Jess Casey: Being a gifted child is no advantage in our education system

Education specialists and the mother of a 'twice-exceptional' child explode the myth that 'the bright kids in the class will be fine by themselves'

A conundrum facing gifted children and their parents and teachers is that special education teaching is geared towards those who are falling behind in tests — but gifted children are often far ahead. Picture: iStock

Deirdre Jacob knew early on that her son was different from other children.

At the age of two and a half, he started to develop an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the names and different classifications of dinosaurs, animals, and sea creatures inspired by a love of watching National Geographic.