Parent Resources

What are the unique characteristics of gifted individuals?

Aside from showing increased potential or demonstrating advanced accomplishment in one or more specific content areas as many definitions of giftedness suggest, other more specific characteristics tend to appear regularly in the literature surrounding gifted individuals. When discussing characteristics of gifted children, we must understand that any one of these characteristics may be present or not present—there are so many variables at work. Furthermore, these common cognitive and affective characteristics do not comprise a comprehensive list. Cognitive attributes that appear often among gifted individuals include:

• Above-average general intellectual ability

• Ability to find and solve difficult and unusual problems

• Ability to process and learn information quickly

• Ability to see connections, relationships, and multiple perspectives

• Ability to understand abstract and complex concepts

• Extensive and detailed memory

• Intense love of reading

• Advanced vocabulary and communication skills

• Curiosity in many areas

• Desire to ask a lot of questions

• Intense, sustained passion in one area, which may change over time

• Ability to concentrate for long periods of time on projects of interest

Taken from https://gifted.msu.edu/about/226/what-does-being-gifted-really-mean