He already has such a deep gaze for a newborn! She’s not even 2 and already talks like a book! What’s the point of the last year of nursery school? At 4, he can already read! It’s not just because they’re yours, but objectively speaking, your child does seem ahead for their age. Behind the biased fascination for your own offspring, there may well be a gifted (HP) child, sometimes still called a “surdoué” in French. How can you objectively assess your child’s potential? Discover the signs of a gifted child.

What is meant by a gifted (HP) child?

When a child has an intelligence quotient (IQ) above 125 points, they are considered gifted. This is roughly the case for one child per class, regardless of grade level. We talk about giftedness, but also high potential or a gifted child. Several terms describe these particularities:

  • HP = High Potential (“Haut Potentiel”)
  • EIP = Intellectually Gifted Child (“Enfant Intellectuellement Précoce” – the term mainly used by the French education system)
  • HQI = High IQ. A child whose IQ exceeds 130 points on the Wechsler scale
  • THQI = Very High IQ. A child whose IQ exceeds 145 points on the Wechsler scale
  • HPI and THPI = High Intellectual Potential and Very High Intellectual Potential, used to describe intellectually gifted children.

At what age can giftedness be detected?

It’s possible from birth! Are you surprised that your baby, just a few days old, can stare at you intently, fixing you with a determined look? That’s not a small thing, and it confirms your baby’s brain is working well. A few months later, it’s the easy handling of language, correct sentence structure, and undistorted pronunciation of words that will catch the attention of some parents of gifted (HP) children. Throughout early childhood and even in adolescence, it’s never too late to diagnose an intellectually gifted child, as there’s no shortage of signs, some less expected than others!

Signs of a gifted (HP) child from birth to 1 year

A gifted child is a newborn whose every sense is on high alert. They react to the slightest noise, light, or smell. They’re very demanding, starting with the timing of their bottle! They hate slowness when everything in their little head is running at high speed. Say goodbye to romantic evenings and lie-ins. If your child is HP, EIP, or gifted, there’s a good chance they won’t sleep much!

A GIFTED CHILD = A LIGHT SLEEPER

Hard to get to sleep and hard to convince to stay in bed in the morning. Their brain seems to be constantly active. They’re also very sociable and enjoy contact. In fact, they show their moods through a wide range of facial expressions. This gifted baby will be able to stay focused on a stimulus for more than 8 minutes at a stretch, whereas children their age typically can’t concentrate for more than 5 minutes. But why won’t they go and play with the others when you take them to the playground? While their peers dive straight into the play equipment without a second thought, the little HP child will spend a long time analysing the situation while hanging back. They’ll carefully observe the environment before perhaps joining in, in their own way. Their intelligence also shows in their ability to reproduce all kinds of sounds, and above all to talk very early (their first word will usually come before age 1). Are they impatient and quick to get upset? No need to panic, they’ll learn to be patient if you calmly explain why they can’t have everything they want!

Signs of a gifted (HP) child from 1 to 3 years

These gifted children often learn to walk early. This boosts their independence and lets them get where they want faster, and grab whatever catches their eye. The crawling stage is sometimes skipped altogether in favour of walking upright. They’re perfectly capable of doing an activity that childcare staff ask of them, so why do they refuse to do it? Because a gifted child can’t stand meaninglessness. If an action has no meaning to them, they’ll refuse to do it. Yet recognising the exact route to the nursery, the park, or home is remarkably easy for this little memory machine. Their sense of direction is, in fact, very well developed. On the language side, they all share this mastery of words and sentence structure that begins around age 1. They name flashcard items with perfect articulation. Around 18 months, they happily try out complicated words like “car,” “catalogue,” or “harp.” From age 2, sentences are already built with a subject-verb-object structure. Don’t get the words wrong in their nursery rhymes or the text of their story! With their remarkable memory, they’ll correct you in a heartbeat! Their energy is boundless, and it shows in all kinds of physical activities. They don’t need much sleep to be in great shape, unlike quite a few of their parents! This gifted child is often highly sensitive. This shows with varying intensity, but for some of them, we even talk about heightened sensitivity. Able to tell apart different flavours (vanilla, thyme, basil, orange blossom…), they crave discovery and intellectual stimulation.

AN IMPRESSIVE VOCABULARY

When they speak, they don’t go for the simplest word, they pick the exact right one! When it comes to managing emotions, things are a bit trickier for some gifted children. They’re more prone to intense anger and frustration. For others, it seems to be the exact opposite: a striking indifference to joy or sadness is what characterises them. Don’t be fooled! Some children protect themselves from being overwhelmed by their emotions and spare themselves outbursts that would be hard to manage.

They can count up to 20 or beyond, and enjoy spotting numbers and letters in their surroundings.

Signs of a gifted (HP) child from 3 to 5 years

At this stage, intellectually gifted children mainly stand out through their love of reading, drawing, and painting. They’ll work out how syllables work on their own, well before starting CP (the French equivalent of Year 1/first grade). Their creations show perspective and detail that reflect their photographic memory. They ask questions about topics different from their classmates: death, life, astronomy…

NO NEED FOR READING LESSONS

They can write their first name at age 4, though their handwriting can sometimes still be clumsy. In fact, their giftedness often comes with slow handwriting, which can hold them back in class. Like most children, they love dinosaurs, but unlike most, they know all their names! They’ll become fascinated with black holes, galaxies, and the Big Bang. When they take a photo, they carefully compose the shot and frame it skillfully, producing high-quality pictures! Their imagination knows no bounds, and they’re capable of reinventing the world down to the smallest detail. Finally, given some exposure to it at home, they’ll grasp humour very quickly and start using it themselves, to the great delight of those around them. These children sometimes have few friends their own age, or their friends tend to be other gifted (HP) children like them.

Signs of a gifted (HP) child from age 5 onwards

Curious, but impatient. Early readers, but struggling with writing. Talented, but unable to carry out repetitive work (seen as pointless). Gifted children have an incredible opportunity, but their particularity needs to be diagnosed by at least age 5 to strengthen certain areas prone to school failure. From this age onward, and for all the years that follow, many gifted children (EIP) will try to blend in with peers their age, for several reasons: to make friends or to avoid standing out. More vulnerable than other children to others’ judgment, they’re more easily affected. It’s therefore essential to reach a diagnosis as soon as possible, to address the weaknesses of these unusual profiles and make the most of this incredible potential.

 

All these signs are only a non-exhaustive collection of characteristics observed in a large majority of gifted children. They open a door for parents wondering about their child’s profile. However, a child can be gifted (HP) without meeting all these criteria. Likewise, another child may show a few of these signs while having a typical level of potential. If in doubt, remember that only an IQ test, also called a psychometric assessment, is reliable.