Gifted Traits and Characteristics (From the Davidson Institute)

Characteristics and Traits of Gifted Children

Gifted children often stand out. Whether you are a parent, an educator, or a student, you are likely here because you have noticed something different about a student or about yourself if you are that student in question. Those without a background in gifted education may feel that gifted children stand out because of their good grades or high achievements. However, many of us who work with gifted children know that they are different for other reasons like their quirky sense of humor, their intense questioning, or their refusal to sit still in the classroom and repeat math facts when they would much rather be discussing the nature of infinity. Looking for gifted traits in children can provide information for parents, educators, and students themselves to decide whether they want to pursue intelligence testing, acceleration, or simply have a better understanding of who these children are.

What is Giftedness?

At its core, giftedness is a brain-based difference that contributes to our vibrant and neurodiverse world. This neurological difference means that profoundly gifted students experience a different intellectual, academic, and social-emotional development trajectory than neurotypical individuals. These differences are detailed in “The Neuroscience of Giftedness,” a series of articles from GRO, the Gifted Research and Outreach organization.

To quote a beloved leader in gifted education, Dr. Jim Delisle, “Giftedness is an innate ability to both detect and comprehend the world in complex ways that differ significantly from age-expected norms.” (Understanding Your Gifted Child from the Inside Out, p8). Importantly, Delisle makes the distinction that giftedness is not always apparent just from looking at a student’s achievements. This is often a source of tension when advocating for the highly gifted child who may appear average, or even below average, in school. Parents and educational professionals often hear the same myths about gifted students and must take the extra step to educate themselves on giftedness in order to better serve the needs of this population.

Like most people, highly capable students are unique individuals with varied and multifaceted talents and interests. Some demonstrate mastery in multiple areas while others excel in a single subject. Gifted identification often relies on a mix of gifted testing and more qualitative observations of gifted characteristics and behaviors.

Common Characteristics of Gifted Children:

• Ability to comprehend material several grade levels above their age peers

• Surprising emotional depth and sensitivity at a young age

• Strong sense of curiosity

• Enthusiastic about unique interests and topics

• Quirky or mature sense of humor

• Creative problem solving and imaginative expression

• Absorbs information quickly with few repetitions needed

• Self-aware, socially aware, and aware of global issues

The National Association for Gifted Children lists additional traits of giftedness that parents may find useful. Of course, each gifted student is unique, and they may present with a mix of these traits or only two very intensely or perhaps you find that none of them at all fit.

What are Traits of Profoundly Gifted Children?

Profoundly gifted individuals score in the 99.9th percentile on IQ and achievement tests and have an exceptionally high level of intellectual prowess.

Characteristics of profoundly gifted individuals may include:

• Rapid Comprehension: An advanced ability to learn and process information rapidly, combined with a need for constant mental stimulation; profoundly gifted students often work at a different pace than neurotypical peers–going far ahead or pausing to dive deeply in areas of interest.

• Intuitive Understanding of the Basics: Difficulty concentrating on tasks that are not intellectually challenging, including repetitious materials or rote tasks; profoundly gifted children often need less practice to master an idea or concept.

• Tendency toward Complexity: A need to understand the “big picture” of what they are learning; they may ask endless “why” questions or prefer to learn whole-to-part rather than part-to-whole.

• Need for Precision: An appreciation for nuance and a need for precision in thinking and expression; they may often respond to questions with “that depends…” and they may struggle with multiple choice assessments that ask them to make definitive decisions without an extensive contextual background to questions.

• High Expectations: A tendency to hold themselves and others to high standards, which can sometimes present as perfectionism or a very defined sense of justice; this may lead to challenges when understanding rules set by others or interacting with same-age peers who don’t hold the same standards.

• Divergent Interests: A vivid imagination and niche interests may make it difficult to connect with same-age peers; profoundly gifted students may seek out older children or adults who share their interests, or they may connect with younger children who are flexible in their thinking and engage in imaginational pursuits.

Oftentimes profoundly intelligent young people are not properly identified and, thus, do not receive an appropriately challenging education. Research shows this can lead to underachievement or even dropping out of school – studies indicate that 40 percent of all gifted students may be underachievers (Handbook of Gifted Education, p. 424). The Davidson Institute exists to help these young, bright children gain recognition in the national conversation around giftedness and works directly with families to help them reach their potential.

