Parent one: I’m not really sure there was a particular time that we suddenly thought, “Oh, he’s a gifted child” we’ve just always known him to be him who was a child who just had incredible thirst for knowledge.
Parent two: We probably noticed his giftedness when he first started to talk, he was a bit early to talk and developed a large vocabulary fairly quickly.
Voice Over: All children are entitled to an education that is engaging and challenging to help them reach their full potential. This includes young children whose development exceeds age typical expectations and those with potential for advanced learning in one or more areas.
Dr. Anne Grant (researcher): The online resource booklet is principally to provide support for educators and early childhood professionals. We wanted to provide them with characteristic behaviours, we wanted to provide them with support for their learning programs and for families as well, so that they understand the development of their children and what they can expect from the learning environment.
Suzana Zaper (early childhood educator): Early identification in early childhood is really important because from the first minute you will learn how to address this child, how to provide the best opportunity for the child, what is the best option, what is the best pathway for this child to travel in order to achieve his or her best.
Parent two: He’s having a good kinder experience that is tailored to his interests and how he learns.
Parent one: They know so much about him and they know exactly where his interests lie and they know exactly what might engage his interest and encourage him to stretch himself and learn something new.
Dr Anne Grant (researcher): It’s important to respond to the needs of very young gifted and talented children because development starts right from the very beginning and they need to learn that they’re going to be provided with stimulating learning and that they are learners. Research has told us that when this doesn’t happen, that problems can start for these children – the child becomes unhappy and doesn’t settle well, doesn’t become engaged in the learning environment. This can be an uncertain time for parents too, so they often need the early childhood professional to reinforce for them that their child is developing in a positive way and what their role as a parent can be.
Voice Over: That’s why we’ve produced the Making a Difference for Young Gifted and Talented Children online resource to help you to identify young gifted children and plan activities that support their learning.
(early childhood educator and children talking in the background)
Parent two: If he hadn’t had access to this level of education, he would probably be a bit more narrow, he probably wouldn’t have been exposed to as many things as he has and he possibly would not be as adaptable.
Parent one: He’s just absolutely flourished.
Voice Over: Gifted and talented children are in every community and come from all backgrounds. Identifying gifted children early in their development encourages and supports them to realise their full potential. By pursuing their passions and talents, we can help them establish a love of learning – for life. See the resource to find out how you can make a difference.