Many times children with unusual potential show glimpses of their developing gifts to parents and teachers. It is very easy to begin to expect too much, too soon, and to begin to value the gift over the child. In many cases, underachievement is often the reverse side of perfectionism to avoid these issues. The cartoons illustrate the surface evidences of some of these underlying tensions. There are many cases of children who performed better or made the higher grades after the pressure to do so was removed.
Professionals often have eyes to see a child in a different, more objective light.
His gifts were often hidden in bewildering behavior and he was not working up to expected capacity. We thought his array of symptoms were simply personality quirks or purposeful misbehavior. Our talk with a physician and careful reading of resource material helped us to understand our child better, and to treat some of his actions as challenges for him to meet, rather than as deficits to erase. A more understanding environment gave him the support he needed to succeed in his own way. Professional expertise can often help to clarify a child's needs.