EMOTIONAL TRAITS OF GIFTED
CHILDREN
GATE PROGRAM
CHANTAL CRAVENS
CCRAVENS@EMCSD.ORG
One can never
consent to
creep when
one feels an
impulse to
soar!
– Helen Keller
Most schools focus on Intellectual and Academic Giftedness and try to estimate potential in
these areas using tests.
(Tests are simply shorthand attempts to measure what we could observe, if we had enough
time and the proper settings. We need to focus on behaviors as much as on test scores.)
(IQ)
55
Mean= 100
70
85
100
Standard Deviation= 15
115
130
145
160
level
range
Prevalence
Mildly
gifted
115 –
129
1:6 –
1:44
Flip side
of this is
Range of 70-85 IQ
115
130
1 standard Deviation
level
range
Prevalence
Moderately
gifted
130144
1:44 –
1:1,000
Flip side
of this is 69-50 IQ
Two
Standard
Deviations
level
range
Prevalence
Highly
Gifted
145159
1:1,000 –
1:10,000
Asynchronicity
 The more gifted you are, the more
different you are from your age
peers.
 The less you feel you “fit in”.
 130 IQ- minimum IQ to qualify for
GATE program- one in 44 people.
 Highly gifted: 144 IQ is 1 in 1,000
people
Level of Giftedness
Ruf (2003)
Levels of
Score
Giftedness Range
Descriptive
Designation
Level One
120 -129
Moderately
Gifted 120124/Gifted 125-129
Level Two
130-135
Highly Gifted
Level
Three
136-140
Exceptionally
Gifted
Level Four
141+
Exceptionally to
Profoundly Gifted
Level Five
141+
Exceptionally to
Profoundly Gifted
What happens to the rat that
stops running the maze? The
doctors think it's dumb when it's
just disappointed. – Mark Eitzel
Complex sentence structure
Issues for students







Boredom
Underachievement
Peer Issues
Feelings of Not Belonging
Anger
Power Struggles
Stress and Perfectionism
“8 Great Gripes of Gifted Kids” See handout
Usually a Plus, but not always








Misdiagnosis
Health and Behavioral Problems
Asthma 
Allergies 
Reactive Hypoglycemia (next slide)
Existential Depression
Expectations of Others
Judgment Lags behind Intellectual
Abilities
Reactive hypoglycemia
 Greedy brains
 Mood swings
 Eat every 3 hours
 Foods with protein and
carbohydrate mix
Dual Diagnosis and Misdiagnosis of Gifted Children, James Webb
Interesting …
 If you know a child’s IQ, you can
predict the parent’s IQ within 10
points.
 Chances are there is a gifted parent in
the mix.
 Chances are that one of you (or both)
have OE’s too 
…explains a lot, doesn’t it?
Asynchronous developmentout of sync with their traits and peers
Intellectual ability-11
Actual age- 8
Physical Skills-9
Social maturity-7
John Hughes
Highly gifted High School dropout
“I didn’t grow up gifted, at
least not by name. I grew up
being asked what was wrong
with me.”
Joseph Hughes, age 19
Great Books
Living With
Intensity by Susan
 Read
Daniels and Mike
Piechowski
 An estimated 15-20% of
men, women and children
have a highly sensitive
nervous system, but few
people know that this
level of sensitivity is an
inherited, biological trait.
Help is on its Way
by Jenna Forrest is a
must read.
www.jennaforrest.com
handout: http://www.sengifted.org/archives/articles/overexcitability-and-the-gifted
Find others who
share your
interests and “get
you”.
www.pagegifted.com
blog article
“You are not
alone”- 6-4-12 post
How to Take Care of Yourself:
Learn to fail and to laugh
Get out and exercise & to
relax
Learn to say NO
Prioritize your activities
Set reasonable goals
Give yourself enough time
Be flexible to alternative
paths
Savor success
Graciously accept praise
Which are you?
Which is your mate?
Introvert
Extravert
 People drain me
 People energize me
 Private self and public
 What you see is what
self
 I like to mentally
rehearse what I say
 I am the quiet observer
you get
 I think out loud
 I’m the one with my
hand up. I need to
participate.
http://gate.emcsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Intoversion_Gifted-Boys_Gifted-Girls.pdf
Creativity
People Who Became
Eminent
 These children learned to think and
express themselves clearly.
 All had learned to be persistent in
pursuing their own visions and goals.
 Many had difficult childhoods
(which may have been a spark)





Poverty
Broken homes
Physical handicaps
Parental dissatisfaction
Controlling or rejecting parents
Counseling Gifted Children and Adults
 First, find someone who
specializes or has an indepth knowledge of the
gifted.
http://www.sengifted.org/articles_counseli
ng/Webb_MisdiagnosisAndDualDiagnosis
OfGiftedChildren.shtml
 A Parent’s Guide To
Gifted Children by James
Webb is a real gem!
Resources
www.sengifted.org SENG
http://opac.acer.edu.au:8080/dbtwwpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?TN=membersaei_athen
s&QY=find%20(DATE%20OF%20ENTRY%20
%3DGifted)&RF=GiftedBrief&DF=GiftedFull&
CS=1&MR=50&NP=2&ID=gifted&AC=QBE_Q
UERY Resources and research from
Australia