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Extension 123

Is my child gifted and talented?

Wide variations exist among gifted students which may make it challenging, even for parents, to recognize their child as gifted. The following list of common characteristics is a very general description of giftedness as a whole that can be a useful compass for you to approach this question. Please remember that there is great variation among the gifted and that your child may exhibit only some of the traits below.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GIFTED CHILD:

• Is intellectually curious, innovative, and playful with ideas.
• Enjoys the challenge and involvement of intellectual and creative tasks.
• Has a keen and sometimes unique sense of humor.
• Is an independent thinker and seeks to act independently.
• Develops at an early age an inner control and satisfaction which may foster a very independent nature.
• Formulates abstractions while very young and shows facility in moving from concrete to abstract levels of thinking and of communicating.
• Prefers complex tasks and processes information in complex ways.
• Reads at an early age and comprehends with advanced understanding.
• Reads widely and reads intensively in areas of special interest.
• Acquires basic skills rapidly and with a minimum of practice.
• Comprehends advanced ideas, concepts, and implications.
• Has an unusual ability to memorize.
• May Òleap aheadÓ to an answer, but not know how they got there.
• Resists requirement of unnecessary detail in the completion of tasks.
• Explores wide-ranging and special interests not usually associated with children of his age and relates well to peers and adults who have similar interests.
• Expends much energy and time in pursuing special interests and may be involved in numerous projects and activities.
• Employs high intellectual and creative skills in assessing his physical and social environment, in solving problems, and in creating products.
• Generates many ideas and multiple solutions to problems.
• Copes with environment situations in resourceful and creative ways.
• Expresses himself fluently, clearly, and forcefully with words, numbers and creative products.
• Demonstrates richness of imagery in informal language and brainstorming.
• Has capability for extraordinary leadership and tends to assume leadership responsibility.
• Is an independent learner.
• May get easily bored with traditional school tasks.
• Becomes excited about new ideas.
• Creates and invents beyond the parameters of knowledge in the field.
• Can improvise with commonplace materials.
• May have high expectations of self and others.
• Often chooses "the road less travelled".

Adapted from the California Report of the Blue Ribbon Committee on the Education of the Gifted to Wilson Riles, State Superintendent of Public Instruction (1974) pp. 12-14.