Characteristics of Gifted Children
The characteristics of gifted children are far more complex than the measurement
of an individual's output or performance score. These children are more than their latest test score or master piece. Giftedness
is more about a state of being; an ability to perceive, comprehend, intuit, sense, feel, reason and take in significantly
more information than the norm. When we only notice and appreciate these children through their special
accomplishments, we fail to acknowledge the essense and feelings of the individual. The child begins to feel
they are loved only when they excel in their performance. That is why truly understanding these
children is so important. As parents and caregivers, it is critically important to acknowledge the effort, the sensitivity,
kindness, the intensity and inner beauty, as well as the accomplishments of the gifted child.
This list is compiled from multiple sources:
- Sensitivity (emotional/physical)
- Unusual intensity and depth of feeling
- Highly developed morals and ethics
- Intuitive, uncanny perceptiveness
- An extreme need for constant mental stimulation.
- An ability to learn and process complex information rapidly.
- Keenly observant, notices what no one else does
- Makes intuitional leaps and logical projections
- A rapid and thorough comprehension of the whole idea or concept
- Makes and follows own plans, less teachable
- Takes up lost causes, strong sense of justice
- An ability to focus intently on a subject of interest for long
periods of time.
- An inability to concentrate on a task that is not intellectually
challenging, such as those that involve repetition or that present material in bite size pieces.
- Unusual and early insight into social and moral issues
- Early interest in death and life
- Driven to understand, complexity of understanding
- Recognition of falsity, no "trophy friends"
- A high degree of ability to problem solve and think abstractly
- An unusual perception of essential elements and underlying structures and patterns in relationships and ideas
- Large vocabulary, love of big words
- Zips through Piagetian stages
- Less physical risk taking
- Self taught, non-sequential learning
- Manipulation and bargaining expert
- Sense of justice and high moral expectations
- Saying "Actually" or "That depends..."
- Symbolic thinking, early ability to think in metaphors
- Concern with world affairs at an early age
- Keen sense of humor
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