Gifted Children's Program

FAQs

Mensa’s Gifted Children’s Coordinators spend a lot of time answering questions. Here are ten frequently asked questions, and their answers.

Q. What does “gifted” mean?

A. In general, it means an unusually intelligent person. To some extent, the definition depends on the person or organization that is using the term. Schools with programs for the gifted (“G&T” or “TAG” programs) usually include children who score in the top 2, 3, or 5 percent of an intelligence test, along with other criteria. Anyone who scores in the top 2% in an accepted standardized IQ test may join Mensa.

Q: Where can I go to learn more about giftedness and gifted children?

A: Start at American Mensa’s website, www.us.mensa.org. Go to “Gifted Children” in the “Quick Links” section for access to a variety of information, including a list of recommended books.

Be sure to visit the Hoagies’ Gifted Resources link, www.hoagiesgifted.com, home to the Internet’s largest collection of information on gifted children. Other important sites include www.sengifted.org, the website of SENG/Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted, and the website of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, www.ditd.org/.

The Templeton National Report on Acceleration, A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students, is essential reading for anyone who cares about gifted children. Go to www.nationdeceived.org to download the entire study, or to order a free paperback copy of Volume One.

Q: How can I find out more about Mensa’s Gifted Children’s Program?

A: For information about the national program, read the Mensa Bulletin and Interloc, and visit the GCP’s website by going to www.us.mensa.org and clicking on “Gifted Children.” For information about the local GCP, talk to the Gifted Children’s Coordinator (GCC). Contact information is in the newsletter, or on the Local Group website. If no GCC is listed, talk to the Loc Sec.

Q: How do children join Mensa?

A: American Mensa’s youngest member is three years old. However, the Mensa Admission Test given by Mensa’s proctors is standardized for people age 14 and older. Younger Mensans join by submitting a score from any one of more than 200 tests that are accepted as prior evidence. To find out if a test is accepted for Mensa membership, call 1-800-66-MENSA (63672), or email testingcoord@americanmensa.org.

Q: Do children have to be members of Mensa to attend Gifted Children’s Program (GCP) events?

A: Family members and guests of Mensa members are normally welcome to participate in all GCP activities. Children who are not affiliated with Mensa may attend GCP events as guests of the GCC to learn more about Mensa. Local Group policies may differ at the discretion of their Gifted Children’s Coordinators and Executive Committees.

Q: I know gifted children who live in another town. Could they join our Local Group?

A: Members are assigned to Mensa’s Local Groups according to their Zip Codes, although anyone may join any Local Group as a “member by preference.” Information on which areas belong to which Local Groups can be found by going to www.us.mensa.org and clicking on “Groups.”

Q: I want to volunteer to work with Young Mensans, and I have an idea for a GCP event. Who should I talk to?

A: Contact the GCC. Volunteers and ideas are always welcome!

Q: I would like to help gifted children. Are there advocacy groups for gifted children?

A. While many (or most) Mensans are advocates for gifted children, Mensa as an organization is not an advocacy group. The largest nationwide advocacy group for the gifted is the National Association for Gifted Children, or NAGC (202-785-4268, www.nagc.org). The NAGC website has information on statewide advocacy groups.

Q: Are there schools or summer camps specifically for gifted children?

A: There are few schools for the gifted, but there are many camp and supplemental education programs. GCCs and teachers of the gifted have information on local programs. The state Department of Education website may list programs in your state. To learn about other programs, start with the Hoagies’ website, www.hoagiesgifted.com. Additional information is available in the “Gifted Children” section of the AML website, www.us.mensa.org., and at the NAGC website, www.nagc.org.

Camps and schools which advertise themselves as being for the “above average” student will have some gifted children in attendance, but they are not camps for the gifted.

Q. Will the Annual Gathering (AG) have activities for Young Mensans?

A. Yes! The 2009 AG will be in Pittsburgh, PA. Kid's Trek 2009 will be conducted during the AG on July 2, 3 and 4, featuring special programs and thought-provoking fair for children ages 5-12. Teen SIG promises fun for the older Young Mensans. For more information, check the Mensa Bulletin or go to www.us.mensa.org and click on the AG icon.
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The Alphabet Soup of Giftedness

September brings the start of the academic year with its accompanying flurry of school paperwork. Gifted children's parents often receive letters filled with undefined acronyms. Here are basic definitions for the most common acronyms to have puzzled some Mensa parents in recent Septembers.

CAT: California Achievement Test: widely used in the United States

CTY: Center for Talented Youth: See JHU-CTY.

GCC, GCP: In Mensa, and in some school districts, the Gifted Children's Coordinator and Gifted Children's Program.

GT, G&T: Gifted and Talented: The definition of and qualifications for inclusion in this term vary widely from school district to school district.

HSA: Home and School Association: a parents' group in many schools (see PTA, PTO)

JHU-CTY: The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (5801 Smith Ave., #400 McAuley Hall, Baltimore, MD 21209, 410-735-4100, www.jhu.edu/cty) provides a variety of services for children in grades 2-10. It is best known for the CTY Talent Search.

LD: Learning disability: learning disabled

NAGC: The National Association for Gifted Children (1707 L Street, NW, Suite 550,
Washington, DC 20036, 202-785-4268) is the largest support and advocacy organization for gifted children in the United States. Their publications and website www.nagc.org are important resources for people who work and live with gifted children.

PTA, PTO: Parent Teacher Association: Parent School Organization, parents' groups in many schools (see HSA)

SENG: Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (P.O. Box 6074, Scottsdale, AZ 85261, 773-857-6250, www.sengifted.org), unlike other educational organizations for the gifted, deals with the emotional and social needs. It supports research and offers education in the psychology of giftedness to gifted people and the professionals who work with them. Anyone interested in giftedness can benefit from its resources.

SENG's "Online Conferences" offer a way to interact with experts on giftedness. Past speakers have included Dr. Robin Schader (the Parent Resource Specialist for the NAGC) and American Mensa's Gifted Children's Program Coordinator (GCPC), Dr. Deborah L. Ruf.

SIG: In Mensa and many other organizations, this acronym refers to a "Special Interest Group", such as Mensa's Homeschooling SIG (http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/9687/SIG.html). In other contexts SIG is usually an acronym for Summer Institute for the Gifted (River Plaza, 9 West Broad Street, Stamford, CT 06902-3788, 866-303-4744, www.giftedstudy.com), which offers summer camps for gifted children and workshops for their parents and teachers.

TAG, TAGP: Talented and Gifted, Talented and Gifted Program

2-E: Twice Exceptional: someone who is both GT and LD

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"By the age of six the average child will have completed the basic American education. From television, the child will have learned how to pick a lock, commit a fairly elaborate bank holdup, prevent wetness all day long, get the laundry twice as white, and kill people with a variety of sophisticated armaments." --Russell Baker
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(Adapted from an article written for Imprint, the Newsletter of Northern New Jersey Mensa, published in September, 2006)