Can children who are doing all right in school have learning difficulties? Is it possible to have learning difficulties and still do well in school?
This happens frequently, especially with children of high intelligence or who are highly creative. It is very common for creative children to devise coping strategies that allow them to “get by” even though certain tasks are very difficult for them. However, those coping strategies are much less effective than the skills that they replace, and require more time and work to complete. Very intelligent children often “slip through the cracks” because they get average grades and thus are not in danger of failing. What should be considered with such children is the often enormous discrepancy between their potential and their performance. A child with superior intelligence should not be getting average grades. A discrepancy between potential and performance should always be investigated.
