ANSWER: According to the Schilling School for Gifted Children in Forest Park, gifted children show advanced cognitive abilities (perception, reasoning, judgment) compared with other children their age.

A gifted child:

• Uses an unusually large vocabulary.

• Reads earlier than other children.

• Has a greater understanding of the subtleties of language.

• Shows a longer attention span, persistence and intense concentration.

• Learns more quickly with less practice.

• Retains a great deal of information.

• Has a wide range of interests, highly developed curiosity.

• Is interested in experimenting, doing things differently, and puts ideas or things together in unusual ways.

School systems often test children for signs that they are gifted in specific subjects or in general.

Q: I hear that a high percentage of people are dyslexic. Does that mean they can't read because they invert letters and numbers?

A: It's not that simple. Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by difficulty with word recognition, spelling and decoding.

Experts say 10 percent to 15 percent of the population has some form of it, though to varying degrees.

"If you have a bright child, who's getting good instruction and is in school all the time but isn't learning to read, it's possible they have dyslexia," said Carol Duke, president of the Ohio Valley Branch of the International Dyslexia Association.

"Or if the kid isn't recognizing letters of the alphabet, that's a big heads-up. ... A lot of dyslexics are very verbal. Their vocabulary is very wide, so it can look like they're lazy, but they're not.

"They can't learn in the same way other children do."

Though some teachers tell parents that children will grow out of dyslexia, studies show that if a child doesn't get special help they'll likely read behind their grade level throughout school, she said.

Often, dyslexic children are taught to read, write and spell using phonics and multisensory teaching methods. Teachers must systematically teach dyslexic children the rules and practices of language, Duke said.

For instance, a child can learn the "oy" sound by saying it, tracing the letters, reading simple words containing it, and counting the number of sounds on their fingers.

When they're done, the teacher can introduce "oi" - which sounds the same - and use the same steps.

The dyslexia association is holding a series of free workshops at 7 p.m. beginning Feb. 5 at La Salle High School, 3091 North Bend Road in Monfort Heights.

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