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Spring/Summer 2008 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Volume 36, Number 2 3

The word gifted, when used to describe children’sintellectual abilities, evokes varied opinions in teachers,caregivers, and families of young children. Some atti-tudes are positive, others negative, while still others arebuilt upon misconceptions about individuals who aregifted. The purpose of this article is to familiarize thereader with the characteristics of preschoolers who pos-sess high ability. Children with advanced abilities havespecial needs that must be acknowledged and recog-nized. Educators are also urged to understand the emo-tional intensities of young children who are gifted.

Giftedness occurs in people from infancy throughadulthood (Harrison, 2004). While gifted preschoolersare less frequently acknowledged within the gifted edu-cation research and literature, they can be described asthose who show promise of performing at high levelsbecause of their advanced or accelerated development(Clark, 2002; Harrison 2004; Morelock, Brown, &Morrissey, 2003; Smutny, 1998). The precocious devel-opment of very young children may occur in linguisticskills, motor skills, cognitive skills, academic aptitude,music and art, and personal or interpersonal skills,although it is not limited to these categories (Olszewski-Kubilius, Limburg-Weber, & Pfeiffer, 2003).

One of the first and most influential studies to deter-mine the characteristics of young children who are gift-ed was the longitudinal study by Terman in 1925 of1,528 children having an IQ of 135 or above. Terman(1925) was able to establish retrospectively that theexceptionally gifted children walked about one monthearlier and developed language 3.5 months earlier thanthe moderately gifted children in the study. Approxi-mately 50% of the gifted children in the study could

read before they entered school (Shurkin, 1992). Since Terman’s time, research has expanded in the

direction of early development of giftedness, and a con-sensus has developed that giftedness in very young chil-dren has many dimensions beyond a simple measure of

Recognizing Giftedness: Defining High Ability in Young Children

Jesse R. Cukierkorn, Frances A. Karnes, Sandra J. Manning, Heather Houston, and Kevin Besnoy

What are some dimensions in which young children may be gifted? This review of research explores theintellectual, social, and emotional qualities that are early indicators of children’s advanced abilities.

Jesse R. Cukierkorn, Ph.D., is a gifted educator workingfor Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Miami, Florida.Her interest in researching the characteristics of young gift-ed children began while working on a federal grant, Appro-priate Practices for Screening, Identifying, and ServingPotentially Gifted Preschoolers.

Frances A. Karnes, Ph.D., is Director, The Frances A.Karnes Center for Gifted Studies, The University of South-ern Mississippi, Hattiesburg.

Sandra J. Manning, Ph.D., NBCT, is Assistant Professor ofSpecial Education at The University of Southern Mississip-pi. She has many years of teaching experience in the publicschools working with young children and earned NationalBoard Teacher Certification as an Early Childhood General-ist. She also served as research coordinator on a federalgrant, Appropriate Practices for Screening, Identifying, andServing Potentially Gifted Preschoolers, in 2005.

Heather Houston, M.Ed., is a doctoral student in SpecialEducation at The University of Southern Mississippi and ateacher of the gifted in the Lamar County School District.She served as a graduate researcher on a federal grant,Appropriate Practices for Screening, Identifying, and Serv-ing Potentially Gifted Preschoolers, during the 2005-2006academic year.

Kevin Besnoy, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor, Northern Ken-tucky University, Highland Heights, Kentucky.

4 Volume 36, Number 2 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Spring/Summer 2008

intelligence (Jackson, 2003; Harri-son, 2004; Olszewski-Kubilius,Limburg-Weber, & Pfeiffer, 2003).Many types of giftedness, such asartistically gifted, require time forcultivation that preschoolers aregenerally too young to have experi-enced (Clark & Zimmerman, 2004;Winner, 1996).

Within the early childhood peri-od, a child may not yet have had theopportunity or experience requiredto translate potential into perfor-mance. At such an early stage, gift-edness may be determined by the“general ability factor,” rather thanby specific talents (Tannenbaum,1992). In other words, due to a lackof exposure or training in specifictalent areas, high-ability preschool-ers may be recognized by above-average or accelerated growththrough the typical milestones ofearly childhood development.

For instance, preschoolers whoare gifted often show early linguisticskills including verbal and readingability, as well as early motor devel-opment and social-emotional matu-rity. This early development is seenas affecting the whole child, withthe recognition that each precociousability, particularly during earlychildhood, has significant impact onthe other areas of development.Therefore, in addition to theirstrengths and developmentaladvances, there are many other emo-tional and personality characteristicsthat are shared among very youngchildren who are gifted.

