These people are found across all races, cultures, and socioeconomic groups, globally. Essentially, giftedness is a neurodiversity with a social-emotional and learning difference. It is highly genetic, meaning that while early experiences are influential, gifted people are essentially just born the way they are.
At its core, giftedness is a brain-based difference that contributes to our vibrant and neurodiverse world. This neurological difference means that profoundly gifted students experience a different intellectual, academic, and social-emotional development trajectory than neurotypical individuals.
Quick Read. Some children are highly gifted in areas such as math, writing or music. Others have learning challenges like ADHD, dyslexia or dyscalculia, autism or sensory processing issues. But there are also kids who fit into both categories.
Both giftedness and autism fall on a spectrum, so while there may be individuals who clearly fit into one box or another, some behaviors might be more ambiguous and require additional information, context, or professional opinions.
ADHD AND GIFTEDNESS are sometimes described as having the same or similar characteristics. However, one diagnosis is considered a disability and one, a gift. Neither assumption is ideal in supporting the child identified with either ADHD, giftedness, or both, often referred to as twice exceptional or 2e.
A gifted child's IQ will fall within these ranges: Mildly gifted: 115 to 130. Moderately gifted: 130 to 145. Highly gifted: 145 to 160.
Although there are no standard IQ levels of intellectual giftedness, some experts suggest the following IQ ranges: Mildly gifted: 115 to 129. Moderately gifted: 130 to 144. ighly gifted: 145 to 159.
The intelligence levels of autistic people, in general, are highly polarized, with many autistic people scoring average to above-average; compared to the general public, more autistic people score in the gifted range (140+ IQ).
But years later, in 2014, a U.S. study found that almost half of the children with ASD had average or above average intelligence, that is, an IQ score above 85. Less than a third of the children with autism had intellectual disability, and 23% had IQ scores in the "borderline range" from 71 to 85.
Differences Between Gifted Child vs.
To put it briefly, a smart child can answer a question correctly. However, a gifted child grasps the question deeply and goes beyond the answer, one step beyond the question because of their perfectionism.
"As many as one-third of gifted children may exhibit sensory processing disorder features, significantly impacting quality of life."
Intellectual giftedness doesn't go away. Instead, it influences development from infancy to old age.
While gifted children may not be any more susceptible to mental health issues as other adolescents, there are certain aspects of giftedness that may influence or amplify a gifted child's experience of mental health issues.
Yet there are a good many geniuses who are considered neurodiverse. The Sanger Institute, a world leader in genome research, notes that “many scientists are neurodiverse“, including Einstein, Edison, Temple Grandin, and others.”
High Intelligence is Neuroatypical.
Gifted brains have distinct brain structures-- they have double the glial cells, burn glucose more rapidly, and have faster, more efficient connections (1). They think about things in elaborate creative ways, often looking lost in thought.
Many people who are neurodivergent have higher-than-average abilities—for example in pattern recognition, visual-spatial thinking, memory, or mathematics.
Notably, the average IQ score falls between 85 and 115. A score above 140, meanwhile, is considered to be genius level.
Does ADHD affect IQ? A popular misconception is that all children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are naturally smarter and have a higher IQ than children without ADHD. However, there is no correlation between this condition and intelligence.
Research shows that more than half of all autistic individuals have an above-average IQ, while roughly 16% have an IQ higher than 130. But having high intelligence doesn't mean that autistic individuals don't experience some challenges associated with the diagnosis.
High IQ may “mask” the diagnosis of ADHD by compensating for deficits in executive functions in treatment-naïve adults with ADHD.
Those with Asperger's syndrome, in contrast, must by definition have suffered no cognitive delay during their first 3 years of life. This means that they will usually have at least a “normal” IQ. In some cases, their IQ may be very high, even in the genius range. There are, however, different kinds of smarts.
That means that a child with a score of 120 is as different from a child with an IQ of 100 as is the child with an IQ of 80, a score which qualifies a child for special services. Move up one more standard deviation and we move into the range of moderately gifted (130 to 144).
Most people use terms like “bright,” “gifted,” “exceptional,” “remarkable,” and “talented” interchangeably, but when a psychologist uses the term “gifted,” we're usually talking about something that is statistically quite rare. About 3 to 5 out of every 100 children could be considered gifted.
130 to 144: Moderately gifted. 145 to 159: Highly gifted. 160 to 179: Exceptionally gifted. 180 and up: Profoundly gifted.