Intrapersonal children tend to be loners. Although they may seem very isolated and cut off from the world, they in fact take in a great deal of what they observe, and possess rich inner lives.They like going their own way -- doing things in their own time. Fiercely independent, they can be very hard to deal with, if forced to learn in a specific way imposed from without. They need to be given choices about their learning. "Do you want to do a project on birds, or on dinosaurs?" "Do you want to study the problems on page 14, or page 16?" They do best with independent study, individualized projects and self-paced materials such as computer software programs. Ask them about their interests -- they may be slow to warm up to you, but once trust has been established, they will share with you some of their hopes and fears, some of their dreams and visions.Provide them with opportunities to be alone with themselves; give them the tools they require to carry out their self-chosen learning activities, and make sure they have enough time to work at their own pace.

Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. is an award-winning author and speaker with twenty-eight years of teaching experience from the primary through the doctoral level, and over one million copies of his books in print on issues related to learning and human development. He is the author of nine books including Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, In Their Own Way, Awakening Your Child’s Natural Genius, 7 Kinds of Smart, The Myth of the A.D.D. Child, ADD/ADHD Alternatives in the Classroom, and Awakening Genius in the Classroom. His books have been translated into sixteen languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Hebrew, Danish, and Russian.