{"id":42678,"date":"2025-04-15T16:09:30","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T15:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/?p=42678"},"modified":"2025-04-15T16:12:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T15:12:10","slug":"whats-wrong-with-me-theas-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/15\/whats-wrong-with-me-theas-story\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s Wrong With Me? – Thea\u2019s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]What do you do when your child feels that being different \u2013 being bright \u2013 is wrong? For the parents of Thea*, now aged 9, it has involved a mix of schooling and home education to find the right path for their anxious, super-sensitive, high potential learner.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cThea was miserable. She laid awake for hours every night in her reception year, anxious, unable to sleep, asking what was wrong with her because she was so different from the other children at school, telling us that she was bored, losing her love of learning, becoming increasingly withdrawn and socially isolated.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

I cried in every single meeting we had with the school, where I was accused of putting her under pressure to read when she proudly took in more advanced books that she was reading or being told that she was no different from any other children in her class and that we were imagining her abilities. <\/em><\/p>\n

Our concerns about her behaviour and mood at home were dismissed because they didn\u2019t see it at school. When we pointed out the differences between Thea\u2019s work and that of examples of children\u2019s work on the wall, we were told we were \u2018inappropriately assessing\u2019 other children! They assumed Thea was socially isolated because of social and communication skill difficulties, even though we told them that she mixed well with older children and adults outside of school.\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n

Thea\u2019s parents arranged for her to have an assessment of high learning potential<\/a> with Potential Plus UK. Seeing the information in black and white that she was a high potential learner and that they weren\u2019t making up Thea\u2019s abilities, gave them the confidence to advocate for her with her primary school. When the school ignored the recommendations in the report and those later from an educational psychologist involved in the case, Thea\u2019s parents withdrew her from school and started home educating her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHome education is not without its challenges \u2013 lack of funding support and the impact on our earnings of trying to manage work while home educating was really hard \u2013 however, the positives far outweighed it. Thea built up her self-identity, emotional resilience and reignited her love of learning.\u00a0 We built up a network of high learning potential peers for Thea, so she has friendships and social times when she is no longer \u2018adapting to fit in\u2019 and is proud of her high learning potential.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Eventually Thea was happy enough to consider moving onto a new school. This time around, Thea\u2019s parents got help from Potential Plus UK in understanding what kind of school she needed and what kind of adjustments the school would need to make. No primary school in the area was able to offer the adaptation and challenge she needed, so Thea was radically accelerated into secondary, where she is much happier working with older children.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinding the right school was key. Her school is flexible and creative. They know that acceleration alone isn\u2019t enough. They encourage her to work outside the box and think differently if she is bored by content or repetition.\u00a0 She is pulled out of classes for one-to-one sessions on her areas of interest so that she can work at a much more advanced level and they understand the value of non-academic interests, so she is able to take real action on social issues that interest or upset her. Non-academic things happen constantly, which offer her variety and they monitor and support her emotional needs \u2013 anxiety, sensory issues, friendship tensions.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Sensory and anxiety issues remain real problems for Thea, and her parents have been surprised by the negativity of some people\u2019s reactions; comments like \u2018doesn\u2019t acceleration damage?\u2019 \u2018didn\u2019t home education stunt her social skills?\u2019,\u00a0 \u2018surely sensory issues aren\u2019t real?\u2019 and \u2018aren\u2019t you \u201cmaking her disabled\u201d by encouraging her pride in her neurodiversity?\u2019 \u00a0reveal how misunderstood high learning potential issues can be. \u00a0However, Thea\u2019s parents know that finding the right school and the right support network have helped Thea become a much happier child.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople assume being gifted is lucky and easy. It isn\u2019t. It\u2019s just different. We think different is fabulous in our family.\u201c<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator border_width=”2″ css=””][vc_column_text css=””]*Thea\u2019s name has been changed. Read about more genuine young people with high learning potential helped by Potential Plus UK in: Family Stories<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator border_width=”2″ css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Potential Plus UK’s Advice” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:28|text_align:left|color:%23af1c63″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Anxiety and Wellbeing<\/span><\/h3>\n

At an early age, children with high learning potential can see that there is a difference between themselves and their peers. Often this can be the source of strong feelings of anxiety \u2013 thinking that there is something \u201cwrong\u201d with them.<\/p>\n

Some of the causes of anxiety in young people can be:<\/p>\n