signs of giftedness (taken from www.kidsource.com):

• unusual alertness in infancy


• less need for sleep in infancy


• long attention span


• high activity level


• smiling or recognizing caretakers early


• intense reactions to noise, pain or frustration


• advanced progression through the developmental stages


• extraordinary memory


• enjoyment and speed of learning


• fascination with books and reading


• excellent sense of humor


• abstract reasoning and problem-solving skills


• vivid imagination


• sensitivity and compassion

Typical of gifted children is that they develop asynchronously, meaning that they might read at a 4th grade level, do math at a 12th grade level but only share their toys at a 2-year-old's level. This is because their cognitive development exceeds their physical and emotional development by leaps and bounds. Another complication is that this advanced cognitive development often brings gifted children into contact with topics and concepts for which their emotional development is not mature enough to process.

Parents must act as advocates for their gifted children, especially in Germany where giftedness is not often recognized and, only with difficulty, adequately supported in the public school system. Since parents are the first source of learning for children, it is important that they set a good example and offer appropriate educational enrichment opportunities in the home. Parents should read as much as possible with their children, even after the children can read themselves. They should help their gifted child explore a variety of fields, such as science, music, math, art and sports and encourage interest in any particular field with in depth involvement, such as special classes or afternoon activities. It is also very important to find intellectual peers for gifted children to interact with.

Even though the proper support of gifted children is hard to come by in Germany, it is not impossible. The Department of Education in the state of Hamburg, as a matter of fact, has a special advisory council for specially gifted children called the Beratungsstelle besondere Begabungen (www.BbB-HH.de). You can call and make an appointment for a telephone interview with one of their counselors at tel (040) 428 63 29 29. They will send you an information packet, in German of course, with a questionnaire about your child to be filled out prior to your telephone interview. Another source of information is the Deutsche Gesellschaft für das hochbegabte Kind e.V., www.dghk.de, tel (030) 711 77 18. They will also send you information in German about providing the proper educational enrichment for a gifted child. You can also read a book edited by them, Im Labyrinth.

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