Gifted Child

Gifted children are, by definition, "Children who give evidence of high

performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic,
leadership capacity, or specific academic fields, and who require services
or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop
such capabilities."

(1)

Biological differences
There is a biological difference between the gifted child and the typical
child.

The gifted child seems to have an increased cell production that

also increases synaptic activity. This all adds up to an increased thought

process. The neurons in the brain of the gifted child seem to be biochemically more abundant and, as a result, the brain patterns that
develop are able to process more complex thought. There seems to be
more prefrontal cortex activity in the brain, which leads to insightful and
intuitive thinking.

Gifted children have more alpha wave activity in the

brain. They not only get more alpha wave activity faster than the typical
child, but they also sustain it longer. This allows for more relaxed and
focused learning with greater retention and integration.

The brain

rhythms of the gifted child occur more often, and this allows for
concentration, attention, investigation, and inquiry.
Common characteristics
There are some common characteristics the gifted child may possess. The
gifted child may be:
Self-disciplined, independent, often anti-authoritarian.
Zany sense of humor
Able to resist group pressure, a strategy that is developed early
More adaptable and more adventurous
Greater tolerance for ambiguity and discomfort
Little tolerance for boredom
Preference for complexity, asymmetry, open-endedness
High in divergent thinking ability

 High in memory, good attention to detail

Broad knowledge background
Need think periods
Need supportive climate, sensitive to environment
Need recognition, opportunity to share
High aesthetic values, good aesthetic judgement
Freer in developing sex role integration; lack of stereotypical
male/female identification.
Emotional characteristics
The gifted child also appears to have his share of emotional stresses.
Interestingly enough, studies seem to indicate that the gifted child may, in
fact, have lower self-esteem than the average child. There seems to be a
direct correlation between the high expectations that the gifted child has
for himself, and therefore, his unrealistic goals for which he strives. This
situation tends to cause anxiety, as the gifted child pushes himself
unrealistically.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-gail-gross/who-is-the-giftedchild_b_4119720.html

Gifted child
Any child who is naturally endowed with a high degree of general mental
ability or extraordinary ability in a specific sphere of activity or knowledge.
The designation of giftedness is largely a matter of administrative
convenience. In most countries the prevailing definition is an intelligence
quotient (IQ) of 130 or above. Increasingly, however, schools use multiple
measures of giftedness and assess a wide variety of talents, including
verbal, mathematical, spatial-visual, musical, and interpersonal abilities.
In countries that make special provision for educating gifted pupils, the
prevailing method of selection consists of written tests. Although

standard IQ tests are the most commonly used means of identifying gifted
children, other tests of both intelligence and creativity are also used. Tests
vary widely in their validity and reliability for different ages and cultures;
therefore, fair identification procedures always take into account a wide
variety of behaviours that may be signs of giftedness.
It is generally agreed that gifted children differ from their peers in ways
other than intellectual ability alone. Evidence of this was found by the
American psychologist Lewis M. Terman, who in 1921 initiated a study of
more than 1,500 gifted children with IQs higher than 140. Following the
study participants as they aged, Terman observed a greater drive to
achieve, along with greater mental and social adjustment, among the
gifted group as compared with nongifted children. In another early 20thcentury study, which focused on children with IQs greater than 180,
psychologist Leta Hollingworth found that individuals within this group
were very sensitive to the ways in which they differed from others and
often suffered from problems such as boredom and rejection by their
peers. Variability of development is another characteristic observed in
gifted children. In the late 20th century, the term asynchrony was used to
describe the developmental characteristics of gifted children; that is, their
mental, physical, emotional, and social abilities may all develop at
different paces.
In theory, there are three ways of educating children who are intellectually
and academically more advanced than their peers: (1) acceleration,
whereby the gifted child is allowed to learn material at a more rapid pace
or is promoted more rapidly through grades; (2) enrichment, whereby the
gifted child works through the usual grades at the usual pace but with a
curriculum supplemented by a variety of cultural activities; and (3)
differentiation, whereby gifted children are accelerated or enriched within
the regular classroom.
Special schools or classes enable gifted children to progress at an
accelerated pace. The instruction, method, and materials can be adapted
to the needs of each student, and, because the children work and study
with others who are bright, each is motivated to put forth his best effort.
Despite the opposition many educators have to special provisions for

gifted children, research shows that grouping gifted children together is

best for them, that this does no harm to average children, and that
acceleration in these groups provides greater opportunity for challenge
and

intellectual

development

than

does

enrichment

alone. See

also creativity; genius; prodigy.

www.britannica.com/topic/gifted-child

The question of nature versus nurture in the creation of giftedness or

sometimes referred to as genius is an old one. However, these days
many people believe that one can create a gifted child. Parents hoping to
give their children a competitive edge buy all kinds of instructional
materials, including CDs of Mozarts music to play to their infants or even
to their unborn children still in the womb.

