Written By: Duygu Çakal
If you ask this question while you are sitting with your family or friends, they will probably look at you with a mocking smile and won’t care about this “absurd” question.
However, if you are the parent of a son who was confirmed as “Highly Gifted” with a 152 IQ score, you begin analyzing yourself. This is especially true for us mothers, as scientists claim that intelligence is inherited from the mother! That's what happened to me!
I am a 39-year-old woman who is an English Teacher in Turkey. In my university education, we vaguely heard about gifted children. However, the information was very superficial, and we did not learn any detailed information about gifted children or their needs.
After learning my son's IQ and having him confirmed by experts as "Highly Gifted," I began to search for more information about gifted children. I have read many books, took part in online courses, met various specialists, and so many other things. While I was learning about gifted children, I realized that I had been a gifted child as well. I recognized all of the same characteristics of gifted children in myself as a child. Unfortunately, in my childhood years, there was no information about gifted children. My father and mother were teachers, and they had realized that I was smart, but there was nothing extra to do for smart children at that point in Turkey.
Fortunately, the concept of "Giftedness" and the idea of additional supports for gifted education arrived in Turkey approximately 10 years ago. I am very happy with that progress, which will be helpful for my son. But, I also am sad for myself, as I cannot help but imagine how my life might have been different if I was recognized as gifted as a child and if I would have had special education and support then.
In a nutshell, if you have learned about what it means to be gifted and if you wonder whether you are gifted or not and recognize yourself in the characteristics of the gifted, I bet you are! To me, giftedness is such a unique characteristic that it cannot be confused with anything!
Duygu Çakal is an English teacher from Turkey. She is 39 years old, married and the mother of a gifted boy. She, herself, is also gifted with a highly sensitive soul. Duygu loves people, animals, the sea and flowers. She also likes Turkish coffee, reading, sketching, travelling, learning, working and being with people. You can follow her on Instagram @duygu.cakal.454