How do you know a child is gifted?
Gifted kids are not necessarily easy to spot. Some will be obvious - they are excelling at school, but sometimes in a particular subject area only. Some will be finding school boring and are acting out. Some will be hiding their giftedness because they don’t like being seen as different. And others will be managing other neurodiversities which complicates them exploring their gifts.
Common characteristics
Here are some common characteristics of gifted kids. They will:
Ask lots of questions, maybe unusual ones
Have deep interests or passions - either long-lasting or fleeting
Have BIG emotions, ‘all the feels’
Seem different to their same-age peers
Enjoy a quirky sense of humour
Grasp complex, abstract or advanced ideas quickly
Gifted children are all very different, and may not have been - or felt - able to express their gifts fully, particularly if their brains are different in other ways (for instance if they have ASD, ADHD, dyslexia etc.).
They may also have to work hard to fit into an environment that doesn’t support their cultural, socio-economic or other differences. Some children - often girls - will be more concerned with fitting in socially and will not want to show themselves as different.
Trust your instincts - the Gifted Development Center in the US has found that 85% of parents are right about their child’s giftedness.
Diagnosis
If you are after a formal confirmation (which you don’t need for MindPlus), there are a number of psychologists or other professionals around New Zealand who do assessments. The list here has a dyslexia focus but includes providers with additional expertise.
If you suspect your child/ student may have another neurodiversity in addition to giftedness, getting a diagnosis can be useful to tease out some of the likely complexities and get ideas for supporting their specific needs.