Common Characteristics of Gifted Individuals

Because gifted children are so diverse, not all exhibit all characteristics all
of the time. However, there are common characteristics that many gifted
individuals share:
Unusual alertness, even in infancy
Rapid learner; puts thoughts together quickly
Excellent memory
Unusually large vocabulary and complex sentence structure for age
Advanced comprehension of word nuances, metaphors and abstract
ideas
Enjoys solving problems, especially with numbers and puzzles
Often self-taught reading and writing skills as preschooler
Deep, intense feelings and reactions
Highly sensitive
Thinking is abstract, complex, logical, and insightful
Idealism and sense of justice at early age
Concern with social and political issues and injustices
Longer attention span and intense concentration
Preoccupied with own thoughtsdaydreamer

Learn basic skills quickly and with little practice

Asks probing questions
Wide range of interests (or extreme focus in one area)
Highly developed curiosity
Interest in experimenting and doing things differently
Puts idea or things together that are not typical
Keen and/or unusual sense of humor
Desire to organize people/things through games or complex
schemas
Vivid imaginations (and imaginary playmates when in preschool)

https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/my-childgifted/common-characteristics-gifted-individuals
There are few descriptions in the literature of the cognitive processes of exceptionally gifted
children. This study, based on testing profiles, anecdotes collected from parents, and
observations made during family and group therapy sessions with moderately and exceptionally
gifted children delineates some of the characteristic modes of thinking that differentiate
exceptionally gifted children from their more moderately gifted peers.

Exceptionally Gifted Children: Different Minds

While there have been many studies that explore adult giftedness, few have examined the
thinking processes of gifted children. Most theories of giftedness assume that adult measures of
cognition are directly applicable to children. Sternberg and Davidson (1985) concluded that
information processing of gifted children is similar to that of adults in capitalizing on patterns of
information using environmental shaping techniques, having, exceptional problem-finding ability,
and exceptional ability to conceive higher order relations.
Dark and Benbow (cited in Benbow, 1991) found that gifted adolescents in the SMPY program
process information in a quantitatively, rather than qualitatively, different manner from older
individuals. These students were described as precocious in their abilities.
Other authors stressed giftedness as developmental potential and focused on problems that
arise for gifted children when cognitive development outstrips other aspects of development such
as chronological, social, moral and emotional. The higher the intellectual capacity, the greater is
the degree of asynchrony requiring special consideration of exceptional needs in parenting,
schooling and counseling (Columbus Group, 1991). These authors make the case that gifted
childrens precocity is different from adult achievement due to developmental considerations
absent for adults For example, young exceptionally gifted children may have developed
exceptional ability to think abstractly and to formulate hypotheses, but might still lack ability to
organize material, present an argument and coordinate a written thesis. Morelock (1993)
suggested that giftedness in children implies advanced ability to construct meaning, to think
abstractly, and to respond emotionally to abstract concepts used to interpret experiential
phenomena.

