|
Children's Category Test (CCT) - High Scores but Poor Social Skills
By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D
Q: My daughter was tested in grade 2 at the age of 7, on the CCT. She received a score of 99% on all 3 areas of the test. They say she has a remarkable memory. Is there anything special I should be doing with her. She is now in grade 3, 8 yrs old and doing mostly grade 5. Her reading level is at a grade 8 level we are told. Yet her social skills are poor and she lacks independence. Should I be concerned about the areas she lacks in. Thank you.
A: The Children's Category Test (CCT) is an individually administered instrument designed to measure nonverbal learning and memory, concept formation, and problem-solving abilities. The child's task is to identify the single conceptual rule underlying the items in each subtest. The last subtest on both levels requires the child to remember and reapply the conceptual rules from previous subtests. Your daughter scored very well on the CCT.
I am not sure what you have been doing for her but she would surely benefit from advanced and challenging work to further enhance her strengths. I assume that the school is helping her in the accelerated learning. If the school is already doing that, you would perhaps just need to monitor her progress and look into further enrichment opportunities – especially ones that she would personally enjoy. Check if she qualifies to gain admission into gifted programmes. That would surely ensure learning that matches with ability.
I would surely be concerned if she has poor social skills and lack independence. If allowed to carry on like this, she may eventually totally isolate herself, which may lead to more serious psychological problems. She may have asynchronous development – which means out of sync abilities, e.g., high abilities co‐existing with more average development in other areas. This could possibly cause emotional distress and make educational accommodations difficult leading to poor social skills and dependence.
Social skills can be taught and for your daughter, appropriate academic placement and mingling with similar minded intellectual peers can be helpful. You may want to speak to the school counsellor to help your child improve her social skills. Do read the following easy-read tips to help her as well:
http://www.everydayfamily.com/blog/6-tips-for-teaching-social-skills-to-gifted-kids/
Alternatively, join societies or associations or groups that have similar ability children and help your daughter make friends. At the same time, you can share and learn from the experiences of other parents. Wishing you all the best in your journey.
|
Checkout these other IQ questions