Children of all ages who are gift-ed are often characterized by asyn-chronous development. For exam-ple, at the age of 4 or 5, a child whocarries on intelligent conversationswith adults may not be able to tiehis or her own shoes. Particularlyfor the preschool-aged child, the

balance among the social-emotion-al, intellectual, and motor develop-ment is noticeably uneven (Perez,1980; Roeper, 1977). The NationalAssociation for the Education ofYoung Children (NAEYC) states inits principles of developmentallyappropriate practice that “develop-ment proceeds at varying ratesfrom child to child as well asunevenly within different areas ofeach child’s functioning” (Bre-dekamp & Copple, 1997, p. 10).

With regard to the need to suc-ceed, young children who are gifted

may be discouraged by their feel-ings and physical development.These children can often visualizeand describe difficult motor skillssuch as climbing a jungle gym orbuilding an intricate block struc-ture but may try to find an excusenot to participate, avoiding the taskuntil they know they can do it. Onthe other hand, they may exhibitgreat frustration in their attemptsto perform the task if they are notsuccessful. Thus, gifted children’sinsistence on perfectionism mayinhibit some types of risk-taking,

Subjects & Predicates

Giftedness in very young children has many dimensions beyond a simple measure ofintelligence. Many types of giftedness, such as artistically gifted, require time for cultiva-tion that preschoolers are generally too young to have experienced.


particularly in areas where they feelthey have less proficiency (Perez,1980).

Linguistic Develop-mental Strengths

Early development of excep-tional verbal ability is often con-sidered to be a characteristic ofgiftedness (Damiani, 1997; Gross,1999; Klein, 1992; Roeper, 1977).One of the most common charac-teristics of the very young childwho is gifted is early speech. Theprecocious emergence of languageis important because it has signifi-cant impact on the other areas ofdevelopment.

At age 2, an extensive vocabu-lary and agile use of language in ayoung child who is gifted will beremarkably evident. Therefore,various intelligence tests such asthe Wechsler Preschool and PrimaryScales of Intelligence-III (Wechsler,2002) measure linguistic abilities as

a subtest or subscale. Precocious verbalability is characterized by

• advanced vocabulary for age• use of language in original

and meaningful ways• richness of expression, elab-

oration, and fluency (Eby &Smutny, 1991; Kitano,1985; Perleth, Lehwald, &Browder, 1993)

In a study of exceptionally giftedchildren, Gross (1993) recorded lin-guistic precocity far beyond eventhat of the moderately gifted. Themean age at which 15 children inthe study spoke their first word was9.7 months with a standard devia-tion of 4.85 months. The childrenwho were gifted were able to linkwords into meaning earlier and withgreater degrees of complexity thanwere their age peers. Early and flu-ent speech was also linked to excel-lent memory. Children in the studycould recite poetry, passages frombooks, and songs before the age of 2.

Most importantly, early speechenables young children who are gift-ed to express their ideas, seek infor-mation through questioning, andinteract verbally with their parentsand other family members at an agewhen other children are only begin-ning to experiment with oral com-munication. According to Abroms(1981), advanced language develop-ment is a social characteristic of thetoddler who is gifted. She states“given the isomorphic relationbetween language and social cogni-tion, language is a significant markerof underlying social development”(p. 6). While children’s languageskills affect their ability to establishsocial relationships with adults andother children, their skill in socialinteraction can either support orencumber their language develop-ment (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997).

Emotional SensitivityOne often-noted characteristic of

young children who are gifted istheir high level of emotional sensi-tivity, which allows for the earlydevelopment of values, empathy,and responsibility (Clark, 2002).Young children who are gifted maydemonstrate a strong concern forothers and their feelings (Hafenstein& Tucker, 1995; Perez, 1980).

Their compassion is not limitedto others; in fact, intellectually ablechildren tend to display good self-concepts and social-emotionaladjustment, more self-awareness,and self-reflection through theirbehaviors and comments (Tucker &Hafenstein, 1997; Jacobs, 1971;Kitano, 1990). However, this samesensitivity may also lead to intra-and interpersonal conflict (Kitano,1990). Preschoolers who are giftedmay struggle with feelings of beingdifferent, a need for recognition,and impatience with others.

A wide range of emotions comesinto play for the young child who isgifted. A preschool child who is gift-ed not only has to “cope with thereality of the world but also withhis/her own superior ability of under-standing this reality in more depththan others” (Roeper, 1977, p. 389).

Preschoolers who are gifted showmore than average sharing and help-ing behaviors, more reactions toothers’ signs of distress, more sensi-tivity to the needs and concerns oftheir peers, and more affection forothers (Abroms & Gollin, 1980;Perez, Chassin, Ellington, & Smith,1982). For example, a young child

Each precocious ability hassignificant impact on other

areas of development.

Jesse Cukierkorn

One of the most common characteristicsof the very young child who is gifted isearly speech. The precocious emergence oflanguage is important because it has sig-nificant impact on the other areas ofdevelopment.


who is gifted may act out in a waythat is appropriate for his or her age,yet realizes the consequences of thistype of behavior more than others ofthe same age. Because of the under-standing that certain actions bringadverse consequences, the youngchild who is gifted may develop feel-ings of guilt that would not occurwith an average child (Cohen, 1989;Silverman, 1998).

