Characteristics of Gifted Children
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
