What is Intellectual Giftedness?
Intellectual Giftedness is characterized by the development of a skill significantly higher than the population average in some areas of knowledge, being able to stand out in activities such as: academic, creative, leadership, artistic, psychomotor or motivation. The subject of Giftedness is known as gifted, gifted, or possessed of high abilities. There are still other characterizations, such as precocity, prodigy and genius.
Is a Gifted Child a Genius?
There are different degrees of the phenomenon of Intellectual Giftedness. Among them, we highlight precocity, prodigy and genius which, according to ConBraSD (Brazilian Council for Giftedness), can be described as follows:
Precocity: applies to children who develop a certain skill prematurely, before the expected time for the big most children, which can happen in any area of knowledge such as music, literature, mathematics or language.
Prodigy: the term “Child Prodigy” is used for the development of some rare or extreme feature, which would not fall within the normal course of natural development. The most used example is the pianist Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who started playing the piano at just three years of age.
Genius: is the term reserved for people whose skill has made extraordinary contributions to human history. This is the case of scholars such as Einstein, Gandhi, Freud, Portinari and Mozart himself.
In all three cases, we are dealing with people who can be said to have been gifted with high abilities, or gifted.
How is Giftedness Diagnosed?
Over the years, numerous proposals have been developed for the assessment and diagnosis of Giftedness intellectual, based on intelligence tests, assessment of behavioral patterns and conditions of development. For some authors, there are three fundamental conditions for the diagnosis: above-average ability, commitment to the task and creativity. Other authors advocate multidisciplinary proposals for the development of a diagnosis and intervention proposals.
Are there specific characteristics of Intellectual Giftedness?
Every child is different and reacts differently to stimuli both at home and at school. Despite this, some aspects can be evidenced in the interaction with gifted individuals, such as:
- precocious development of early physical skills (sitting, walking, speaking), recognizing their caregivers, acquiring language, verbal knowledge and reading;
- high degree of intellectual curiosity (elaboration of more sophisticated questions) and persistence in getting answers;
- fast learning, with minimal instructions;
- developed sensitivity;
- high energy levels (which can often lead to being diagnosed as Hyperactive);
- preference for individual games or interaction with older people;
- well-developed logical and abstract reasoning;
- interest in philosophical, moral and social topics and discussions.
What are the problems faced by gifted subjects?
Although it seems that gifted subjects are extremely adapted and that, therefore, they would be free from problems of socialization and understanding, some difficulties may arise throughout life, among them, we can highlight: perfectionism; nervous system hypersensitivity; resistance to interruptions and changes in routine; impatience with details; divergent thoughts in relation to those of colleagues, which can lead to discrimination or nonconformity; little dedication or disinterest in new ways of solving problems, generating low academic performance; disgust for rigid classroom structures; rebellion and opposition to social pressures; exacerbated sarcasm.
How to find out more?
The topic of Intellectual Giftedness demands in-depth discussions, which have been carried out successfully over the years. As a result, Brazilian legislation stands out in educational measures for subjects with high abilities. Among the indicated reading books is the material "Building Educational Practices for Students with High Abilities / Giftedness”, developed by the Ministry of Education and the Special Education Secretariat, which is extremely rich in descriptions and intervention proposals.
To start discussions, some media examples can also be interesting. The series "Parenthood" tells the story of the Braverman family who have, among their loved ones, a gifted child (Sydney Graham). Despite appearing in a few episodes, Sydney shows remarkable behavior and can serve as an illustration for discussions.
Juliana Spinelli Ferrari
Brazil School Collaborator
Graduated in Psychology from UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista
Brief psychotherapy course by FUNDEB - Foundation for the Development of Bauru
Master's Student in School Psychology and Human Development at USP - University of São Paulo
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/psicologia/superdotacao-intelectual.htm