Emotional intensity is a commonpersonality characteristic of individu-als who are gifted (Bouchard, 2004;Kitano, 1990; Tucker & Hafenstein,1997). Children who are gifted havebeen described as "overexcitable, dis-tractible, and even mistakenlythought to have an attention disor-der” (Hartnett, Nelson, & Rinn,2004; Tucker & Hafenstien, 1997;Winner 1996).

The term overexcitability shouldnot be confused with hyperactivity. Itis natural for young children who aregifted to feel deeply and to experi-ence a broad range of emotions. Infact, emotional intensity fuels themotivation for achievement.

The Polish psychiatrist and psy-chologist Kazimierz Dabrowskideveloped the theory that sensitivityand emotional intensity is a part ofthe psychosocial makeup of giftedindividuals and viewed these inten-sities as positive potentials for fur-ther growth (Piechowski, 1992).According to Dabrowski, develop-mental potential includes

• talents• special abilities• intelligence• five forms of psychic overex-

citability: psychomotor, sensu-

al, intellectual, imaginational,and emotional (Hafenstein &Tucker, 1995).

In Hafenstein and Tucker’s(1995) case study of five young gift-ed children, ages 3 and 4, it wasdetermined that all five subjectsexhibited behaviors characteristic ofDabrowski’s theory of psychicoverexcitability. For example, therelationship aspect of emotionaloverexitability allowed for develop-ment of values, empathy, and respon-sibility in the study’s subjects.

Bouchard (2004) clarifies theterm overexcitabilities (OE) not asabilities or intelligences, but asmodes of experiencing the world. Forexample, a child with intellectual OEwill do well on IQ tests, but thesetests do not really measure the inten-sity of that child’s need to know.

Social DevelopmentBy age 3, children who are gifted

are clearly social cognizers (Abroms& Gollin, 1980). Social cognitionrefers to the way children come tounderstand the thoughts, emotions,and viewpoints of others. Young chil-dren who are gifted in the area ofsocial cognition may exhibit

• generosity, • sharing of possessions, • sympathy for others, and • the desire to attend to other’s

needs at an early age. Interactions with other children

may also be a challenge for the intel-lectually able preschool child (Har-rison, 2004; Rotigel, 2003). Youngchildren who are gifted have an earlyawareness of their differences, andthey may engage in social compar-isons somewhat earlier than otherchildren who are at the same chrono-logical age but are considerably lessadvanced mentally (Abroms, 1981;

Feldhusen, & Kolloff, 1979; Robin-son, 1993).

The potential for developing thecharacteristics of perfectionism maystem from children’s ability to judgethemselves by the performance ofpeers in addition to their own expec-tations. It is also possible that thisearly recognition of differences maylead to regression in verbal and read-ing skills as young children who aregifted seek to mimic the behavior oftheir age peers (Gross, 1999).

For the most part, however,advanced social development leads tohealthy patterns of play and interac-tion (Morelock, Brown, & Morris-sey, 2003; Wright, 1990). Young chil-dren who are gifted are incrediblyresourceful, and they are apt to applytheir excellent memory for peopleand the functions they can perform totheir social interactions (Abroms,1981). Jacobs (1971) found that giftedkindergarteners have a greater aware-ness of the emotional interplaybetween the individual and the envi-ronment and greater sensitivity tothe emotional pressures of theenvironment.

Jesse Cukierkorn

It is natural for young children who aregifted to feel deeply and to experience abroad range of emotions. In fact, emo-tional intensity fuels the motivation forachievement.

Young children who are gifted are incredibly

resourceful.


Play StylePlay style is often a reflection of

advanced social development inyoung children who are gifted.Through play, one can see a child’ssocial, emotional, and cognitivedevelopment (Bredekamp & Cop-ple, 1997). When a preschooler whois gifted chooses to play alone, his orher pursuits tend to be quite complexand goal directed (Wright, 1990).

In contrast to the stereotype ofthe gifted child who is bookish,introverted, and overly serious,young children who are gifted areoften quite physically active in playand more socially advanced in playstyle (Morelock, Brown, & Morris-sey, 2003; Wright, 1990). Com-pared to average preschoolers, girlsand boys who are gifted tend to ini-tiate play sessions with other chil-dren and to play more cooperatively(Barnett, & Fiscella, 1985; Lup-kowski, 1989).

During group play, the child whois gifted will often coordinate andintegrate multiple complementaryroles, taking into consideration theactions of other children. In thiscomplex management of cooperativeplay, preschoolers who are gifteddirect movement away from egocen-tric thought toward decentralizedthought, which is a trait more typicalof 6- and 7-year-olds (Wright, 1990).

