Table of Developmental Milestones Contrasting Normal Children With Gifted Children at 30% Advancement.

Take me back HOME

The figures in the following tables are just guidelines - source: GERRIC. They are research based (I am assured of that) but there is little value in a child taking a test, finding that the child "has an IQ" of 161 and forever pinning on the label "Exceptionally Gifted". You should realise that not only will you find other opinions on the ranges of IQ and the labels thus attached, but the choice of test would produce different figures for the same child because of differences in the test types and the child's personality, strengths and weaknesses and the standard deviation (S.D.) of the test. There are of course other factors involved like motivation, general health, specific sensory disabilities and the like.

IQ scores have been found to fit the mathematically calculable curve known as the normal distribution and you will need to be familiar with this concept in order to fully understand the meaning of the results of an IQ score and the generally accepted definition of giftedness.

Jeremy Lee.

Levels of Giftedness

It is very important to note that there are different levels of giftedness. It is not always appreciated that even between these rough bands of ability there is a very great range of abilities. Therefore you should not expect to cater for the exceptionally or profoundly gifted child using the same programme as for the moderately gifted child.

It's worth noting that almost every class will on average have at least one moderately gifted child. Each school will have at least one highly gifted child (at any given time). Many schools will have had at one time or another an exceptionally gifted student - although they probably do not get identified. Only about one in every million children are profoundly gifted. Highly gifted children absolutely need a differentiated curriculum. Exceptionally and profoundly gifted children require and deserve radically different treatment.

How can you determine if your baby/toddler is gifted?

It may be somewhat surprising that it is possible to predict with reasonable accuracy if a very young child is gifted. The research shows that gifted children tend to gain skills faster and with more ease than normal children and this is why a differentiated school curriculum is required for such children. Therefore this advanced development can and does show up in early life. The following milestones have been gathered over many years of giftedness-research, made public, and are presented here as a guideline.

Obviously, the odd isolated advanced ability does not mean that you should immediately stand from the rooftops and scream, "My little Johnny is gifted!" What you should be looking for is a broad consistent advancement. There is also no point in trying to force any of these skills on to a child early - it does absolutely no good. At any particular level of development, the child's brain is either wired up for the activity or it's not, all they need is ample opportunity to practice basic skills in their own time at their own pace. Observe them, encourage them, but don't try hot-housing. It's a waste of time and effort.

If your child generally, roughly attains each of these milestones well before the normal population then there will be very little doubt that your child is NOT normal. It's as simple as that. This should be taken as a warning sign - for all is not sweet and happy when raising a gifted child. Take professional advice early, and try to plan ahead regarding school placement and carefully vet the attitudes of the proposed schools and the schools' respective councilors towards gifted children.

General Motor Examples

Fine Motor Examples

Keep your child's drawings and DATE THEM! Even if you're not impressed by the artwork, young children's drawings can (if dated) provide valuable ammunition in a gifted/not-gifted argument. So keep the first scribble and DATE IT. (See this example drawing by a highly gifted child at 6yrs 1month.)

Cognitive-Language Examples

Take me back HOME