Parents have always known that the I.Q. score doesn't tell the whole story. How can a written test show that Suzie plays piano like a dream, or that Paul can take two broken radios and make one that works? Because the I.Q. score is so often treated as sacred, some children and their parents have suffered.
Take Leslie. At age ten, she was excluded from a class for the academically talented - her I.Q. was 100 instead of the required 125. Leslie's father, however, maintained that his daughter had something more important than a high I.Q. - she had "people savvy." Fifteen years later he was proved right. Leslie graduated from law school and because she did so well in interviews, she beat out stiff competition for a job that paid $38,000 a year.
Children, and for that matter adults, have many abilities that the experts fail to measure, or even appreciate. An innovative attempt to catalogue these abilities has been made by Howard Gardner, a professor of neurology at Boston University and co-director of Harvard Project Zero, a study of normal and gifted children. In his book Frames of Mind, Gardner identifies seven basic kinds of intelligence. I.Q. tests focus on only two of these - linguistic and logical-mathematical - but, says Gardner, the other five intelligences - musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic and personal (knowledge of oneself and knowledge of others) - deserve more attention.
What is your child's special strength? As you read these descriptions of Gardner's intelligences, you'll learn how to pinpoint and develop your child's potential.

LINGUISTIC

A CHILD who is linguistically gifted is probably an early and avid talker. "If only he'd stop talking!" parents of such children often say. He may play around with a private language, or an altered one like pig latin. He will probably also pick up foreign phrases easily and memorize long strings of words from television or books. Chances are, he likes to write poems and tell stories. A linguistically gifted child learns to read at an early age.
How can you encourage such a child? Read to him every night at bedtime. Once he can read on his own, provide lots of books and a library card. Stick poems on the refrigerator, play word games in the evening, buy a good dictionary. Ask him to recite some poems; if you can, recite some yourself.
In general, though, a child who is linguistically gifted receives a lot of stimulation. His teachers will respond to his gift and feed the fires for you. Just don't insist everyday that he put down his book and go outside to play baseball.

MUSICAL

The musically gifted child is fascinated by sounds - all sounds. He will absorb the tunes played by bedroom radiators, taxi horns, typewriter keys, even washing machines. As a toddler, he may reach out and touch piano keys and stand transfixed to listen. Later on, he will recognize familiar songs when played along with their lyrics or when differently orchestrated. And he will learn new songs readily and sing them back on key.
How can you further a child's musical intelligence? Sing to him. If your own musical skills are limited, find a baby-sitter who sings on key. Rent a piano, buy a flute, find a compatible teacher. Look for schools that offer extracurricular music lessons, and keep summer music camp in mind. Since not all schools value the musical child, yours will need encouragement form people who can appreciate his gift.

LOGICAL-MATHEMATICAL

A child who's strong in math and logic is mesmerized by category and pattern. How are these building blocks the same? How are they different? He is also good at checkers and chess, loves abstractions and may construct carefully ordered, rule-governed imaginary worlds. (Lewis Carrol, who wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was a mathematician.) He also asks questions like "When did time begin?" and "What causes lightning?"
A mathematically gifted child will love having see-through plastic boxes for storing small toys by category. Give him a monopoly game for his birthday. Play cards with him often, even though he will usually win.
Unfortunately, the quality of teaching in some schools lets these mathematically gifted children down because they focus primarily on elementary calculation and rote memorizing. If this is your child's case, find out if there are other mathematically gifted kids in your area - they might be interested in forming a math club.

SPATIAL

Spatially gifted children are superb visualizers. Take Kitty. At four, she was attempting to draw milk cartons in perspective. Now at 15, she's making straight A's in art and thinking seriously of becoming a photographer.
It's easy to encourage this kind of gift. Early on, provide paints and a special area for drawing. Supply various clays, modeling plastics and a pair of scissors. Go on long walks over unfamiliar terrain and encourage the child to draw maps of where he's been. Offer lessons in pottery-making or drawing. And keep in mind that spatial intelligence is not well rewarded in schools - a child who draws will probably be encouraged to find something "more practical" to study.

BODILY-KINESTHETIC

BODILY-KINESTHETIC intelligence two basic skills: how to manage your own movements gracefully and how to handle objects skillfully. Accomplished athletes and dancers are gifted in this way, so are many engineers.
If your child learned to tie his shoes early, found it easy to turn somersaults, swim and ride a bicycle with no hands, he may be kinesthetically gifted. This child does well at any task requiring motor skills such as playing catch, threading a needle, working with tools, disassembling clocks and radios, fiddling with computers.
What to do for the bodily-kinesthetic child? Give him an Erector set and electronic gadgets. Take him to "hands-on" science museums. Introduce him to Little League, dance and gymnastics, sports club and the YMCA.
At school, sports and the wood-working shop can be great, but the child may suffer daily in the regular classroom. Unless he also happens to possess verbal and logical-mathematical skills, he may do poorly in school until he is given a chance to perform in some area requiring good motor skills. That's when these kids come into their own. In the meantime you might arrange for extra help on difficult subjects.

PERSONAL - KNOWING YOURSELF AND KNOWING OTHERS

It's hard to recognize a child who's gifted at knowing himself, says Gardner. Usually we notice only when the quality is lacking - for example, when a child is so obviously troubled that his parents often wonder if he needs special help. "Self-intelligent" kids are easier to spot when they're older - they're the ones who know how to plan and how to make the most of their own capabilities.

The second personal intelligence - the ability to know others - is easier to recognize. A child so gifted notices changes in other people. "How come Grandma was sad today?" he'll ask. If he's reading a mystery or watching a police show on TV, he quickly picks out the villain. He notices when you are sad or happy.
How can you encourage the personal intelligences? If your child is self-intelligent, compliment him on his insight. If he is other-intelligent, encourage him to join a scout troop, or any other small group or club where chances for leadership are abundant.
For kids gifted in either of the personal intelligences, skits and plays are a good outlet - you can provide dress-up clothes and maybe even drama classes. These children notice a great deal about people - including the people in their own lives. Ask your child for a thumbnail personality sketch of everyone in your family. The results may astound you.
It is important to appreciate the strengths our childen have rather than those we wish they had. As parents, of course, we can't simply ignore school. If your child is weak in the verbal and mathematical-logical intelligences, consider spending extra time or money on tutoring him. But don't judge your child entirely by these two overemphasized areas. At home, recognize and reward your child's talents. "Kids make their mark in life by doing what they can do," Professor Gardner says, "not what they can't. School is important but life is more important. Being happy is using your skills productively, no matter what they are."

Condensed from Redbook by Maggie Strong - RD May 1985