The Gifted Child

Pediatrics in Review 2010;31;41

DOI: 10.1542/pir.31-1-41

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In Brief
The Gifted Child
Maris D. Rosenberg, MD
Dimitra Robokos, PhD
Rose F. Kennedy UCEDD
Children’s Evaluation and
Rehabilitation Center
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Bronx, NY
Author Disclosure
Drs Rosenberg, Robokos, and Adam
have disclosed no financial
relationships relevant to this In Brief.
This commentary does not contain a
discussion of an unapproved/
investigative use of a commercial
product/device.
Gifted and Talented Children: Issues for
Pediatricians. Robinson NM, Olszewski-
Kubilius PM. Pediatr Rev. 1996;17:
427– 434
The Gifted Child. Jaffe AC. Pediatr Rev.
2000;21:240 –242
Early Childhood. Robinson NM. In:
Plucker JA, Callahan CM, eds. Critical
Issues and Practices in Gifted Educa-
tion: What the Research Says. Waco,
Tex: Prufrock Press; 2007:179 –194
Homeschooling. Kunzman R. In: Plucker
JA, Callahan CM, eds. Critical Issues
and Practices in Gifted Education:
What the Research Says. Waco, Tex:
Prufrock Press; 2007:253–260
Parenting. Schader RM. In: Plucker JA,
Callahan CM, eds. Critical Issues and
Practices in Gifted Education: What
the Research Says. Waco, Tex: Pru-
frock Press; 2007:479 – 492
Parents suspecting that their young
child may be “gifted” often seek the
advice of their pediatricians. An analy-
sis of parent email received by the
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National Association for Gifted Children
from 2001 to 2004 revealed that ap-
proximately 50% of all inquiries in-
volved children 5 years of age or
younger. Most of the questions dealt
with the recognition of giftedness and
how to develop a child’s exceptional
abilities. Other frequent questions in-
volved information about resources,
such as the type of school program that
is best for a gifted child. Next most
common were questions about achieve-
ment issues, social and emotional
needs, and resources for specific talent
areas.
Research on giftedness remains lim-
ited in its generalizability for many
reasons, most fundamentally, the lack
of a universally accepted definition.
Different school districts, for example,
have different criteria based on demo-
graphics and available resources. Gen-
eral giftedness, as measured by superior
intelligence quotient (IQ) (top 3%), is
only one subtype, but superior IQ alone
does not predict academic success be-
cause of the coexistence of emotional
and behavioral as well as cultural and
learning differences. Academic gifted-
ness tends to be given the greatest
emphasis yet varies among population
groups. General giftedness must be dis-
tinguished from specific talents or do-
mains of excellence. Most often there is
asynchrony in different areas of devel-
opment, and children who have isolated
abilities may be missed by some school
criteria.
Giftedness in young children consti-
tutes significantly advanced skills and
abilities in any domain. The research on
early childhood characteristics of young
gifted children tends to lack coherence,
but several general characteristics have
been identified. Cognitive characteris-
in brief
tics of these children include, but are
not limited to, alertness during infancy,
early language development, advanced
vocabulary, abstract thinking, the abil-
ity to generate original ideas, excep-
tional problem-solving skills, and ex-
cellent memory skills. Gifted young
children usually ask provocative and
penetrating questions and demonstrate
exceptional curiosity and a heightened
sense of wonder.
Some of the social and emotional
characteristics of young gifted children
consist of the early development of
empathy, concern with truth and fair-
ness in play, a mature sense of humor,
leadership in cooperative play, and per-
fectionism. Young children, like older
gifted children, show asynchronous de-
velopmental patterns. For example,
cognitive and academic skills often ex-
ceed social-emotional and motor skills,
and such discrepancies become more
apparent the younger the child is. It is
important to note that the early iden-
tification (first 2 years after birth) of
giftedness in young children based on
developmental assessments tends to be
an unstable predictor of later intelli-
gence. Generally, IQs obtained before
the age of 5 years must be interpreted
with caution.
Decisions regarding educational
placement should focus on an optimal
match, taking into account the child’s
levels and patterns of giftedness, emo-
tional maturity, and social skills. Early
school entry can provide appropriate
and stimulating developmental chal-
lenges for precocious learners and is
the least disruptive approach to accel-
erating academically advanced chil-
dren. However, the decision often is
challenging for parents, and placement
on a trial basis is a reasonable recom-
Pediatrics in Review Vol.31 No.1 January 2010 41
in brief
mendation. When a child is to be placed
in school early, his or her development
across most domains should be com-
mensurate with the mean of the class
being entered. Some studies have indi-
cated that boys may face greater be-
havioral risks than girls when they en-
ter school earlier.
In planning for the education of
young gifted and talented children,
parents may consider home schooling.
It is estimated that more than 2 million
children are home-schooled in the
United States. Although the number of
children home-schooled over the past
decade has increased, few empiric data
are available on gifted children who are
schooled at home. Advocates claim that
home schooling allows for the type of
pedagogy that is ideal for children en-
dowed with exceptional abilities: The
children can have individual mentoring,
they can focus in-depth on particular
subjects or projects, and they can have
tailored accelerated programs to meet
their academic needs and address their
