Giftedness is a very debated term among professionals. Generally, traditional approaches emphasize IQ tests and achievements in schoolwork; whereas, progressives would even take into account the many exceptional abilities related to acting, leadership, art, and music. General agreement regarding giftedness is that above-average intelligence is a combination of genetics and environmental interacting positively to influence the development of the brain.
Characteristics of Gifted Children
Every child has special talents, but identifying exceptional skills is not always easy. For example, a three-year-old reading cereal boxes or a kindergartner using metaphors can clearly point to superior thinking and learning ability. Not all children with high potential become obvious to the naked eye. Some become average in terms of development but will have a high creative potential that nobody could detect for years or even during their whole lifetime. Such talents are hidden until a gifted assessment brings them out and guides the choice of educational pursuits that foster and develop abilities.
Gifted children often possess certain characteristics that differentiate them from other children. Some of these differences may appear in the following areas:
Language Skills:
Gifted children have started forming complex sentences and understanding advanced language by the time they are two years old. They do speak fast, know most complex vocabularies, learn words easily, and show their profound curiosity about the world, always wanting to know all the details.
Learning Abilities
Gifted children are like sponges, quickly absorbing and integrating new information. They tend to focus intently on specific interests, such as bugs, space, or animals, and ask questions that demonstrate advanced understanding. These children often have excellent memory, prefer reading over physical activities, and require minimal guidance when acquiring new skills.
Preference for Adult Company:
Gifted children often feel more comfortable with adults than with peers, preferring mature conversations and deeper connections.
Group Assessments: Group assessments refer to the testing of groups of children at once, most times in their respective classroom settings. These tests help a teacher ascertain students who are capable of superior ability or surpassing their peers in various school tasks. Group tests are used mainly for initial screening test and may help show which bright children would be fit for more specific gifted testing programs.
Self-awareness:
They may develop a clear understanding of their learning preferences and resist methods suggested by others that don’t align with their style.especially if they have learning disabilities.
Creative Thinking:
Gifted children often come up with innovative ways to solve problems, finding connections between seemingly unrelated ideas.
Superior/Selective Concentration:
Many gifted children can concentrate intently on a subject of interest for long periods of time but will have difficulty concentrating on tasks that are repetitive or not stimulating.
Emotional and Behavioral Characteristics of Gifted Children
Gifted children also possess unique emotional and behavioral characteristics, such as:
Emotional intensity
Sensitivity to others’ feelings and circumstances
Empathy
Unusually high or low energy levels
Irritation when others take a long time to understand or communicate
Strong leadership qualities
Preference for solitude, such as in reading, writing, or reflective periods
Powers of observation
However, gifted behaviors are not all good and some can lead to issues for these children:
Anxiety
Emotional extremes
Overexcitability
Scrupulous self-reflection
Emotional reactivity, often interpreted as immaturity
Inadequacy
Intense need for independence and often insisting on doing things in their own way
Disorganization and messiness
Recognizing these traits and providing appropriate support can help gifted children thrive while navigating their unique challenges.
Some parents may have a sense that their child has unusually high intellectual abilities or very above-average aptitude in one or more academic areas. Frequently, such parents have a pretty accurate perception of their children. We provide testing that is helpful in figuring out if your child is eligible for many accelerated programs that were developed for children who show very high intellectual aptitude in one or more areas of cognitive and academic functioning. For example, the parents may initiate an application process for the John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth if they have the required results of the cognitive testing that is performed at our Center.
It should be noted, however, that per New Jersey state guidlines, a consideration of the child’s eligibility for public school Gifted and Talented programs is done based on the following statement: “District boards of education shall make provisions for an ongoing K-12 identification process for gifted and talented students that includes multiple measures, including but not limited to, achievement testing scores, grades, student assessment or products, intelligence testing, parent, student and/or teacher recommendation, and other appropriate measures.” (State of New Jersey Department of Education)
As it is evident from the above quote, the IQ testing is only a part of the deal for the Gifted and Talented Programs in public schools. However, it may help you to gauge where your child is intellectually, compared to his or her peers. In New York State, the results of such testing are even more instrumental in securing an appropriate placement in an accelerated program for your high-achieving student. The psychologists in our Center are licensed in both New York and New Jersey. Therefore, the psychological testing performed by them is considered an“independent psychological evaluation,” and it will be helpful in determining your child’s eligibility for one of the accelerated programs in NYC, especially if you child is bilingual.
