A mother explains some of the challenges involved when raising a child with a high intelligence.
Teenager Andrew Farrell's IQ is in the top 1% of his age group and he is at the top end of that 1%. Dympna Farrell, Andrew's mother testifies that bringing up an intellectually gifted child is extremely difficult.
As a baby, Andrew cried constantly. In those days Dympna had no idea about gifted children. She later learned her son was crying due to boredom.
Dympna Farrell discovered the only way to keep Andrew occupied was to constantly present him with complex toys that were challenging. She often spent money that she did not have to keep Andrew quiet. Otherwise, he was very active,
It was extremely difficult to hold your patience.
Although there was never a conscious effort to encourage Andrew to read Dympna realised,
He was reading books, cover to cover, encyclopaedias, at two years of age.
Although his mother was determined that Andrew would go to school but the education system did not work out. Andrew was disruptive and eventually, he was withdrawn from school.
In hindsight, Dympna regrets pressuring Andrew to conform,
I was desperate at this stage, and I felt he just had to fit in, whether he did or not.
With Dympna’s tenacity, Andrew succeeded in O and A Level examinations. Then with the help of Valentine Rice of the School of Education at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Andrew embarked on a degree in pure mathematics when he was 13 years old. He is taking six courses, and they are all going well. His fellow students although much older are welcoming,
They treat me as one of them.
After years of intense stress Dympna Farrell is relieved to know Andrew is fully occupied at TCD. This has left a huge gap in her life but she knows she now has time to do something for herself.
This episode of 'Kenny Live’ was broadcast on 25 March 1989. The presenter is Pat Kenny.
