Mensa can help gifted children a lot. Mensa is a social club whose sole purpose is to provide a venue for the enjoyment and social contact of its members, and gifted children very badly need opportunities to interact socially with other children like themselves. Ideally, Mensa would be the best possible social group for gifted children to grow up in, bridging from school and even pre-school, through to adulthood. At present in Australia this ideal is only an aim, but Australian Mensa is trying to work towards it.
In recent years, as the problems of gifted children have become better understood, it has been realised that having a "peer group" of highly intelligent people is one of the most important needs gifted children have. Mensa is ideally suited to provide such a peer group, which a child can join and within which she or he can grow up. However, this aspect of Australian Mensa is at the cutting edge; at present Australian Mensa welcomes children as members, but does not yet have large numbers of child members in most areas.
Currently Australian Mensa's greatest need, in order to expand its social involvement for child members, is for adults who have a real interest in this role of Mensa to join, so that they can help to organise and support suitable events and functions. Parents of gifted children (only one parent need join for the whole family to become involved with Mensa) are ideally suited, because of their personal involvement with gifted children; for that reason parents or other relatives of gifted children, who would like their gifted children to be able to be involved in Mensa, are particularly welcome to join Mensa.
Every child who joins Mensa, and particularly every parent who joins Mensa and supports functions which are held for children and families, is helping to build towards the time when Mensa is the natural social group for gifted children; a group whose society they can enjoy all their life.
Many parents, when they find that a large membership of gifted children doesn't already exist in Mensa, don't go ahead with membership for their child(ren). However, this makes the current situation of few child members, self-perpetuating. If your Mensa State Secretary is keen to support activities for gifted children, you will be helping your child(ren) greatly if one of you joins as a member yourself, so that both of you can help to build Mensa into a social club which is unique and invaluable to gifted children.
Yes it definitely can be! As mentioned above, one of the greatest needs of gifted & highly gifted children is to be able to interact with other children like themselves. This sort of social interaction is a big factor in gifted children building a confident self-concept and personality. Mensa's International Constitution states that there is no lower age limit for membership of Mensa, nor is there any special children's category of membership, such as "Junior Member", or "Associate Member", (although the yearly membership fee for a student is lower), which is also a good confidence-builder.
Therefore a gifted child with an I.Q. test acceptable to Mensa (see the list of acceptable tests below), can join Mensa at any age. He or she is a full member, on the same basis as any other member of Mensa, based solely on her or his intelligence. The child is a full member of a peer-group based not on age, but on high intelligence, which will be a very important aspect of his or herself throughout his or her life.
This is potentially something of great value, which Mensa can offer to children: an intelligence-based peer group. Note that as mentioned above, Mensa is purely a social organisation. Mensa will probably never provide school enrichment courses, extension courses, etc, and is unlikely to provide gifted children's camps, at least in the near future.
Nevertheless as already stated, a peer-group based on intelligence rather than age is extremely important if highly intelligent people, including children, are to be confident and happy, and have a good chance of reaching their potential. Without such a peer-group, highly intelligent people can suffer enormously without understanding the reason, due to confusion about their own self image, and lack of positive feedback from others who are of similar intelligence to themselves.
This is what Mensa as an organisation can potentially offer to gifted children - an ongoing social peer-group, unrelated to school or any other age-related social structure, where children can hopefully meet others like themselves on a frequent basis, and which also extends around the world.
Depending to whom you speak when inquiring about the benefits of Mensa membership for your child, you may be told that Australian Mensa does not currently have much to offer children.
There are two ways of looking at this.
1) Mensa has only been established in Australia for 35 years, and 35 years ago the needs of gifted children were not yet well understood. Mainly because of this, it's true that until recently Mensans regarded Mensa in Australia as an organisation for adults, and very few functions which were suitable for children were provided .
This situation is now in the process of changing, but that older attitude is still found to an extent. In practice, the immediate value of Mensa membership for a child in Australia depends largely on the work of the current State Secretary of the State you live in. It is well worth while contacting this person and asking him or her how many child members, or children of Mensa members, are currently in your state, and are interested in being active in Mensa. Also ask whether the StateSec is happy to program functions which children and families can attend, and what his or her experience has been if he or she has planned such functions in the past. (Email contacts for State Secretaries") In some states, functions suitable for families and children take place regularly and are well attended; in other states, it has been more difficult to get children's functions going successfully (see next section).
In the hopefully unlikely event that you receive a definitely negative response from the State Secretary you contact, don't give up on Mensa forever. State Secretary is a voluntary office, and usually changes every couple of years. The next StateSec may be very keen to build up children's involvement in Mensa in your state, especially if you are willing to join and help to do it.
