Identifying Gifted Children - What is Giftedness?

"Is my child gifted?" That is a question many parents ask. Parents looking for an answer to that question need to consider several different factors.

You don't know what to make of your child. His behavior is puzzling and frustrating. Sometimes you wonder if he has ADHD, ODD, OCD, sensory integration disorder, or some other disorder or syndrome. You wonder if he has a learning disability. Or maybe, you think, he is lazy and irresponsible. Maybe, however, your child is gifted.

Defining what it means to be gifted is extremely difficult. Numerous definitions have been suggested, but none of them seem to capture the essence of giftedness in a way that satisfies everyone.

Parents often notice that their child is not quite like other children, but they just as often question what those differences mean. They know their child is smart, but gifted? Looking at a list of gifted traits or characteristics is a quick first step in determining whether a child is gifted.

This article goes well beyond a simple list of gifted characteristics. It discusses giftedness in terms of truth, beauty, and goodness, and also provides some historical context. Through examples, it puts you into the mind of a gifted child to understand their feelings and frustrations.

One of the questions parents of gifted children ask most often is whether or not their child is really gifted or just bright. Here's a quick comparison of the characteristics of bright children and gifted children.

This is a wonderful article that explains what to look for to determine if your child is gifted and why it's important that you know it.