Most discussions of cognitive characteristics focus on the differences between gifted and
average children. Metacognitive characteristics involve thinking about ones own ways of
knowing remembering and understanding. They include metacognitive knowledge and
awareness, metamemory, insight and regulation of cognition. Rogers (1986) and Cheng (1993)
reviewed the literature and found gifted children to exhibit significantly more of these
characteristics than nongifted children. Cheng (1993) stated that there is both theoretical and
empirical evidence for superior metacognitive ability being an essential component of giftedness.
Hollingworths (1942) work with children above 180 IQ reported that the children develop
exceptionally earlier than average in talking, reading, and imagination. Grosss (1993)
investigation of exceptionally gifted children in Australia reported differences from average
children similar to those found by Hollingworth more than 50 years ago.
There is not much differentiation in the literature among the different levels of giftedness. Yet, the
child with an IQ of 200 is as discrepant from the child of IQ 150 (3 SD) as the child of IQ 150 is
from an average child. Because all gifted children are grouped together in studies of how gifted
children differ from average, it is difficult to determine how level of giftedness influences cognitive
development. Feldman (cited in Morelock & Feldman, 1991) using Termans original data
compared moderately and exceptionally gifted adults in degree of eminence attained. The only
cognitive characteristic mentioned, however, is high abstract reasoning ability, the characteristic
that has been associated with intellectual giftedness since Termans day.
Silverman (in press) described a number of intellectual and personality characteristics in gifted
children at least three standard deviations above the mean, that is, both the moderately and
exceptionally gifted. These traits include intellectual curiosity, fascination with ideas and words,
need for precision ability to perceive many sides of a question metaphorical thinking, ability to
visualize models and systems, and early moral concern, among others.
That there is differentiation among levels of giftedness is suggested by anecdotal information.
Gross (personal communication July 10, 1993) stated that the thinking processes of the
exceptionally gifted are as different from those of even more moderately gifted children as chalk
and cheese. She mentioned differences in abstract reasoning ability at an early age and
complexity of thinking. Silverman (1993a) suggested that intellectual characteristics in
intellectually gifted children tend to increase in strength in accordance with IQ.
In my own observations during the process of assessment and family and group psychotherapy
with moderately and exceptionally gifted children differences in the cognition of gifted children
become more discernable as intellectual capacity increases (Lovecky, 1992a, b). This article is
an attempt to delineate some of the ways in which children above 170 IQ process information.
This study is based on observations, anecdotes from parents, therapy notes and testing profiles
of 32 children ages 4 to 12 with IQ scores over 170 (22 boys, 10 girls). Of these, 18 were over IQ
180 with 6 over IQ 200. A comparison group of 39 moderately gifted children, ages 4 to 16, (28
boys, 11 girls) with IQ scores from 140 to 159 was used. All IQ scores were obtained on the
Stanford- Binet Intelligence Scale Form LM.
Cognitive Differences
Both quantitative and qualitative differences in processing information were observed between
the children who scored above IQ 170 and moderately gifted peers. These differences are
examined in the following categorical descriptions.

The Simple is Complex

Exceptionally gifted children often have difficulty dealing with material other gifted children find
easy. The exceptionally gifted see so many possible answers that they are not sure how to
respond because no one answer seems to be better than another. For example, Zachery, age 7,
with an IQ over 200, was unable to answer the question. What does a doctor do? The
moderately gifted children answered with any of several acceptable responses and did not find
this a difficult question. Zachery, however, answered that there were so many different kinds of
doctors, and they all did different things. Even when encouraged, he was unable to pick one kind
of doctor and name something that doctor did. Zachery obviously knew the material but was
unable to focus on a simple level. His response suggests a higher level of analysis and
integration than the question required.
Hollingworth (1942) presented another aspect of the problem. Child D, by age 8, named an
amazing 300 shades of color with precise names and assigned them numerical values. He also
created words and concepts to describe emotional states such as parts of the body where queer
feelings originated. Finally, he originated more accurate scientific names for the entire array of
bird species. For this boy the concepts of color and birds obviously were much more complex
than for the ordinary 8-year-old. Asking D to get a red pencil or to draw a picture of a bird would
probably bring a puzzled response where other children simply would carry out the task. Unless
one knew Ds complex response to colors and birds, one would wonder why he was not
complying.
A Need for Precision
Often coupled with the idea of the simple being complex is the need for extreme precision. Kline
and Meckstroth (1985) suggested that a need for precision characterizes the thinking, of
exceptionally gifted children. Silverman (in press) noted that-these children appear to have
logical imperatives related to their complex thought patterns so they expect the world to make
sense. The necessity for the world to be logical results in a need to argue extensively, correct
errors, and strive for precision of thought. Eric, age 9, strove for such perfection. With an IQ in
the 190s, he derived an original mathematical formula. When his math teacher told him that this
was a theorem about how numbers worked, Eric corrected him saying that it was only a
hypothesis, as they hadnt yet tested it with all possible combinations of numbers. To Eric, only
when he could prove its exact applicability could it be a theorem.
In this study, most of the moderately gifted children required less precision in making a response;
they operated from an underlying assumption of good enough because alternate meanings didnt
occur to them. To the exceptionally gifted child, alternate meanings are myriad and there is no
way of knowing precisely which one is what the questioner means. If one were to ask such a
child a question that seems quite simple such as, Are you having a nice time? the child would
likely answer What do you mean by a nice time? That depends is a frequent qualifier
(Hollingworth. 1927).
The Complex is Simple
The exceptionally gifted child grasps abstract material by finding the underlying pattern. Once
that pattern is understood, the child knows the concept behind the material and further practice is
unnecessary .In fact, the whole is comprehended so quickly and thoroughly, the child cannot
break it down into component parts to show the steps used to build the concept. This process
causes problems with many teachers. Dahlberg (1992) described Matthew, age 9, who mastered
material so quickly that there never seemed anything to learn. Even in music, finding pieces
difficult enough to challenge him and hold his interest was a problem.