2) Many State Secretaries who are very willing to support child membership in their state, and to schedule functions suitable for families and children, have had difficulty because of lack of support from the very people who make inquiries. Australian Mensa, at the policy level, is now very keen to encourage child membership and participation, but this can only become reality if adults with an interest in gifted children join Mensa and help to promote and support functions appropriate for families and children, if children join as members and do attend appropriate functions, or if members with children involve their children in appropriate Mensa functions.
Unfortunately, no. This is because I.Q. testing is controlled by legislation and can normally only be carried out by a qualified psychologist
Because of the high cost of I.Q. testing, International Mensa has bought the rights to an I.Q. test by a US psychologist, Cattell, and has negotiated the right to use this test under strictly controlled conditions. The Cattell test has two sections, one fairly language-dependant, and one "culture-independent".
However the Cattell test is only suitable for adults (We recommend not before 16 or 18).
Testing a gifted child's I.Q. is a far more complex task, and can only be done, both legally and realistically, by a child psychologist skilled in gifted children's issues. In Australia such an I.Q. test costs approximately $ 300, with approximately a third to a half recoverable if you have private health cover. If you wish to have an I.Q. test carried out for your child, it's very important to contact your state Gifted & Talented association, to find a psychologist who is known to have skills and a special interest in gifted children.
Unless the cost is of no concern to you, there are several points to consider in deciding whether to go ahead and have the test done. (See "Should I have my child's I.Q. tested?)
If you suspect your child is gifted, it's natural to want to have this confirmed, and to know how gifted. If the cost is not a problem for you, yes, it's certainly good to have your child tested. This should give you information which will help you do your best to plan so that your child's potential can be achieved to the highest extent possible.
However if the expense is a problem, and if it's not possible to have your child's I.Q. tested free through your State Education Department (see below), then you may have to weigh the question more seriously.
First, I usually suggest that parents don't bother having a test done before the child is between 5 to 8 years old (refer to various relevant issues further on). This is mainly because there is greater uncertainty in the result of the I.Q. test of a very young child. Therefore if you have your child tested when he or she is say, 4 years old, you may find that you want to have her or him tested again when he or she is older. However in some states, it is possible to have a pre-school child's I.Q. tested free through the State government department dealing with pre-school education and development issues. In this case, certainly take advantage of this possibility. (See information about this below.)
If you don't have your child's I.Q. tested as a preschooler, research has shown that apart from an I.Q. test, parents' own feeling about whether their child is gifted, is the most reliable method of identification of gifted children. Therefore, in the case of a pre-school child who seems to be gifted, it is quite safe to assume that he or she is gifted, and proceed accordingly. (See "How can I help my gifted preschooler?" in "Further Information".). The reason this is quite safe is that gifted preschoolers basically need as wide and rich a range as possible of activities, plenty of positive feedback, and a peer group of children like themselves. Since every child, no matter what his or her intelligence, can only benefit from such a program, only good can come from assuming your child is gifted, and proceeding accordingly.
If at any time some specific problem or situation arises which means you really need to know if your child is gifted and if so how gifted, then you may have to make the financial commitment to have your child tested.
Common reasons can be:
Free testing: In some states, the Government department which provides services for pre-school children (child care, kindergarten, etc) has qualified psychologists and will respond to a request for an I.Q. test to be done free of charge. It's worth checking whether you can have a test done free through this method.
However, in this case it's important to have a good understanding of the appropriate testing process for a gifted child, because these psychologists are not necessarily experienced in the area of giftedness. Their work is more often in the area of helping to diagnose problems in children who are not developing normally for many reasons. Therefore in my experience they often use a standard test, and don't understand the significance when a gifted child simply scores perfectly on most sections of the test - so the interpretation you get may not be appropriate, and also the test has not in fact measured your child's giftedness.
NOTE: THIS SAME PROBLEM CAN ALSO ARISE WITH A PAID ($ 3-400) TEST BY A PSYCHOLOGIST WHO IS ALSO NOT EXPERIENCED IN GIFTED ISSUES. Therefore if you decide to have an IQ test done for your preschooler, it's important to ask the psychologist if he or she has the appropriate test for a gifted child, and is experienced in its use (see next paragraph for test details). If you are paying for the test, I strongly advise you only go to a psychologist who is recommended by officers in your local Gifted & Talented Association, as having a special interest in gifted children. I have seen many virtually useless assessments and test results, which nevertheless cost the same $ 3-400 as the good ones.
