Late Bloomer - Children

Children

"Late Bloomer" is commonly used to refer to young children who develop skills such as language, reading, or social interaction later than others of their age.

There are many theories of the way in which children develop, proposed by authorities such as Urie Bronfenbrenner, Jerome Bruner, Erik Erikson, Jerome Kagan, Lawrence Kohlberg, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky. Although they disagree about how stages of development should be defined, and about the primary influences on development, they agree that a child's development can be measured as a predictable series of advances in physical, intellectual and social skills which almost always occur in the same sequence, although the rate may vary from one child to another.

When a child falls behind their peers at some stage of development, their teacher may perceive that the child is "backward". There is strong evidence that this perception may become self-fulfilling: although the child catches up, the teacher may continue to rate their performance poorly, imposing a long-term handicap. Thomas Edison's mind often wandered and his teacher was overheard calling him "addled." This ended Edison's three months of official schooling. His mother then home schooled him. Edison may have had some form of Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is said to affect about 3 – 5% of children.

A notable example of a child who overcame early developmental problems is Albert Einstein, who suffered from speech difficulties as a young child. Other late-talking children who became highly successful engineers, mathematicians, and scientists include the physicists Richard Feynman and Edward Teller. Neuroscientist Steven Pinker postulates that a certain form of language delay may in fact be associated with exceptional and innate analytical prowess in some individuals.

Dyslexia is a learning disability that may affect 3% – 10% of children. It is thought to be the result of a genetically inherited neurological difference from "normal" children, and has been diagnosed in people of all levels of intelligence. Studies indicate that 20% to 35% of U.S. and British entrepreneurs have the condition: by definition, late bloomers. Researchers theorise that dyslexic entrepreneurs may attain success by delegating responsibilities and excelling at verbal communication. Richard Branson, known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies is a notable example, as is Charles R. Schwab the founder and CEO of the Charles Schwab Corporation. Pablo Picasso, Tom Cruise, and Whoopi Goldberg are other examples of dyslexics, considered "slow" as children.

The autism spectrum of psychological conditions affects about 0.6% of children, characterized by widespread abnormalities of social interactions and communication, severely restricted interests, and highly repetitive behavior. Notable individuals with autism spectrum disorders include Tim Page, a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and author and Vernon L. Smith, a Nobel Laureate in economics.