Silverman (1993b) suggested that this type of cognitive complexity enables highly and
exceptionally gifted children (3 SD+) to perceive many layers of meaning in each situation. This
allows some to quickly perceive underlying innuendoes, metaphors and symbols. Lydia
(Lovecky; 1992b), for example, age 11, with an IQ over 200, had difficulty completing school
tasks. Her participation in class discussions showed a high level of capability in literary analysis,
use of symbolism and interpretation of metaphoric meaning. However, Lydia finished her
analyses in her mind long, before the rest of the class. When the written analysis was due, Lydia
could not write it. Her interests were now on different topics. She had studied how other authors
used the same types of metaphors, and she had read other books by the author studied in class,
exploring how he used particular metaphoric themes in his works. To go back and write on what
the teacher thought was significant about the book the class was still studying was impossible.
How does one unsee insights after all?
The moderately gifted children, on the other hand, advanced rapidly in mathematics, science and
foreign languages, subjects in which pattern formation was more an integral part of learning the
material. These gifted children were precocious in their advanced level of knowledge, and their
ability to assimilate and integrate presented underlying patterns. They rarely discovered and
applied complex language patterns to material as Lydia did.
Ability to Reason Abstractly at an Early Age
Exceptionally gifted children can reason abstractly and do so at an earlier age than moderately
gifted children. Whats more, the level of abstraction is higher. For example, child A (Hollingworth,
1942) at age 3 saw the logical flaw in Eugene Fields poem about the gingham dog and calico cat
who ate each other up. He saw that if one mouth ate the other, there would be no mouth left to
eat the first mouth, and thus, eating each other up was impossible.
In this study, the moderately gifted children were quite good at formulating categories. They
discerned and summarized similarities and differences among classes of objects, and
generalized from specifics to larger classes. On the other hand, the exceptionally gifted children
both categorized data and saw logical connections among different types of data. They
developed matrices of several categories and placed specific information within them. For
example, Christopher, age 11, with an IQ over 200, was portrayed as trying to put every piece of
information or every problem which he had to solve into some sort of category (Gross, 1993, p.
15). He was described as working in parallel, able to solve one mental problem while working
on another.
The exceptionally gifted children also grasped the main point of an idea and were often analytical
thinkers. In general, by age 9, the exceptionally gifted children were able to explain difficult
proverbs on the Binet LM. Those who scored over IQ 200 could explain these proverbs by age 7;
by age 9, they were able to solve problems using analogies and to explain the reasoning behind
their thinking. Eric, age 9, given the analogy baby: elephant = adult: ? reasoned the answer had
to be wooly mammoth because size was the determining factor in the comparison and the wooly
mammoth was the biggest elephant.
Children with the highest IQ scores were able to think metaphorically from an early age. For
example, humor was one area in which these children used metaphors and analogies. Eric, age
9, when told by his mother that today they had to eat and run replied, You mean like
carnivorous pantyhose? Louis (1993, p. 8) described Ryan, age 27 months, who at his first view
of the ocean made a pun: The ocean is waving at me. Other exceptionally gifted children are
adept at paradoxical thinking. Lydia, at age 11, described herself being an optimistic pessimist.

