Columbia Studying How Children Who Are Unique
 

For those who are interested in a study being conducted by Columbia University, we received this letter today.

Dear Daycare.com,

We are researchers at Columbia University's Paul F. Lazarsfeld Center for the Social Sciences studying how children who are unique in some way are identified and developed. We are currently collecting stories from parents with children who have been identified as gifted, children who have unique artistic, scientific, or physical abilities, children on the autism spectrum, and children who have been identified as having attention disorders. We think participation in this study would be of great interest to parents who participate in your organization, and we would like to invite you to share it with them.

While all children are unique, the goal of our study is to identify how children with unique developmental abilities or trajectories develop over early childhood. Parents have different experiences and observations of their child's development and they have different personal resources with which they access services or programs. Parents also differ in the type and extent of their support networks and social relations. And finally, parents make different decisions when finding the right academic, extra-curricular, or other placements for their children. We would like to give parents the chance to tell their stories. Survey responses will help us understand the experiences of unique children as well as their development over time.

We are collecting stories of parents of unique children through an online, semi-structured survey: http://uniquechildstudy.org. You could help our research tremendously by encouraging parents to participate in our study.

We thank you in advance for taking the time to read through this invitation and for considering sharing our survey with your network of parents. Please feel free to contact us via e-mail at uniquechildstudy@columbia.edu or by telephone at 212-854-3440 with any questions that you may have. You can also find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Unique...71533039569039.

Sincerely,
Peter Bearman, Principal Investigator
Cole Professor of the Social Sciences

I did a little checking on this and it sounds interesting.

I can't figure out how they are combining attention defecit with the gifted though.

I haven't researched attention defecit to see what the connection is with giftedness so I don't get the correlation if there is one.

Nan, I didn't take the time to look at the site or how they were combining things, but...

I wouldn't call me dd gifted, however she scores in the upper 9O's percentile on CogAt test and in the 99th percentile on standardized testing. My ds has ADHD...the behaviors in both kids are really similar.

I'll have to take some time and take a good look. Very interesting!

I did the survey. My oldest is ADHD AND Gifted. ;)
They do run hand in hand - they also have very similar "symptoms".

I've known children who fit every category they list and I see a similarity in the difficulties that each of their parent's had to face.

I think it will be a fun study...:Sunny:

My DD is labeled "gifted", my DS1 is labeled ADHD AND "gifted" and my DS2 is labeled "athletically inclined".

:confused:

IMHO,

My DD is outgoing, funny, respectful, a great auditory learner and does her homework/turns it in on time ON TIME and causes no classroom disruptions leading to the "gifted" label.

DS1 is quick to pick up new things and get bored OUT OF HIS MIND to have to sit for another 40 minutes while the rest of the class catches up since he is a graphic learner. While he sits, he fidgets, draws, goofs and day dreams (hence the ADHD part). Once the assignments and standardized tests are added up he always gets the highest grades in the class....hence the "gifted" label.

DS2 does what is expected, is respectful, shy, introverted, tends to blend a bit in the classroom and is more of a tactile learner. On the sports field he stands out...if you can throw it, kick it or hit it..he is your man hence the "Athletically inclined" label.

The CRAZY thing is they all would have been considered NORMAL happy, healthy KIDS when I was in school....They would not have been labeled. :cool:

I remember the "gifted" kids we had were moved up like 4-5 grades ahead of us. "Gifted" meant something else....

.

You are to be applauded for embracing the differences in your children. :Sunny:

We refer to ours as "polar opposites". Together they would make the perfect child. But... alas.. you can't have it all! :lol: (at least I can't) :ouch:

Originally Posted by Catherder:
I think it will be a fun study...:Sunny:

My DD is labeled "gifted", my DS1 is labeled ADHD AND "gifted" and my DS2 is labeled "athletically inclined".

:confused:

IMHO,

My DD is outgoing, funny, respectful, a great auditory learner and does her homework/turns it in on time ON TIME and causes no classroom disruptions leading to the "gifted" label.

DS1 is quick to pick up new things and get bored OUT OF HIS MIND to have to sit for another 40 minutes while the rest of the class catches up since he is a graphic learner. While he sits, he fidgets, draws, goofs and day dreams (hence the ADHD part). Once the assignments and standardized tests are added up he always gets the highest grades in the class....hence the "gifted" label.

DS2 does what is expected, is respectful, shy, introverted, tends to blend a bit in the classroom and is more of a tactile learner. On the sports field he stands out...if you can throw it, kick it or hit it..he is your man hence the "Athletically inclined" label.

The CRAZY thing is they all would have been considered NORMAL happy, healthy KIDS when I was in school....They would not have been labeled. :cool:

I remember the "gifted" kids we had were moved up like 4-5 grades ahead of us. "Gifted" meant something else....

.

I do think "gifted" means something else just about everywhere you go. In our school system a straight A student with standardized testing scores above the 98th percentile would NOT be considered gifted. They would be referred for additional testing.

If on a CogAt test they performed in a MINIMUM of the 98th percentile they would be considered gifted and (if the parents choose) would be able to access special education services.

Less than 98% and they would be offered "challenge" classes (pull-outs) designed to provide a more challenging curriculum in addition to regular coursework for "talented" children.

Labeling is really only useful if it is used to provide or access additional services (funding) by meeting State and Federal standards of "giftedness" same with ADHD...the point being to provide extra services to those kids who need it.