Many schools assume that gifted children will "rise to the top" and need little help, so they focus their limited resources on kids who are likely to fall behind. But that displays a deep misunderstanding of giftedness. A child who picks up concepts much more quickly than the kids around him is left with a lot of time to get into trouble or daydream. If she is constantly in trouble and told she is a problem, she will likely develop low self-esteem. And failing to challenge a gifted mind will certainly lead to under-achievement. Giftedness is largely a measure of potential. It is up to the child's environment to develop that potential.

"Over 500,000 gifted children are born every year," explains Smutny. "But teachers do not have the training to recognize them in the classroom." So only about half of the gifted children in the United States are receiving the education they need. Gifted children are often misdiagnosed as slow or suffering from attention problems.

Often when a gifted child's mind is challenged—even in just one subject area—the behavior and attention problems cease and the child starts to do well in all areas. According to the National Association for Gifted Children, "There is physical and psychological pain in being thwarted, discouraged and diminished as a person. To have ability, to feel power you are never allowed to use, can become traumatic. Many researchers consider the gifted as the largest group of under-achievers in education."

According to Smutny and the National Association for Gifted Children—as well as a host of books—gifted children need a classroom that will allow them to learn at their own speed, and one that will encourage their minds to grow. Some solutions suggested by experts:

• Compacting. This shortens the time spent on topics. Once a child has mastered a skill she isn't required to continue studying it simply because the rest of the class is.



• Cluster grouping. This groups high-ability kids together in the classroom. Independent study lets kids explore the required curriculum within a creative project—one that interests and engages them and lets them explore it more deeply.



• Acceleration lets a kid jump ahead a grade or two, sometimes only in one or two subjects, so that he can fulfill his craving for faster learning.

All of these solutions raise a problem that seems persistent with gifted kids: they are different, they know it, and other kids know it. This can lead to emotional problems, difficulty fitting into groups, and problems finding friends. But gifted kids are often happy with only one or two good friends and frequently aren't interested in joining groups. "Insisting that a child join in a group can actually exacerbate the problem," says Smutny.

When a gifted child has a deep interest in a more complex topic, Smutny suggests parents find an older child who might act as an intellectual outlet or mentor. She also suggests that parents of gifted children talk about difficult situations and how to resolve them to help the kids cope with these issues. This can be done by example; there are lots of characters in books and movies that overcome adversity.