Early Grasp of the Essential Element of an Issue

It is unusual for young children to be able to grasp the essential part of a complex idea and then
to apply that understanding to further develop complexity of reasoning on a question. Feldman
(1986) described a child, who from age 2 to 4, learned 11 different languages to find out whether
there had been a parent language. The ability to conceptualize at this level would be exceptional
for any gifted child, but at such an early age is phenomenal. Indeed, the ability to find a problem
to solve requires ability to conceive that there might be an underlying principle, an ability most
gifted children do not achieve until adolescence.
More typical of moderately gifted elementary-age children is a depth of understanding about the
implications of events not found in age peers. Moderately gifted children grasped cause and
effect, saw influences that might affect outcome, and made connections between separate
events. Before middle school age, however, they did not usually set problems for themselves,
and were unable to formulate hypotheses.
Exceptionally gifted children, on the other hand, from an early age formulated problems. Eddie,
age 4 1/2, with an IQ in the 180s, heard about the MS Readathon. He decided to raise a specific
sum of money by soliciting pledges for each book read. He calculated how many books he would
have to read to achieve his goal and realized that if he read easier, shorter books, he could read
faster and complete more books.
Many exceptionally gifted children showed insight into social and moral issues. Hollingworth
(1942) suggested that religious questioning, the search for what morality is, and the ability to
discuss abstractly a philosophy of life and death only occur when a child reaches a mental age of
12. Gross (1993) found the children in her study attained this by age 7 1/2. Austin, age 8, with an
IQ in the 180s, showed advanced understanding of astrophysics. His mental investigation of the
purposes of black holes was paralleled by questions about religion. One of his investigations
explored how the cosmology of different religions might use black holes in explanations of what
God is (Lovecky, 1992a).
High Capacity for Empathy
Empathy, the capacity for projective identification with another, is usually used to mean that one
projects oneself into anothers persona and determines what the other is feeling. Empathy may
also mean any ability to project oneself into something. Visual artists project themselves onto
canvas when they paint. Scientists describe the identification they feel with their subject matter
(Lovecky, 1993). For example, Barbara McClintock (Keller, 1983) described her ability to be so
close to her plants as she studied corn genetics, that she became one with them; by knowing
each plant she was able to understand the relationship between what she saw in the field and
what she would eventually see under the microscope. The ability to imagine oneself as part of
ones creative product is described in the literature of adult creativity (Root-Bernstein, 1987).
Some of the exceptionally gifted children in this study were also able to project themselves into
the process of problem solving.
Rachel, age 10, with an IQ in the 170s, was proficient with origami; she was able to follow
directions to make any form, and also originated forms. When asked how she thought of the
designs, she explained that first she had a feeling inside herself which translated into a
visual/kinesthetic form which was a part of herself. She understood how to make the form
because she was the form. James, age 9, with an IQ over 200, described the process of putting
himself on paper as he drew a continuing comic strip in which he was the central superhero. He
thought the process was a reciprocal one in which he felt how the hero would act and feel and

