Her students too enjoy the challenge that they can extend their vocabulary and that there is power in a wider vocabulary. Maybe it is writing where some students have difficulty. Acknowledging when they learn to write more in a given time lifts them over one of the big barriers to learning. It is empowering for them to see that they can move ahead and get to different milestones, and even better if they can set their own milestones. A common fallacy about giftedness is that it is always positive and makes life and schooling easy, whereas in actual fact it can be a burden to carry.
Many adults can respect the giftedness and any unusual actions and reactions that result from it.
Peers often hold back and may refer to the gifted person in derogatory terms. Sometimes the gifted child can be out of sync in development so that a young child might be ahead intellectually and emotionally but be developing physically at a slower rate. This could mean that in intellectual exercises the child may be ahead, but in learning to ride a bike, for instance, slow to learn such a skill. Bernadette remembers teaching music to a seven year old child who could understand all that was involved, but with her tiny fingers she could not span the keys - a frustrating experience. It can be worrying for the child and a matter of concern for the parents.