How Can You Tell If Your Child is Gifted?

The process of identifying gifted and talented children is a very complex and highly controversial topic. Much of the available literature focuses on the recognition and identification of intellectually and/or academically gifted children. Schools that have programs for gifted students are often able to identify gifted kids by using traditional screening methods like group IQ tests, review of achievement test scores and past grades, observation, and getting input from teachers and parents. Typically, children identified as intellectually and academically gifted must score at, or above, a specified cutoff score to qualify for educational programming provided by school districts and private organizations. Some school districts also use portfolios and other non-traditional assessments to help identify gifted students, but this varies among states and school districts.

Gifted Children Differ in their Giftedness

Even if you child doesn’t score high enough on intellectual or academic achievement tests, there are many forms of giftedness. If you can answer yes to any of the questions below, your child might be gifted in that particular domain.

• Did your child begin reading before the first day of preschool?
• Is your child extremely talented in the visual and performing arts?
• Does your child exhibit an in depth understanding of math and science?
• Is your child a highly talented swimmer, golfer, or basketball player?
• Does your child display superb public speaking and leadership skills?

Signs Your Child Might Be Gifted

There are no universally accepted traits that you can look for and no definitive signs that will tell you for sure whether your child is gifted. However, many gifted children share some common characteristics, and knowing these is a good place to start.

Language Skills
While most children are able to form recognizable sentences and understand complex language by about two years of age, gifted children often reach these milestones earlier. As they approach school age, other language skills may appear advanced or sophisticated.

Some of the traits of giftedness to look for when considering your child’s language development in relation to others of a similar age include:

• A highly developed vocabulary and the ability to learn new words easily.
• The tendency to speak quickly.
• The early use of longer, more complex sentences while using appropriate grammar.
• Early reading, if given some instruction and opportunity. Many gifted children have already learned how to read before entering school.
• Continually asking questions about what they see and hear, and wanting to receive thorough responses and explanations.
• The ability to understand and carry out multi-step directions at an early age. (e.g., Go to the dining room, get the blue book on the table and put it back on the shelf in your room, then bring me the clothes on your bed so I can wash them).
• The ability to understand and participate in adult conversations. Gifted children often pick up nuances or double meanings early on – so watch what you say!
• The ability to change the language they use when speaking to different audiences. For example, a four-year-old gifted child might use more advanced words and sentence structure when speaking to adults or older children, and then talk in a simpler, more childlike way when addressing his three-year-old cousin.

Learning Abilities

All children (all people really, big and small) have an inborn desire to learn about the world around them – to seek out new experiences, figure out the relationship between themselves and their surroundings, to discover, and to learn. What distinguishes gifted children from others is the apparent natural ease and joy with which they go about doing this. Their brains appear to be mental sponges, effortlessly absorbing and incorporating new information and ideas.

Many gifted children are natural learners who show some of the following characteristics:

• The ability to learn quickly and efficiently – to pick up ideas and skills effortlessly.
• A tendency to become highly focused on certain areas of interest (e.g., bugs, space, animals) and independently seek out information on these topics.
• The ability to ask questions that show advanced insight or understanding.
• A deep fund of knowledge – they know more about the world around them than you would expect.
• Excellent memory and easy recall of what they previously heard, saw, or learned.
• A tendency to read often on their own and to frequently prefer reading to more physical activities.
• Little need for direction or instruction when beginning a new activity, learning a new game, or acquiring a new skill. They may also insist on doing things on their own, or in their own way.
• Early development of motor skills involving balance, coordination, and movement. Gifted children may also be advanced in some purposeful fine-motor activities such as assembling small objects (e.g., legos, transforming toys, blocks) or putting puzzles together. However, other fine motor skills may not be advanced. Some gifted children are poor at handwriting – although this may be more related to a lack of attention to detail or impatience with the slow and tedious task of handwriting practice than to problems with fine motor control.
• Pleasure in talking to older children and adults about topics that interest them.
• An understanding of their own thinking and learning processes. They may have preferred ways of learning and resist using other methods suggested by a teacher or adult. They are able to sense how much and what kind of studying they need in order to master a skill or topic.
• Creative thinking. Gifted children may enjoy coming up with their own ways to solve problems and take delight in complexity and making connections between seemingly unrelated ideas or concepts.
• The ability to concentrate on a topic of interest for an unusually long period of time. However, gifted children may quickly shift their attention or appear unfocused when doing something they perceive as unchallenging or uninteresting.
• An inclination to see learning as fun. They take joy in discovering new interests or grasping new concepts.

Emotional and Behavioral Traits

Gifted children are often more emotionally intense than others. They can also be more sensitive to others’ feelings and circumstances and may display a great deal of empathy in situations where others their age appear indifferent.

Other emotional or behavioral traits to look for include:

• A high activity level. Gifted children can appear to have an endless source of energy – constantly moving, talking, asking and exploring.
• The tendency to think and talk fast. Because they may be trying to speak as quickly as they think, gifted children are often asked to “slow down” so the listener can understand them. They can also become frustrated when they feel that others are talking too slowly, or taking too long to “get to the point.”
• Strong leadership qualities. Gifted kids often make natural leaders who take charge and lead others in new directions.
• Ability to relate to older kids and adults. Because their cognitive skills and interests can be advanced for their years, gifted kids have an easier time connecting with and learning from those older than themselves.
• Enjoyment of alone time. While gifted children may enjoy spending time with others, including mental mates (whether their own age or adults), they can also enjoy spending time on more solitary activities such as reading, writing, daydreaming, observing, or just thinking.
• Appreciation of natural beauty and art. Gifted children may particularly enjoy being around and pointing out trees, sunsets, flowers, the ocean, animals, and other things of inherent beauty. They can also show a deep interest in certain forms of art – paintings, sculptures, or music, for example.

Hidden Gifts

Some gifted children show only a few of the signs listed above, or show traits that are quite the opposite of what you’d expect. For example, some will start to speak late rather than early, some will be emotionally reserved rather than intense, and some appear to think and speak slowly rather than quickly.

Also keep in mind that there are children who show gifted qualities when it comes to language or emotional traits, but who do not appear exceptional when it comes to learning or academics. While some of these kids may have a specific learning disability getting in the way of their performance at school, others may have learned early on to hide their abilities in order to better fit in with others their age, or to avoid the pressures of higher expectations. And of course there are children who show many of the signs here who do not measure in the gifted range once they are tested. Does that mean they are not gifted? Not necessarily. Many kids don’t shine on IQ tests due to test anxiety – or sometimes because of the very qualities associated with giftedness. For example, IQ tests typically have timed subtests, meaning that the faster a child responds or correctly completes a task, the more points she earns. However, gifted children who are perfectionists may respond more slowly than others, taking their time, working carefully and methodically, and checking their responses for accuracy. A gifted child with a high energy level who has a hard time focusing attention on structured tasks may also be at a disadvantage when it comes to performing in the rigidly structured atmosphere of an IQ test.

In addition, children can be gifted in one area (verbal skills, for example) but show only average ability in others (such as perceptual or nonverbal reasoning skills, which are important for math achievement). While these children’s full-scale IQ score might not measure in the gifted range, they may still demonstrate some common traits of giftedness. For example, a verbally gifted child with average nonverbal reasoning skills may still be emotionally sensitive and have an excellent memory.

Identifying giftedness can be tricky, particularly regarding those who test right around that “magic” cutoff point of 130 or so. And IQ tests are certainly imperfect instruments and only one piece of the puzzle. Your insight and instincts, along with those of your child’s teachers, can often be the most important pieces needed to truly understand your child’s unique gifts and potential.