used that to create the scene. This led to thinking how to solve the heros conflict. As he solved
the heros dilemmas, he felt he solved his own. James also described his understanding of
nuclear physics as a process of becoming one of the subatomic particles, and feeling his
relationships with space, energy, and other particles. Other exceptionally gifted children describe
a similar process of projective identification in writing poetry and composing music.
Examples of this kind of projective empathy exist in the literature. Lorin Hollander (Feldman,
1986) portrayed himself at age 3 1/2 as falling into the music after coming home from hearing a
Haydn quartet and wanting to reproduce what he had heard. He had internally incorporated the
entire piece after the single exposure.
Moderately gifted children never described this process of projective identification. Typically, they
discussed their creations in terms such as I just feel it or It sort of happens automatically; I
dont know how. Possibly they experience the same process as exceptionally gifted children but
dont have the cognitive concepts to describe it.
In addition, many (but not all) exceptionally gifted children show direct empathy for others
(Lovecky, 1992c; Piechowski. 1991; Silverman, 1993a). While it is more difficult to determine the
internal processes of thought to discern projective identification with animals, ideas and nature in
general, the effects of personal empathy can be seen in the childs concerns for others.
Lisa, age 18 months, with an IQ in the 170s, after watching the Democratic National Convention
asked her mother why one public figure seemed so sad. Her mother was astonished that Lisa
would have detected what was a secret in the community: that the public figure was quite
despondent over his wifes terminal illness but strove to suppress his feelings in public. Everyone
had thought he was successful. Silverman (1993a) described a 4-year-old boy who never hit or
hurt anyone but was extremely loving in his relationships, even purposely helping peers to make
the best moves in games and losing at times while telling them how good they were. Such
empathy is rare even among the exceptionally gifted.
Exceptional Memory Unusual memory capacity is one characteristic often attributed to
exceptionally gifted children. William Sidis (Wallace, 1986) not only remembered everything he
read, he also remembered the page numbers. Lorin Hollander remembered entire music scores
after hearing them once. Adam, the child Feldman termed an omnibus prodigy, apparently
remembered events from his prenatal and peri-natal days (Feldman, 1986).
Exceptional memory covers a number of different phenomena. Gross (1993) discussed the
earliest memories recorded by parents of the exceptionally gifted children she studied. These
memories were linked to early development of language, although sometimes children
remembered events from times before they were verbal. Earliest examples of exceptional
memory included memory of previous events and early language development such as a child
singing herself to sleep with nursery rhymes at 18 months of age, another reciting passages at
12 months of age from books read to him, and a third who at age 2 1/2 recited all of a very long
epic Australian poem she had memorized (Gross, 1993).
Many of the children in this study exhibited signs of early prodigious memory for television
commercials, nursery rhymes, songs, stories, numbers, and personal events. Eddie, at age 2
years 10 months, could look up songs in a songbook after hearing one line. He looked in the
index where songs were listed by title, then turned to the correct page. One adolescent described
a memory of swallowing a splinter at age 15 months, and was able to recount the entire

conversation she had with her mother, how she had felt, how she remembered perceiving what
her mother felt, what she wore, the trip to the hospital, and what the doctor said.
Moderately gifted children also tended to exhibit prodigious memories and were often precocious
talkers and readers though the ages at which parents pinpoint exceptional memory for events
tends to be slightly later (21/2 to 3 years old as opposed to 12 to 18 months).
Inclination Towards Immersion
Many exceptionally gifted children learn in a non-linear manner in which they take in large
amounts of information and integrate it into an underlying big picture. Zachery, for example, at
age 7, was interested in Egyptian hieroglyphics and computers; he attempted to use computer
language to study other types of language.
Lydia, age 11, read extensively in the classics and has read many of the interpretive
commentaries about these works. She also developed her own literary analyses. Eric, age 9,
memorized every detail of every Star Trek episode ever written. He and other exceptionally gifted
children find it a challenge, to master this ever-expanding body of knowledge. They also imagine
their own planets, enact their own episodes, and have continuing debates about details of plot
and character. Hollingworth (1942) speculated on her subjects unusually keen interest in
astronomy. Todays exceptionally gifted children integrate knowledge of astronomy, astrophysics
and science fiction with equal enthusiasm. A high proportion of the exceptionally gifted children in
this study (47%) appeared to share this interest.
The literature also focuses on the immersion learning style and breadth of knowledge exhibited
by exceptionally gifted children. Feldman (1986) described the learning style of Adam as both
nonlinear and omnivorous in his desire for knowledge. His style is further described as being
non-Western and untraditional so that a regular school program did not work for him. Adam
grasped concepts holistically and intuitively. Once he acquired the basic framework, he filled in
the particulars. His parents thought he first developed theory, then learned basic facts and skills.
Later, he questioned basic assumptions about theory. Adam had a number of ongoing interests
which he explored at increasing levels of complexity including symbol systems (cartography and
languages), music, science and mathematics (Feldman, 1986).
Gross (1993) discussed children who appeared to exhibit immersion type learning styles
including Richard who, at age 4, could do mental arithmetic in binary, octal, hexadecimal and
decimal systems. He also was a gifted musician, composer and chess player.
Many of the moderately gifted children in this study also immersed themselves in subject matter
and accumulated large amounts of information. However, there are some limits on how they
applied the information and far they progressed in their interest. Oliver, age 10, with an IQ in the
140s, was excellent at identifying geographical facts; he also invented his own countries and
drew elaborate maps of them. Yet, his studies never progressed beyond mastering the volume of
geographical facts. He did not integrate these facts with other subjects, nor consider how
geographical features might influence life in a country. While he also had much knowledge of
Western history, he had little interest in learning about other cultures. This limitation of interest
was seen with other moderately gifted children who in earlier years had immersed themselves in
a body of knowledge. Once the child became an expert in a field (geography, World War 11
fighter planes, types of dinosaurs, baseball facts, Star Trek, rock collecting) exploration of the
field beyond further fact collecting was not pursued.

