What Is Giftedness?
- Nov 1, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 11, 2021
Written by: Laurance Noroy, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Tips for understanding and supporting our brightest youth.
In this article, we will try to briefly present what giftedness means and the common characteristics of a gifted child.
What is giftedness?
Several authoritative bodies have given their explanation for giftedness. For example, The National Association for Gifted Children, in the US defines Gifted Children with ability is significantly above the norm for their age.
The IQ test is another tool to measure giftedness and it calculates how the brain acquires, consolidates, and stores all environmental information as well as how fast it acts on it.
However, where the IQ test assesses a child’s linguistic, visual-spatial intelligence, memory, and information processing speed, it also has its limitations. This is because there are different types of intelligence, as put by Howard Gardner; for example, musical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, linguistic intelligence, etc.
Is my child gifted or smart?
A child is generally considered smart if they are showing above-average performance than children of the same age.
But how about if the child is very smart? How can we differentiate between a smart and a gifted child?
We sometimes don’t know. Also, because we want to be humble and not dream too far that we put a gifted child into this world because it would mean we feel entitled, elitist and superior to society, correct? The truth is there is fear in even accepting our child’s giftedness.
But once we bypass our fears and look at the facts in the eye...what do we see?
Starting from the development stages, research shows that gifted preschoolers are generally 30% more advanced than same-age peers. For example, a child walking by 8 months or a child who is a self-taught reader by the age of 3.
Smart children ask questions that may have answers. Gifted children ask questions that are so complex, deep, and/or metaphysical that we might be at a loss and simply not know!
They also share somewhat the same emotional outlook, levels of interest in unique subjects, exceptional language ability, and worldly concerns with fairness.
Common characteristics of a Gifted
Are you wondering “Is my child gifted?”
Well, a lead researcher on giftedness, James Webb, put together a list for you in his book: A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children, by James Webb and Others.
It is important to understand that each child is unique, and may show one or many, or all of the characteristics we will discuss, and the purpose is to merely point out some similarities.
After all, as Olivier Revol, a French psychiatrist says in his book that gifted children are not like any other children, but like them, they are children.
Gifted children can be unusually alert, restless, and filled with high energy. They are rapid learners; they put thoughts together quickly and it only takes one exposure for a full understanding of a concept. They also enjoy solving problems, especially with numbers and puzzles.
Even an infant can give off some characteristics of being a gifted child.
Much giftedness-based research has focused on the concept of habituation. One such study found that certain babies became habituated to new stimuli faster than others, suggesting that they absorbed and retained sensory information differently. The babies also showed a greater preference for unfamiliar stimuli as opposed to those who were drawn to the familiar.
Conclusion
Remember, your intuition is key. If you have a strong feeling that your child or baby is behaving way ahead of recommended development stages, you can look up anywhere what is recommended for each age by your national pediatrics association. Observations, coupled with your intuition will give you the answer you already know. Welcome to this journey...
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Laurance Noroy, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Laurance Anne is a thought leader in brain performance, mental fitness, and self-esteem development.
She quickly came to terms with the specificities of her son’s gifted brain and created strategies to consistently enhance his emotional wellbeing and executive functioning. She has since dedicated her life to helping other moms unleash their child’s true genius and brainpower, fully live their giftedness and be happy.
She is CEO of Champion Your Gifted Child, whose mission is to provide content and context to help gifted families thrive in today’s world. She offers parenting courses and 1-1 coaching packages to support the gifted community in the US and around the world.
You may book a Discovery Call with her on her website to discuss specific strategies for your family.
