Gifted children

High abilities is a concept that encompasses giftedness, talent, and intellectual precocity. The WHO establishes that gifted children are those with an intelligence quotient equal to or greater than 130 and who possess exceptional abilities in all areas of intelligence.

We should not confuse giftedness with simple or complex talents, which score high in a specific aptitude or in several, but are average in the rest of the aptitudes.

Types of High Abilities

The neuropsychologist from the Pediatrics department of Dexeus, Virginia Trémols, establishes three types of situations within high abilities:

-Gifted Children: these are children who learn to read or write on their own because they are very stimulated, but as they mature, they catch up with the rest of their peers.

-Talented Children: these are children who excel in a specific area, such as mathematics, the arts, language, or sports.

-Giftedness: children who are good at everything they set out to do. According to Olga Carmona, an expert in Diagnosis and Psychopedagogical Attention for Children with High Abilities, all gifted children are intellectually precocious, but not all precocious children become gifted.

How to detect it

The only way to detect high abilities in children is through a comprehensive evaluation carried out by experts. But before being detected, some signs that lead us to think that a child may have high abilities are:

-Very demanding babies who are easily overstimulated. They lift their heads before the first month of life and can vocalize different sounds around a month and a half.

-They are usually emotionally intense

-They question any authority and try to impose their own criteria.

-They have a great memory, both short and long-term.

-They learn to read and write autonomously before other children.

-They have a rich and extensive vocabulary from a very young age.

-They are self-critical, perfectionists, and competitive.

-They have a great ability to concentrate on topics that interest them, but are easily distracted by what does not catch their attention. If you suspect that your child may have high abilities, you should seek out an expert as soon as possible for an evaluation to confirm or rule out the diagnosis. The sooner it is detected, the sooner parents can understand and empathize with the child's needs, allowing them to channel their full potential.