Children go through many changes in their lives. Like adults, sometimes they are up and sometimes they are down. From the time that they are very young, many children start to display some type of intellectual prowess that seems to exceed that of their peers. As parents, we get very excited as they discover and learn, apparently faster than all of the other children. It is then that we, in our minds, identify or label them as "gifted". So, why, at age 9 is our "gifted" little child prodigy lagging behind in his grades?  

While there are many tests and psychological evaluations that can be administered to determine if a child is, in fact, intellectually superior, the reality is, for many of us, we already have it made up in our minds. We believe that we know how smart our child is and, as such, we create our own ideal of what they can and should do. We set the expectation, and sometimes, we can disappoint ourselves trying to make our children be what we want or feel that they can be. Underachieving is a very subjective label. It is usually given when a child does not meet their parents or possibly, their teachers’ expectations. The adults in their lives feel like they can "do more" or better. It is not a concrete or permanent thing. It is a behavior that can be modified.  

Those who seem to underachieve based on what is perceived as their lack of realizing their potential, often have a skewed self image and sometimes low self-esteem. They may have already decided that they don't "need" to work any harder and, to them, their grades are fine. Often, what they consider fine is actually just enough not to fail out. For some underachievers, they don't get excited about academics or any mental challenge. They often may think very highly of themselves and take great pride in knowing that if they want to, they can exceed everyone, but they are actively "choosing" not to do their best. This can be extremely unnerving, tiring, and frustrating for a family. As we, generally, want the best for children and strive to instill good work ethics in them.

What are some strategies for motivating the gifted student to perform at or above par?

 1. Recognize when they try to do things, versus only when they seem to do well with a task. Just by them taking the time to put forth the effort to accomplish a task speaks to their ability to eventually succeed at it.
 

2. Help identify their strengths and encourage exploration for helping to overcome what is considered an academic weakness.

 
3. Listen to them, support and encourage them. The child may be exhibiting this behavior because of a more deeply rooted issue. Don't brush their feelings aside. Their ability to achieve could be relative to the support that they receive.

 
4. Learning is a lifelong adventure that you can introduce your child to at an early age. If you, as a parent, take the time to teach and share knowledge with your child, they, too, will grow to love to learn. Your encouragement can make a lot of difference.

 
5. Be a pattern of good works. Your child will learn more from you than you realize. If you belittle them or not provide the support and motivation that they need, they could grow to resent learning and develop underachieving behaviors. Curtail this by being a perfect role model.

 
6. Get them some help. They may need special learning partners and training that will help them to realize their potential. They also may need to work at a slower pace than the rest of the class, for whatever reason.

 
Underachieving is a behavior that can be corrected or unlearned with patience, dedication, and time. You cannot live your child's life for them. They have to do that. No matter what the tests say, gifted or not, at, below, or above par. The truth is that your child can be successful, as successful as they feel that they can be. You can only lead and guide them and hope that they make decisions that will work for their good. That includes understanding the benefits of learning, taking advantage of life learning opportunities, and being the best that you can be at all times. Help them to make success their goal. It's a goal that they can achieve with your support, encouragement, and praise.

What Is Dyslexia and What Does It Look Like?

There are millions of people that have difficulty reading at the standard level for their age and education. Some will struggle due to their failure to understand how to read, because they do not recognize letter or understand phonetics and letter blends. Others, will have vision problems that hinder their reading. Still, there is a group that will lack the ability to read fluently because they are dyslexic.

 
What is dyslexia? Dyslexia is a learning disability, not a physical disorder caused by vision problems or a psychological problem. Simply put, the brain is inefficiently processing language. Reading, writing in the correct order, or spelling is hindered because of this neurological disorder. It does not mean that the person suffering from dyslexia has a lower IQ or that they are not "teachable". They just have a harder time deciphering letters and words, which makes reading and spelling a laborious chore. In fact, extremely bright people sometimes are dyslexic. It appears in people at all levels of intelligent. Actually, dyslexics are sometimes considered to be exceptionally creative people.

 
What does it look like? Here is a listing of some of the signs that someone may be dyslexic:
 

·                     Transposing letters or writing them the wrong direction.

·                     Have problems learning the alphabet, verbally or visually.

·                     Have a difficult time learning and identifying the sounds of letters.

·                     Have a hard time speaking when they are supposed to.

·                     Have speech problems such as inability to pronounce basic words or talking so that                       people can't understand them.

·                     Slow or poor handwriting.

·                     Clumsiness or poor motor skills.

·                     Have problems naming things or identifying the "right" or most appropriate words                           when writing or speaking.
 

If detected early, there are tools and programs set up to help dyslexic children. Organizations such as Reading For The Blind & Dyslexic (RFBD) can make a significant difference in a dyslexic's ability to improve their verbal and written skills.

 
Dyslexia, unfortunately, has no cure. It is a disorder that people will live with for their entire life. However, there are many great resources, treatments, remedial programs, and support organizations out there to make living with the disorder a little more manageable. If they are willing to try, they can get better with time, training, practice, and an abundance of patience.