See "What is the correct test to use to test the I.Q. of a gifted child?", in "Further information"
When to test: If you were reasonably sure your child was gifted when he or she was a pre-schooler, it is important to save up to have him or her tested when your child is 7 or 8 years old. By this age the test should be accurate and reliable, and will give you the important information you need in order to help your child, and plan for the future.
Note: If, by that age, evidence of gifted behaviour seems no longer to be as clear, or even to have disappeared completely, it is all the more important to have your child tested, because many gifted children underachieve. If your child is doing this at such a young age, it is crucial to know for certain how gifted he or she is.
Mensa accepts the following tests, and there may be others which Mensa accepts as well. If your child's test is not on the following list, email and ask the Supervised Testing Coordinator (stc at mensa dot org dot au).
The score at the 98th percentile varies for different tests and your psychologist should not only give you a IQ value but and indication of the percentile equivalent.
Test accepted by Australian Mensa are given below, however not all are suitable for testing children :
| Cattell Scale III Form B |
| Cattell Scale 3 Form A (test of "g": Culture Fair) |
| Stanford-Binet (Fifth Edition) |
| Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Third Edition |
| Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition – Australian Standardisation |
| Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scale of Intelligence - 3rd Edition - Australian Standardisation |
| Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test |
| Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition |
| Differential Abilities Scales (1990) |
Previous editions of the tests listed above are acceptable, as long as the test was administered within the period of time during which that edition was the current edition.
All enquiries should be directed to:
Australian Mensa Inc.
The Executive Secretary
Suite 12, 8-12 Stafford St
Midland WA 6056
Mensa will then send you a form for you to give to the testing psychologist to complete and return to Mensa. You can also order the form, which is to be completed by the psychologist who tested you, by downloading the Psychologist Form Request (PDF) or applying on line. The cost for the form and evaluation by our Consulting Psychologist is $ 40.
Mensa will require confirmation from the psychologist of the type of test given, the results and will also require information concerning the psychologist's professional standing.
Note: The fact that Mensa accepts the tests above does not imply that all of the children's tests listed above are appropriate to test your child's I.Q. The two issues are different: your child may have an I.Q. above the 98th percentile - possibly well above - and although Mensa only needs to know that his or her I.Q. is above the 98th percentile, all possible further information available from an appropriate test is very important for your own use. See "What is the correct test?" under "Further information')
My advice in this situation is that either or both of your child's parents sit the much cheaper Mensa test for adults. You may be alarmed at this suggestion, but the fact is that the potential for intelligence is largely inherited, so if your child is gifted it is very likely that one or both parents are also highly intelligent. You may never have thought of yourself as highly intelligent; you may have done poorly at school, or even dropped out of school, or you may be in an occupation which you feel definitely doesn't require high intelligence. If so, there are many Mensa members just like you - join the club. If any or all of the above are true, then you yourself should benefit greatly from realising your own intelligence, and socialising with others like yourself.
The benefit to your child, however, is that as a Mensa member, your family is now welcome to be involved in any Mensa activities. So your child can be involved in Mensa until you are able to have him or her tested, or until she or he is old enough to take the adult Mensa test him or herself. As has already been mentioned, as a Mensa member, you are also able to initiate any activities you wish, so you will be in a good position to help expand the range of activities suitable for children and families in your State Mensa.
Try not to feel nervous about this suggestion; except for those who had been tested previously, every Mensa member had to screw up the courage to take that test!
Mensa has two trust funds from which it is able to make some grants for gifted children. One fund is based on the bequest of a former Mensa member, who imposed in his will some conditions by which Mensa is legally bound; they can not be set aside.
This is the A.W. Bull Bequest Trust Fund.
Advertisements inviting applications for grants from the Bull Bequest are made yearly in the first school term. The fund allows about 5 grants each year, usually of $ 600 each; this may vary depending on interest rates. Information about the Bull Bequest grants is advertised each year in TableAus, the Australian Mensa Journal, and in all State Gifted Children magazines.
The second fund has no conditions attached to it, but is a far smaller fund. Australian Mensa continues fund-raising actively for this Fund, and donations are welcome at any time.
This is the Australian Mensa Gifted Children's Trust Fund.
Because of its smaller capital, grants from the AMGCTF are made on an occasional basis, and are usually of the order of $ 100 or $ 200. You can read more, or apply for a grant from either fund at: http://www.mensa.org.au/about/children/grants
Australian Mensa often receives inquiries about scholarships for gifted children. Unfortunately, there are no scholarships, in the sense of ongoing payment of school or other fees, at present, and Australian Mensa does not have sufficient funds to anticipate being able to make scholarships available in the foreseeable future. Helping with payment of school fees is a valid use for the yearly Mensa grants.