Is my child gifted?
What Do We Mean by "Gifted"?
Gifted children include those who score extremely high on individually administered IQ tests (generally three or more standard deviations above the norm, or in the 135+ IQ range, depending on the test used), as well as child prodigies in areas such as music, mathematics, or chess, children with extremely developed talents in unusual areas, and profoundly intellectually gifted children above 170 IQ.
Typical Characteristics of a Gifted Child
A given gifted child is unlikely to exhibit all of these characteristics, but most gifted children possess many of these traits.
- Rapid learning
- Early reading, often self-taught
- Oddly deep interests in specific subjects or topics
- Highly sensitive, to criticism, and to the plights of others
- Perfectionist tendencies
- Unwilling to attempt new activities for fear of not being excellent at them from the outset
- Initially loves school, but later complains of boredom at school
- Less comfortable with age peers, more comfortable with older and younger children and adults
- Wildly ambitious self-initiated creative projects (stories, art, construction, engineering)
It is very common for a gifted child who is not getting what he needs in school to crash and burn in 2nd or 3rd grade.
Special Challenges for Gifted Children
At first blush, possession of unusual intellectual abilities seems like a wonderful blessing. These unusual talents pose special challenges for children and parents.
- Asynchronous development, with intellectual abilities far outstripping the child's social, emotional and physical development.
- Variable capabilities: for example, high abilities in mathematics, but lagging development in reading.
- Approximately a third of highly gifted children also have learning differences such as dyslexia or dysgraphia.
- A gifted child's lagging physical development often conceals his intellectual ability, as problems with small motor skills and handwriting can interfere with the child's production of work at school.
- A gifted child's frustration with the discrepancy between his intellectual abilities and his ability to achieve, coupled with boredom, often results in the child being considered a behavior problem at school.
- Many gifted children are mistakenly diagnosed with AD/HD and are given drugs to "treat" their problem.
Links to Information about Gifted Children
These links offer more information and perspectives on determining whether your child is gifted, and on steps to take to help your child.
Kathi Kearney's columns on The Highly Gifted
Families of the Gifted and Talented
University of North Texas Council on Exceptional Children
Katherine West's column on spotting a gifted child
Australia's Child and Youth Health Service's Take on Giftedness
