What Exactly Does Being a 'Gifted' Child Mean?

In my line of work, I get asked the question a lot “What exactly IS a gifted child?” There are a lot of misconceptions and misdiagnoses surrounding this issue. I like to refer to the following two lists that I’ve adapted from College Planning for Gifted Students: Choosing And Getting into the Right College by Sandra Berger, who articulates the myths and truths of this topic very well.

Some common myths about gifted children:

• They are all high achievers and super smart.
• They do not need help and are self-contained.
• They have fewer problems because they are superior to others mentally.
• The future of a gifted student is guaranteed to go well and they will succeed at anything they try.
• They are disciplined and self disciplined.
• They develop socially and emotionally at the same rate as their intellect.
• They are outcasts and loners.
• Their greatest asset is their smarts.
• The gifted student's family always champions and supports them completely.
• They need to be leaders for others and assume that position as part of their lives.
• They are naturally creative and do not need much instruction.
• They are well behaved and role models.  

Some truths about gifted children:

• They are often perfectionists who see their academic achievements in direct correlation to their self-esteem.
• They can place unreal expectations on themselves to do well and feel personally responsible as failures if they don’t reach those expectations.
• Their chronological age, social, physical, emotional, and intellectual development may all be at different levels at any given time.
• Some of them are "mappers" (sequential learners), while others are "leapers" (spatial learners).
• They may always be steps ahead of their classmates and peers causing them to grow bored within the school setting.
• They are problem solvers and sometimes have trouble being in the academic environment where curriculum is so structured and predictable.
• They often think abstractly, which oftentimes makes studying and test taking difficult for them even though they may know the material.

Dr. Dan Peters, Ph.D., is co-founder of the Summit Center (http://summitcenter.us/), which provides psychological and educational assessments and counseling for children and adolescents, specializing in the gifted, creative, and twice-exceptional.