Conclusion
Leta Hollingworth (1942) noted that in the regular elementary classroom moderately gifted
children wasted almost half their time and exceptionally gifted children almost all their time. In her
day, with grade-skipping prevalent, moderately gifted children tolerated the regular classroom
routine relatively well since they were already advanced, but even moderate advancement did
not appreciably help the exceptionally gifted. Today, with little grade skipping or other types of
advancement common, the plight of even the moderately gifted child is cause for concern. Yet, it
is exceptionally gifted children whose needs are more difficult to meet by virtue of being, so few
in number and because of the differences in their cognitive skills.
Many exceptionally gifted children remain invisible in school. Even when special talents are
acknowledged, little is done to further their development. Thus, there are exceptionally gifted
students like James, age 9, whose abilities in every subject are so far above those of age peers
that his school has no idea how to meet his needs. Left to devise lessons for James, his fourth
grade teacher gives him the same lessons as the rest of the class and tells him to develop some
aspect of the topic further. When he does so, there is no time allotted for him to share discoveries
with the class or teacher. Many of the children in this study face classrooms like James with
caring, but poorly prepared teachers, and few outside resources available to provide the extra
texts, materials mentors, and support required to give them the education they really need. Over
time, lack of support for their needs results in social and emotional crises.
Gross (1993) suggested that the difference of these children is a great cross for them to bear.
She stated that if their needs are not met, they can come to feel there is something wrong with
them, and to be ashamed of their talents. Exceptionally gifted children are children at risk, as
much as are children whose achievement is below average. It is hoped that by understanding
these gifted childrens unique cognitive characteristics, their talents can be appreciated and
further developed.

It is important to identify a gifted child as soon as possible because they

are at risk in the early years of school. Intellectually gifted children are held
back in their learning to conform to the pace of other children in their class.
Dr. Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, who holds a PhD in Educational Psychology (Gifted
Education) from the University of Cambridge and has been working with gifted
individuals or those with high abilities since 1996, shares her insights on how
to identify early giftedness.

Why do we need to identify a gifted child?

It is important to identify a Filipino gifted child as soon as possible because
he/she is at risk in the early years of school, through misidentification,
inappropriate grade-placement, inadequate curriculum, an early awareness of
being different and consequent attempts to conceal their ability for peer

acceptance. More often than not, intellectually gifted children are held back in
their learning to conform to the pace of other children in their class.

How do we spot a Filipino gifted child?

Research findings indicate that even in infancy, potentially gifted children often
proceed through developmental milestones up to 30% faster than other
infants. Advanced development in the areas of gross motor, fine motor and
language skills has also been observed in potentially gifted infants. Profoundly
gifted infants and toddlers (IQs of 167 to 230+) were reported to have higher
energy levels, longer attention spans and higher sensitivity to tactile
sensations than their age mates.
For preschoolers, characteristic traits of giftedness fall under 3 categories:
1. Language and learning
A gifted preschooler will exhibit his/her unique learning styles and have long
attention spans. They will learn easily and are able to retain what they have
learnt. They will have accelerated language development: large vocabularies,
enjoyment of self-expression through discussion, and the use of advanced
grammar or sentence structure.Gifted preschoolers are curious and are able
to sustain interest in a subject of their own choosing for extended periods of
time.
They have a more mature sense of humour than age mates. They have the
ability to comprehend sophisticated jokes and word puns, long before their age
mates are developmentally ready to think at these abstract levels. These kids
have interest in factual information books over fantasy and make-believe and
also seek out information related to the abstract concepts of time and space
and they are usually proficient in the fine and creative arts such as drawing
and music.
2. Psychomotor development and motivation
For psychomotor development and motivation, the kids will have high
energy/activity levels. They will have a wide range of consuming or passionate
interests on which to expend those energies. They may sleep less than other

children and can be extremely independent wanting to master their own

environments and driven to explore the curiosities of the world around them.
3. Personal-social characteristics
Gifted children exhibit early empathy development and a deep caring for the
pain of others. They may feel different than other children and display one or
more of several characteristics termed overexcitabilities or emotional
intensities. These include psychomotor, sensual, imaginational, intellectual
and emotional overexcitabilities. Emotional intensities include shyness and
difficulty adjusting to new situations. It is important to remember that while all
young children may display these types of behaviors, the young potentially
gifted child appears to exhibit these traits to a much greater degree.

