Interview with psychologist Matías López: high capacities in children

The treatment of high capacities is one of the aspects of therapeutic and psychoeducational intervention that is usually ignored when talking about the well-being of children. However, this area of ​​work is essential for thousands of minors whose psychological characteristics they provide them with surprising abilities, but also needs to be taken into account by fathers, mothers and educators.

However... What is known in Psychology about the phenomenon of high abilities? On this occasion we talked about it with an expert on the subject, Matías Miguel López Ruiz, psychologist and member of the Barcelona Psychology Center barnapsico, so that he can talk to us about the subject based on his training and professional experience.

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Interview with Matías López, psychologist of the Area of ​​High Capacities of Barnapsico

Matías Miguel López is a general health psychologist specialist in Evaluation and Treatment of High Capabilities and in child-youth and adult psychology, among other things. He is also a psychologist and team coordinator for the Atlántida Emotional Intelligence Program for Highly Capable Children and the School for Parents.

He works at the Barnapsico psychology center, located in the Les Corts neighborhood of Barcelona, ​​where he cares for many cases of families with children with advanced abilities and various forms of precocity intellectual. In this case, he answers our questions about high abilities in childhood.

In psychology, what do we understand by high capacities? Is it the same as intellectual giftedness?

The concept of high intellectual capacities encompasses a group of people who present qualitatively and quantitatively superior intellectual characteristics in a significant to most of the population in one, several or all areas of intellectual skills (verbal, non-verbal, mathematical reasoning, memory, creativity…).

The intellectual giftedness It would be a subtype of high capacities, as can also be intellectual talents.

How is the detection of highly capable cases carried out? And to what extent is it important that the diagnosis is made early?

In principle, an initial pre-detection is carried out in order to identify possible candidates that may require the diagnostic identification phase. There are various screening questionnaires according to age, and they can be administered at the diagnostic center or in schools.

If the initial detection is positive, the diagnosis is made individually by a specialized and qualified professional. An exhaustive study like the one we do in our center usually includes cognitive tests, tests of personality and creativity, and the educational responses at a personal, school, social and familiar. In this study, the participation and involvement of the school and the family is usually requested.

On the other hand, I believe, like other professionals, that the sooner the detection is carried out, the better, in order to determine the educational needs presented by these students, and thus be able to give the most appropriate response that facilitates the development of their abilities and potentialities.

There are tests from 3 years. In young children it is usually about intellectual precocity, later and once intelligence is more crystallized, it would be advisable to carry out a study again to verify if the high capacity continues and in what shape.

In this way, it is possible to offer the student the most appropriate school treatment for their educational needs according to their cognitive and personality profile.

What are the special educational needs of gifted children?

According to the high abilities guide, these are usually the curricular adaptation, which tries to establish a large number of links or transversal relationships between the contents of the same area or several; adaptation plus curricular expansion through exposure to stimulus, development of competencies and deepening; and compaction, which allows each student to advance in the curricular material at the speed he be capable by avoiding unnecessary repetitions and maintaining attention and motivation on the job in the classroom.

As methodological strategies there are also grouping by abilities, random enrichment, work by flexible schedules, cooperative work, metacognitive training, flexibility, acceleration partial...

In my opinion, the affective and communicative bond between tutors and students is the first step to create any type of specific school treatment.

Based on your professional experience, what are the types of cognitive skills in which people with high abilities tend to excel the most?

The cognitive skills in which highly gifted people tend to excel most are verbal reasoning, which is the ability to reason, above what is expected for their age, with verbal content, they usually have a rich vocabulary and reasoning that attracts attention. His memory capacity is also striking.

However, depending on the gifted person, they may present talents in a certain area other than verbal.

In your psychology center you have designed a program of activities and workshops for children with high capacities. What is it and what is its goal?

At the center we work with the Atlántida Program, which is a program made up of psychologists and pedagogues designed to cover part of the specific needs of the children of Altas capabilities.

In addition, parents and children interact in a space of information, communication and knowledge, finding answers and constructive and positive solutions. to the socio-emotional factors that favorably affect the adequate family and school education required by the students of Altas capabilities.

What is the role of the family in the visits to the psychologist of the little ones who present these characteristics? How can you help and support your children?

Families are part of the treatment, since work is done at a systemic level with the child, the family and the school.

First, it is recommended that the family accept that it is an opportunity for the personal development of their son or daughter and not a problem. Some parents tend to come to the consultation worried, because some of these boys and girls may present, such as other children but in a different way, emotional disturbances and difficulties in their social interactions and relatives.

In these cases, I believe that it is best for the psychotherapeutic and school treatment to be carried out by highly competent professionals.

Finally, what kind of cultural changes would be necessary to take place throughout society to make it more inclusive of people with high abilities?

At present, there are laws that protect children with high capacities so that their educational needs are duly covered.

Changes are being made to sensitize the school community and facilitate an inclusive education, which includes the differential aspects of each student, since high cognitive abilities also exist, for the proper development of their personality, abilities, skills and potentialities.

This concept has the function of developing pedagogical methods and resources that are accessible to all students, thus breaking the barriers that could prevent the participation of one or the other student due to their respective individuality. One of the objectives of school inclusion is to raise awareness and involve society, especially the school community.