4 Comments

I disagree very much with this. And it’s frustrating that this is what the majority of educators believe. Partially of course it depends on what kids you’re talking about - if we’re talking about kids in the 120 range, no, of course (generally speaking) their intelligence is not a problem in school (though it might be with a particular teacher or a particular peer group.) But if we’re talking about the 140 range then of course it is a problem - because they’re way out of the mainstream, very similarly to a kid with a below 100 IQ. And kids who have both a high IQ and a learning difference or neurodivergence often have difficulty because of that combination, which will never be able to be fully addressed if resources are only focused on fixing the deficiency part. You can’t break people up into pieces like that - intersectionality applies here. The whole child (including their boredom and mismatch of project or info depth and ability) needs to be addressed.

Expand full comment

A few things:

1. You’re assuming that our IQ tests are valid at the limits and good at distinguishing 120 vs 140 IQ. I wouldn’t be so sure.

2. Below 100 may not be “way out of the mainstream” at all. 100 is 50th percentile!

3. You’re making my point with the example of the kid with high iq and a learning difference. The learning issue is the problem rather than high IQ. Kids with high IQ and no LD will not have trouble in the same way. (That’s not to say there won’t be other issues because of course each kid has a unique profile.)

4. Of course strategies should be individualized and work differentiated as much as possible for kids across the IQ spectrum!

5. I’m writing based on literature, not belief! In this case the literature—while imperfect—supports my clinical impressions, so I am inclined to trust it.

Expand full comment

Good one, Katie. Thanks for posting this experience.

Your experience prompted me to recall the theory that high IQ leads to social-emotional problems. Rosanna Francis and colleagues examined the question of whether kids with high IQ were more likely to have emotional or behavioral problems than their peers.

Using a systematic search strategy in which intellectual giftedness was operationalized in terms of IQ score, the authors examined evidence from studies reporting on associations between this aspect of giftedness and psychopathology. A total of 18 studies met the inclusion criteria: compared gifted (IQ ≥ 125) and nongifted (IQ = 90–110) peers or used IQ as a continuous variable (IQ = 90–125+) and used empirically validated psychopathology measures. Overall, results indicated that gifted children demonstrate superior socio-emotional adjustment and fewer behavioral difficulties than their typically developing peers. Issues that may bias the findings in this direction are highlighted, including the tendency to select participants from gifted programs. Some socio-emotional and behavioral difficulties associated with giftedness were found when dimensions such as levels of giftedness and ethnicity were considered. Recommendations for future research include the use of adequate sample size, longitudinal studies, individually administered cognitive abilities tests, and specific age-appropriate psychopathology measures; and testing interaction effects between variables, such as age, ethnicity, and gender.

Francis, R., Hawes, D. J., & Abbott, M. (2016). Intellectual giftedness and psychopathology in children and adolescents: A systematic literature review. Exceptional Children, 82(3), 279-302. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402915598779

Expand full comment

Wow! Thanks for sharing. Hopefully my students are reading the comments here. I'll definitely share this with them.

...and this is why I love Substack!

Expand full comment