We know how giftedness is defined, but what does it actually mean to be gifted? These are the observable characteristics that gifted children exhibit.
While strengths and weaknesses exist among CATS kids, these four traits are common among them:
"Girl Working on a Robot", via Pixabay
Asynchronous development
This is a fancy way of saying that gifted kids develop in an
'uneven' way. It's true for all kids, but especially so for gifted children. The higher
the IQ, the more asynchronous a child is likely to be. It might look like this:
Chronological age= 14, Academic age= 17, Maturity age= 12; or
Chronological age= 4, Academic age= 6, Maturity age= 7; or
If you ask the parent of a gifted child about their child's "firsts", you are going to
hear some surprising numbers. Milestones for gifted children can happen years earlier
than expected. Developing cognitive skills at a very early age can be one of the earliest
signs of high intelligence. Some examples of precocious behavior include:
talks like a "little adult"
speaks in complete sentences at age 1
sorts items by color and size at age 2
offers an extensive, descriptive list of a specific theme- perhaps dinosaurs- at age 3
reads independently at age 4
regular use of sarcasm at age 7
"Children Reading", via Pexels
Rapid Learning
The average individual needs roughly 7 examples of a new concept to develop an understanding.
For gifted children, fewer examples are needed- sometimes only one- and the skill is added
to the child's repetoire.
Because of this, adults are often surprised by the seemingly random facts that gifted children
know. Exposure to a single television program, article, book, or conversation can lead
to new understandings and interests.
Excellent Memory
In addition to acquiring information quicker, gifted students retain that information much
longer. They can often describe conversations from years earlier in great detail, and
they often recall events from as early as age two.
The Brain
Neuroscience has, through research and brain scanning, determined that a gifted brain
is physically different from others (it's larger) and its synaptic function differs as well. When asked
to perform tasks, brains of gifted students will show significantly more activity (suggesting more
complex thinking), and will also show significantly less activity (suggesting more efficient thinking)
when compared to typical brains. Interestingly, it is still unclear if the physical brain causes the heightened
cognitive function, or if heightened cognitive function shapes the physical brain.
