What is Giftedness?

While gifted programs and gifted schools can be found in just about every educational community, the reality is that “giftedness” is not a unitary construct. Gifted people are like snowflakes – each one is unique. In the process of identifying giftedness for the purposes of inclusion in gifted schools or programs, we must use commonly accepted definitions. At the same time, we encourage you to educate yourself on your child’s unique combination of strengths and characteristics. The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) states that, “Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports).”

Do you wonder if your child is gifted because they are an early reader, highly creative, or have an excellent memory? Or perhaps they are excelling in school, breezing through learning activities, complaining of being “bored,” or even getting in trouble for not participating in certain school tasks. Believe it or not, gifted children who are not being challenged at school, can sometimes “act out” as a subconscious way of communicating that their needs are not being met.

Parents are often aware that their child may be brighter than average when observing these kinds of advanced abilities, but may not be aware that certain behaviors (even “bad” ones) can be a sign that they are gifted. Although there is no definitive list, here are some sample characteristics to help determine if your child may be gifted or have a high IQ. Please keep in mind that your child doesn’t need to have all of these traits to be considered gifted, nor is this an exhaustive list of gifted characteristics:

• Learns quickly, with little repetition or practice
• Very observant
• Extremely curious
• Asks thoughtful questions
• Has a long attention span
• Shows creative, original thinking
• Has intense interests
• Has an excellent memory
• Is concerned about fairness or injustice
• May be perfectionistic or self-critical
• May prefer the company of older children and adults
• Has an unusual or vivid imagination
• Easily notices relationships among ideas, objects, or facts
• Very sensitive, emotionally and/or physically (e.g. bothered by clothing tags, noises)
• Tends to question authority

If this sounds like your child, we strongly recommend an assessment to determine your child’s abilities in order to ensure that your child’s needs – educational, social, and emotional – are met. Gifted children have unique needs and it is essential to understand your child’s individual learning profile in order to advocate effectively for them.

Please check out our page describing Gifted Screenings and/or the explanations of our Comprehensive Evaluations. After that, if you’re ready to get started or if you have more questions, please check out our Scheduling page to understand the next steps to take. We would be happy to walk you through the assessment options and determine a plan that makes the most sense for your child and your family.

720-377-3250 or [email protected]