asynchronous skill areas. However, with
most reports depending on anecdote, it
is impossible to assess the academic
outcomes associated with home
schooling.
One concern about home schooling
is whether parents are capable of pro-
viding the most appropriate instruction.
Home-school consultants, some of
whom are experienced teachers, can
help families design curricula and as-
sure that they are meeting state stan-
dards. The increase in online home-
school options raises concerns about
quality control as well as the lack of
interpersonal experiences and social-
ization for the children. One response
to the concern about socialization is
the creation of community groups, so
education is not received entirely
within the home. Such home-school
groups should consist of children of
various ages, allowing for children of
varying interests and abilities to gather
42 Pediatrics in Review Vol.31 No.1 January 2010
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and enjoy supportive and flexible learn-
ing together.
Once a young child has been recog-
nized or is suspected of possessing
exceptional abilities or talents, issues
emerge that significantly affect family
functioning. Parents may feel increas-
ing pressure to define and develop their
child’s talents by taking on the role of
teacher but not have the expertise or
confidence to do so. They may feel the
need to become active advocates,
“fighting the system” to gain additional
services for their child. These pursuits
are time-consuming and can cause sig-
nificant strain on family resources, time
devoted to other children, or time de-
voted to the marital relationship. Par-
ents may differ in their acknowledg-
ment of the child’s abilities or their
priorities for devoting family resources
to the child’s special gift. One parent,
therefore, may foster feelings of closer
alignment to the child, straining the
relationship between the child and the
“less involved” parent.
Close attention also must be paid to
the effect on the child’s social and
emotional development. Given the fo-
cus, time, and energy devoted to devel-
oping the child’s exceptional abilities,
parents may communicate a sense of
expectation that places undue pressure
on the child, a situation compounded
by the sensitivity and intense personal-
ity styles often described in gifted and
talented children. Another potential
problem is the inability to identify with
peers, either because of the absence of
peers who have similar interests or
because of the lack of time for informal
socialization due to “overprogram-
ming.” Children may become overly de-
pendent on their parents, who may
manage everyday activities excessively,
preempting ordinary responsibilities,
such as household chores, and retard-
ing the development of organizational
skills that are critical to a child’s devel-
opment over the school years.
As is the case with many develop-
mental and behavioral issues in young
children, parents often consult their
pediatricians for guidance about how
to maximize their child’s potential. In
response, pediatricians must be pre-
pared to discuss the current evidence
about gifted and talented children, in-
cluding the relative lack of research and
the disagreement about issues as fun-
damental as the precise definition of
giftedness. They must be ready to point
out the common phenomenon of “un-
evenness” in the profiles of children in
their cognitive, social, and emotional
development and should be aware that
giftedness can be associated with
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder,
Asperger syndrome, oppositional defi-
ant disorder, and learning disabilities.
A multidisciplinary team is optimal to
arrive at diagnoses and to develop com-
prehensive treatments to determine
which combinations of strategies (ie,
behavioral, medical, educational) might
be most effective for the individual
child.
It is incumbent on the pediatrician
to become knowledgeable about re-
sources in the community that provide
diagnostic, educational, and behavioral
interventions and to be able to discuss
educational decisions such as early
school entrance, home schooling, and
enrichment programs. Most impor-
tantly, an open dialogue on issues re-
garding the social and emotional ef-
fects on the child, family functioning,
and family dynamics must be main-
tained and continuously revisited as the
child progresses through the school
years.
RESOURCES
• National Association for Gifted
Children: www.nagc.org
• Center for Talented Youth–Johns
Hopkins University: www.jhu.edu/gifted
• Talent Identification Program–
Duke University: www.tip.duke.edu
• Center for Gifted Education Pol-
icy: www.apa.org/ed/cgep.html

• Neag Center for Gifted Education
and Talent Development–University of
Connecticut: www.gifted.uconn.edu
Comment: The debate about health
care in the United States has widely
publicized the reality that, by many
measures, although we spend the most,
we do not deliver the best. Unfortu-
nately, much the same can be said
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about our educational system. The Or-
ganization for Economic Cooperation &
Development, for example, has ranked
secondary education in our country
18th among 36 industrialized nations
worldwide. If growth and develop-
ment are the fundamental outcomes
of childhood, we are fundamentally
failing too many of our children, both
those who are specially gifted and
in brief
those who are not. Not surprisingly,
children living in poverty, especially if
they are from minority families, the
same who are least likely to have ac-
cess to high-quality health care, are
most likely to suffer from inadequate
schooling.
Henry M. Adam, MD
Editor, In Brief
Pediatrics in Review Vol.31 No.1 January 2010 43
 The Gifted Child
Pediatrics in Review 2010;31;41
DOI: 10.1542/pir.31-1-41

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