Learn More about Giftedness:

• How to Tell if a Child is Gifted

• Gifted Testing & Assessment

• Gifted Programs & Scholarships

• Social & Emotional Resources for Gifted Children

https://www.davidsongifted.org/prospective-families/gifted-traits-and-characteristics/

Social and Emotional Resources

Social & Emotional Needs of Gifted Children

Many gifted behaviors and traits include an emotional or social component. Parents of gifted children find that both the challenges and the joys of raising a gifted child extend beyond the classroom.

How Does Being Gifted Affect Social and Emotional Development?

Being gifted is part of an individual’s identity and, as such, does not only apply to academic settings. Profoundly gifted children experience their emotions and social development in a way that can significantly differ from neurotypical children. Supporting your gifted child includes looking at their emotional needs at home and helping them build social skills outside of a school setting in addition to providing opportunities for intellectual growth.

How Does Giftedness Affect Emotional Development?

While every gifted child’s experience is different, two of the main terms associated with the emotional development of gifted children are intensity and asynchrony.

Intensity as described by Christine Fonesca is, “how gifted individuals approach life. At its best, intensity is the driving passion that enables some people to achieve amazing things – in any domain. But at its worst, it is the turmoil that has the power to consume these same individuals from time to time as they learn how to manage that aspect of their personality.” Linked to emotional development, intensity in gifted children may manifest when their peers or the world at large fail to align with their inner compass for how the world ought to be in their eyes. Examples may include feeling troubled over ethical issues, rigid rule-following at play time, a vivid imagination, and even existential questioning at a very young age. Highly gifted children often struggle to express this intensity and may either direct this energy inwardly, presenting as moodiness or anxiety, or direct this energy outwardly as tantrums or yelling and outbursts.

Asynchrony is also closely linked to the gifted child’s emotional development. Asynchronous development in gifted children means that their growth, academically, emotionally, physically, or socially, is not uniform. Profoundly gifted children in particular may be intellectually operating at a 10th grade level at age 9 but have not mastered riding a bike or handwriting at the same time. In the emotional domain, gifted children experience the frustration of an intellect that is miles ahead of their physical self and their educational setting. Furthermore, asynchrony can mean that gifted children may lack the emotional coping skills to process their big feelings and rich inner life.

How Does Giftedness Affect Social Development?

The social development of gifted children is often most strongly shaped by a lack of like-minded peers who share their interests, especially early in life. Extroverted and introverted gifted children alike often describe feeling that they lack a “true friend.” The social development of many gifted children mirrors their academic development in that they are often ready for a more mature friendship at an earlier age compared to their age-peers who might only be concerned with having someone to play with.

Anxiety and social struggles may occur for gifted children who feel that no one understands them. Gifted girls in particular are at risk for going “underground” and hiding their abilities to fit in with their age-peers. Helping these gifted students succeed socially and emotionally is often linked to finding the appropriate academic outlets though as gifted students may find like-minded peers once accelerated, through an academic summer experience, or by engaging with a niche interest and meeting others who share their passions.

How Can Parents Nurture the Social-Emotional Development of Their Gifted Children?

Parents play an important role in nurturing the social-emotional development of their gifted children by being advocates for their children in school and beyond. This can help address problems with self-image, perfectionism, uneven development and depression. Here are some ways parents can improve their gifted child’s social-emotional learning:

• Provide opportunities for enrichment through programs and activities outside the classroom

• Enhance peer relations by allowing the child to connect with intellectual peers who are a similar mental age

• Establish a professionally guided, ongoing support group of parents of gifted children who can share their experiences of raising their gifted children

• Continuously enlighten educators who may not be able to recognize the needs of their gifted child

Most of all, it is important to remember gifted children are children first. They need guidance and understanding to help them learn to regulate their emotions and overcome social challenges they may be experiencing. The Davidson Institute works with families of profoundly gifted students to provide support in addition to hosting social experiences where these children can feel seen by their cognitive peers.

More Social & Emotional Resources for Gifted Children:

• Supporting Emotional Wellness at Home for Gifted and 2e Students

• Perfectionism and Gifted Students: Our Favorite Books

• Anxiety, Sensitivities and Social Struggles among Profoundly Gifted Kids

• Helping GT Kids Understand Their Emotions through Effective Emotional Coaching

NAGC Fact Sheets

Davidson Institute

SENG- Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted

Oklahoma Association of the Gifted, Creative and Talented

National Association for Gifted Children

Hoagie's Gifted

https://www.mensaforkids.org/

World Council of Gifted and Talented Children

Council for Exceptional Children: The Association for the Gifted

Prufrock Press Publishing

Oklahoma State Department of Education: Gifted