How gifted is gifted?

Based on how far a Filipino gifted child is from the norm of 100:
Mildly Gifted: 115 to 129
Moderately Gifted: 130 to 144
Highly Gifted: 145 to 159
Exceptionally Gifted: 160 to 179
Profoundly Gifted: 180

Introduction
Do you think your child is gifted? Its very often parents who are the first to recognise that their
child is bright for his or her age, and then arent sure what to do next, especially as bright is not
necessarily the same as gifted. Here the National Association for Gifted Children helps to
explain the characteristics of gifted children.

Top of the class?

There are many checklists of gifted characteristics. In general they contain several common
elements.
Compared to other children your childs age, how many of these fit your child?

Reasons well and learn rapidly

Has extensive vocabulary and talked early

Early or avid reader

Asks lots of questions and learns more quickly than others

Has a very retentive memory

Is extremely curious and can concentrate for long periods on subjects of interest

Perseverant in their interests

Has a wide general knowledge and interest in the world

Enjoys problem-solving, often missing out the intermediate stages in an argument and
making original connections

Has an unusual and vivid imagination

Is intense and shows strong feelings and opinions

Concerned with justice and fairness

Has an odd sense of humour

Sets high standards and is a perfectionist

Loses interest when asked to do more of the same

Is sensitive (feelings hurt easily)

Shows compassion and is morally sensitive

Has a high degree of energy

Prefers older companions or adults

Judgement mature for age at times

Is a keen observer

Is highly creative

Tends to question authority

Has facility with numbers

Extremely good at jigsaw puzzles

No one will show all these characteristics, but very bright children will fit a significant number of
them.
Some parents find it difficult to understand the difference between a bright child, and a gifted
child.
The following table hopefully will show how to differentiate between the two:

Bright child

Gifted child

Knows the answers

Asks the questions

Is interested

Is extremely curious

Pays attention

Gets involved physically and mentally

Has good ideas

Has unusual silly ideas

Works hard

Plays around, yet tests well

Answers the question

Questions the answers

In the top group

Beyond any group

Listens with interest

Shows strong feelings and opinions

Learns with ease

Already knows

Needs 6-8 repetitions to master a

concept

Needs 1-2 repetitions to master a

concept

Understands ideas

Constructs abstract theories

Enjoys peer group

Prefers the company of adults or older

children

Grasps meaning

Draws inferences

Completes assignments

Initiates projects

Is receptive

Is intense

Copies accurately

Creates a new design

Enjoys school

Enjoys learning

Bright child

Gifted child

Absorbs information

Applies/manipulates information

Is a good technician

Is an inventor

Good at memorising

Good at guessing

Enjoys straight forward sequential

presentation

Thrives on complexity

Is alert

Is keenly observant

Is pleased with own work

Is highly self-critical

What can parents and teachers do for the gifted child?

Gifted children often need more support than others, but this does not necessarily mean that they
need more structured activities. Sometimes it means they need more freedom and a little more
guidance instead.
More able children can be better supported by giving them:

Space to make their own contributions in situations that are open ended

The opportunity to take risks with the possibility of failure in non-threatening and wellorganised situations

Contact with other people like them

A share of the teachers time that is fair, focused and appropriate to their needs

Activities that require them to spend a balance of time both working with urgency and
reflecting quietly on their work
Questioning structured to employ their higher-order thinking skills with similar answers to

their questions
Minimal instruction when possible, allowing them to use initiative and problem solving

skills

Opportunities to develop their work in directions they have chosen themselves

Encouragement to use a range of alternative methods and approaches and

organisational and presentation techniques

Work set in ways that involve challenging creativity and imagination

Schemes of work that incorporate starting points for work sometimes with clear steps and
sometimes open-ended

An appreciation that social and emotional maturity does not always equate with
intellectual ability asynchronous development

A range of teaching and learning styles multiple intelligences

Time created to extend, enrich and expand not to repeat

A range of differentiation and enrichment activities and strategies

The opportunity and time to research for themselves