Louise's* daughter was six years old when she first told her mother every second at school felt 'like an hour'.
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"To hear your child express that is alarming. She's definitely not a drama queen; she was trying to express to me that sitting there [in class], was soul-destroyingly boring. She was disengaged," Louise said.
Louise's daughter is gifted and, at 10 years old, she can easily grasp some coursework that is set for grade seven students.
However, school has not been an easy road for Louise's daughter, nor is it easy for many gifted children in Tasmania, because of a lack of support structures in place.
"Last year she just point blank refused to go to school," Louise said.
"On my darker days I keep thinking 'if teachers can't teach and engage someone who so desperately wants to learn, what hope is there for kids who don't love learning?'"
It took five months of home schooling and considering leaving Launceston and Tasmania, before Louise and her family were able to get her daughter back into a positive place and back at school.
She said not feeling heard at school devastated her daughter's self-confidence.
"When you lose your self-esteem and all the other things happen; bullies step in and anxiety builds; it definitely became a mental health issue for her," Louise said.
"She lost her spark."
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Louise said her daughter ticked all the boxes for gifted children but it wasn't until psychological testing had been done during the time she was out of school that they discovered the breadth of her daughter's ability.
However, that giftedness has been a double-edged sword for Louise and her family.
I dislike the word 'gifted'; my child says she doesn't want to be this way and parents wouldn't wish for the everyday struggles and difficulties it involves," she said.
"But mostly, I dislike the word 'gifted' for the misconceptions and unfairness it attracts. People dismiss your child, and any concerns you have, with "oh a gifted child, how easy they have it, they will be fine without any help.'"
Louise's story is not unfamiliar among parents of gifted children, with mental health issues and poor educational outcomes rife among those who are classified as 'gifted'.
For Jane, it has been common in her household for her son, aged 7, to have regular outbursts and meltdowns when he comes home from school.
He is classified as what's known as a 2E child - one that is gifted in some areas but also has a learning difficulty.
"He is the kind of boy that cares a lot about what people think, so he will keep it together enough until he gets home, when he's in that safe space," she said.
Jane said her son was her first child, so she didn't have any idea that he was gifted because she had no reference.
"We were actually going down a path for him to be tested and diagnosed with ADHD," she said.
As part of that assessment, cognitive testing revealed he was actually a gifted child in some areas.
Jane's son was able to count 'into the hundreds' and spell his own name before he was three years old.
"I didn't think that it was any different; I had an inkling that it was more than was expected of Kindergarten-aged children but I thought it was just where his interests lay," Jane said.
She said it was not something they actively encouraged as a family, but they indulged is love of learning.
"Just like kids learn to crawl and walk, my son learned how to spell and count," she said.
However, Jane echoed the sentiments made by Louise that her son was not provided with enough support from his school, because his teachers were unable to extend his learning far enough.
"The class teachers were trying their best but extension programs (including Gifted Online) were not available to support the child and teacher. The system at the moment makes a gifted child just one more challenge for the teacher to manage in class."
"It was the fact that he didn't quite understand how the teacher wanted him to so his perception was different.
"We had behavioural issues manifest in him from about age 3."
Despite their concerns, Louise and Jane said they enjoyed their children just the way they were.
"I love my children and I wouldn't want to change them for the world," Jane said
"But when your children have these issues you have to become an advocate for them."
Louise said she advocated strongly on her daughter's behalf in the school and wider communities, because there were often misconceptions around giftedness.
"Ideally if you have a problem you work to fix it but for us it's the education system and the attitudes around gifted kids. There's a lack of understanding and it's really rare to find someone who will sit down and tell you 'yeah, gifted kids get a raw deal here'.
"Teachers are doing an amazing job with resources and time they have in a system where gifted children little or no support."
The pair said their children had been subject to bullying in the past and that other parents and teachers had judged them when they 'went in to bat' for their children.
"I find that quite a lot - even with the parent teacher mix," Louise said.
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"There is this whole [idea] that your child's only problem is she's too young for that grade and she's emotionally immature."
Louise and Jane said they wished there were more support from the Education Department about the challenges gifted children face in Tasmania.
Louise knew of the Education Department's procedures for gifted children and the Gifted Online courses.
However, the school her child attended did not. While the procedures clearly exist, they were not used to identify or work with gifted children at that school.
Louise said Gifted Online is a fantastic resource for gifted kids "if you are one of the lucky ones who can access it."
"We were advised it is fully subscribed and they have a large waiting list, we were told "maybe you will get in next year," she said.
Jane said she didn't know about early entry into Kindergarten was available for her son if she wanted to pursue it - she enrolled him in early learning at a school in Launceston but said information was scarce.
"Once we had the diagnosis I was given some information from the psychologist but that was it, there was no follow up," she said.
Louise said for parents trying to access early intervention programs was can be a difficult and expensive process, some families decided to up and leave Tasmania.
She said she knew of at least one family who had decided to uproot and leave Tasmania for Melbourne to access the gifted education programs there and some can't afford the costs to apply.
Both parents are Northern Tasmanian and have their children enrolled in Launceston schools.
*Names have been changed at the request of the families to protect the children's identities.
- If you think you have a gifted child in your family, contact Tasmanian Association for the Gifted on 0467 528 048. Gifted Awareness Week runs from March 17-23.
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