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Gifted children its definitions, nature and characteristics

The gifted youngster is both a strength and a burden. He is a resource that society will never fully appreciate. It’s tough to overstate his positive potential.

The following phrases have been used by various academics and psychologists to define the term “gifted child”:

According to Telford and Sawrey, “The intellectually gifted can be defined in terms of test scores or demonstrated performance, or as the upper 1 or 2 per cent of the general population as measured by some designated intelligence and/or achievement test.”
According to Witty, “The term gifted or talented stands for those whose performance is consistently remarkable in some potentially valuable activity.”
According to Prem Pasricha, “The gifted child is the one who exhibits superiority in general intelligence or the one who is in possession of special abilities of a high order in the fields which are not necessarily associated with a high intelligence quotient.”

According to Marland report, “The gifted are those who possess outstanding abilities or potential in the area of general intellectual capacity, specific academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking, leadership ability, visual or performing arts and psycho-motor activity.”
According to Havighurst, “The talented or gifted child is one who shows consistently remarkable performance in any worthwhile line of endeavour.”

The concepts given above can be analysed to see how different academics and intellectuals have defined the term “talent.” By including test results for intellect and achievement, the first two definitions have attempted to offer a statistical and operational definition. Although using I.Q. and achievement test scores to determine giftedness has the benefit of objectivity, it cannot be the only criteria. Determining the threshold, or the minimum score required to be classified as gifted is also challenging since some people set it at 140 while others set it at 110.

In light of the aforementioned classifications, we can infer the following information regarding the definition, makeup, and traits of gifted or talented children:

In essence, a talented child is a youngster who is unique.
He has an advantage over other kids in his own group in some aptitude or set of abilities.

The gifted youngster almost always does better solely in the area or areas in which he is gifted.
A gifted youngster does not necessary need to have an extremely high IQ (I.Q.).
The talented kid may significantly improve society, the country, and humankind as a whole if given the right attention and opportunities for self-expression and development.