National Society for the Gifted & Talented - Connecting gifted and talented children and youth to opportunities, resources, and recognition

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Giftedness Defined - What is Gifted & Talented?
"Children and youth with outstanding talent who perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment."
- US Department of Education, 1993.

This definition is the broadest and most comprehensive. It is used by many school districts. It speaks of talent, which includes all areas of a child's life academic, artistic, athletic, and social. Most schools limit their definition and their programs to academics, but it is important to realize on performing and accomplishment. It is not enough to just have the talent, but you must be using that talent to achieve at remarkably high levels. However, this definition recognizes that not all very talented students have the potential to achieve at high levels but have not realized that potential. These are the classic underachievers. Finally this definition is a comparative one, these students achieve or have the potential to achieve at levels way above their peers.

How to Identify a Gifted Child
Recommendation
Behavioral Checklists
Characteristics/Signs of Gifted Children

How to Identify a Gifted Child
Most identification happens in schools and is for the purpose of selecting students to participage in the school's gifted program. There are no nation-wide or even state-wide standards for identification. Each school district decides, based on its definition of gifted students and the sort of services they intend to offer.

Here are some general issuses in identification that parents should use when they work with their child's school:
  • Ability vs. Achievement
  • Tests vs. Grades Standardized Testing
  • Standardized Testing
  • Ability
    IQ
    Creative and Critical Thinking
  • Achievement

    •  Recommendations
  • Teacher
  • Parents
  • Self
  • Peers

    • Behavioral Checklists
    Parents need to be aware of the criterion that their school is using and ask for how their child was evaluated for selection in the gifted program. Some schools first select a group of students who will be evaluated to see if they will qualify. That first round of selection is critical and often is quite subjective. Parents can learn after the fact that their child was not even selected for the first group, when the parents know that their child has unusual abilities.

    Characteristics/Signs of Gifted Children
    Here are some characteristics of Gifted Students that parents should use to see if they think their child is gifted:
    1. Gifted students are often perfectionist and idealistic.
    2. Gifted students may experience heightened sensitivity to their own expectations and those of others.
    3. Gifted students are asynchronous
    4. Some gifted students are "mappers" (sequential learners), while others are "leapers" spatial learners.
    5. Gifted students may be so far ahead of their chronological age mates that they know half the curriculum before the school year begins!
    6. Gifted children are problem solvers.
    7. Gifted students often think abstractly and with such complexity that they may need help with concrete study and test-taking skills.
    8. Gifted students who do well in school may define success as getting an "A" and failure as any grade less than an "A".
    Gifted students usually have unusual talent in one or occasionally two areas. Below are six areas where we will find giftedness. No child will be gifted in all six, but some may be in more than one area. Within specific academic ability, students again usually have one or two subjects that they are best in and passionate about.

    Creative Thinking Leadership
    General Intellectual Ability Psychomotor
    Specific Academic Ability Visual/ Peforming Arts

    Creative Thinking
  • Independent thinker
  • Exhibits original thinking in oral and written expression
  • Come up with several solutions to a given problem
  • Possesses a sense of humor
  • Creates and invents
  • Challenged by creative tasks
  • Improvises often
  • Does not mind being different from the crowd

    • General Intellectual Ability
  • Formulates abstractions
  • Processes information in complex ways
  • Observant
  • Excited about new ideas
  • Enjoys hypothesizing
  • Learns rapidly
  • Uses a large vocabulary
  • Inquisitive
  • Self - starter

    • Specific Academic Ability

  • Good memorization ability
  • Advanced comprehension
  • Acquires basic skill knowledge quickly
  • Widely read in special interest area
  • High academic success in special interest area
  • Pursues special interest with enthusiasm and vigor

    • Leadership
  • Assumes responsibility
  • High expectations for self and others
  • Fluent, concise self expression
  • Foresees consequences and implications of decisions
  • Good judgement in decision making
  • Likes structure
  • Well-liked by peers
  • Self - confident
  • Organized

    • Psychomotor

  • Challenged by difficult athletic activities
  • Exhibits precision in movement
  • Enjoys participation in various athletic opportunities
  • Excels in motor skills
  • Well coordinated
  • Good manipulative skills
  • High energy level

    • Visual/ Performing Arts

  • Outstanding in sense of spatial relationships
  • Unusual ability in expressing self, feeling, moods, etc., through dance, drama, music, etc.
  • Good motor coordination
  • Exhibits creative expression
  • Desire for producing "own product" (not content with mere copying)
  • Observant
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         		 Honoring and encouraging gifted and talented children and youth.
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