Young children who are giftedtend to modify conventional activi-ties and objects, using numerouscreative, unique, and imaginativeways to render them more social(Barnett & Fiscella, 1985; Wright,

1990). Their use of unconventionalobjects in play activities and diverseplay interactions suggest that theirneed for environmental stimulationmay be greater.

Perhaps when exposed to thesame resource materials over a longperiod of time, preschoolers who aregifted become bored and seek newavenues for play. Barnett and Fiscel-la (1985) found that when the sameobjects were available in a preschoolclassroom to both gifted andnongifted children, the gifted chil-dren tended to use materials innovel ways and modify the playinteractions with their peers.

Because of their high verbal abil-ities, preschoolers who are gifted areable to convey their ideas more easi-ly to their peers, to communicatetheir feelings, and to give directions(Perez, et al., 1982). While Wright(1990) also found that preschoolerswho are gifted have a preference for

associative play, in their cooperativeplay groups, gifted preschoolersmost often orchestrated dramaticepisodes, characterized by rich andcomplex themes. Given these bud-ding leadership qualities, it is notsurprising that young children whoare gifted are often sought out bypeers for companionship, ideas, anddecisions (Kitano, 1982).

The advanced cognitive develop-ment of young children who aregifted is also linked to a maturesense of humor for their age (Bar-nett & Fiscella, 1985; Eby & Smut-ny, 1991; Gross, 1993; Perez, 1980).Perez (1980) conducted an informalstudy of young gifted children’sresponse to humor. She found theywere more likely to respond to rid-dles and verbal associations ratherthan the visual humor, which is usu-ally found in books for young chil-dren. This more mature sense ofhumor may contribute to isolation

Gifted young children areoften more socially

advanced in play style.

Subjects & Predicates

During group play, the child who is gifted will often coordinate and integrate multiplecomplementary roles, taking into consideration the actions of other children. Youngchildren who are gifted tend to modify conventional activities and objects, usingnumerous creative, unique, and imaginative ways to render them more social.


from age-level peers. Perez statesthat adults may also react negativelyto a young child’s sharp and incisivesense of humor.

Fears The domains of children’s devel-

opment (i.e. physical, social, emo-tional, and cognitive skills) are close-ly related and influenced by eachother (Clark, 2002; Cohen, 1989).For example, increased mobility inbabies and toddlers allows them toexplore their world, and this expan-sion also affects their cognitivedevelopment (Bredekamp & Cop-ple, 1997).

Young children who are giftedinternalize a great deal of input fromtheir environments, and they aremore sensitive to problems thantheir age-mates (Perez, 1980). Infact, adults often underestimatetheir sensitivity to the concerns ofthe adult world. Parents are not like-ly to discuss issues such as death,divorce, financial problems, and vio-lence with their very young child.Yet it is likely that the child is awareof these concerns and may, becauseof an incomplete or false under-standing of the situation, fall victimto doubts, fears, and guilt feelings(Feldhusen & Kolloff, 1979).

Roeper (1977) states “one of thedifferences between the gifted andthe average child is that the giftedchild loses innocence earlier” (p.391). Because of his or her cognitivedevelopment, the preschooler who isgifted may have a deeper understand-ing of situations and consequencesbut may lack coping skills due to lim-ited life experiences (Roeper, 1977;Tannenbaum, 1992).

Young children who are giftedmay experience feelings of helpless-ness when they perceive a threat

because of their lack of knowledgeof available support. These feelingsmay escalate to the point that chil-dren worry they will be subjected tounpredictable forces that are beyondtheir control. Knowing their ownvulnerability and inability to con-trol, solve, or withstand problemssuch as war, death, and disaster,some gifted children may developsevere and overwhelming fears.

On the other hand, many chil-dren who are gifted are characterizedby having a unique coping mecha-nism (Cohen, 1989; Perez, 1980).Because of these strong feelings ofdanger in the world, they may devel-op a highly specialized area of inter-est in the cause of disasters, such asthe tectonic movements of earth-quakes or the flight safety equip-ment on various aircrafts, in aneffort to overcome those fears. Theseearly interests in special areas andthemes often noted in young chil-dren who are gifted can be seen as anextension of control behaviors(Cohen, 1989).

Curiosity is a common character-istic of young children who are gift-ed (Clark, 2002; Jackson, 2003;Smutny 1998; Winner, 1996) and itis often noted that they pursue inter-ests in meaningful and profoundways. Children who are gifted typi-cally integrate large amounts ofacquired information into theirknowledge base. On the basis oftheir knowledge, they are able tocritically analyze consequences andmake decisions about how to furtherpursue their interests. Even at an

early age, the curiosity and pursuitof interests by children who are gift-ed is marked by a clear goal orientation(Perleth, Lehwald, & Browder, 1993).

Cognitive andAchievement-RelatedSkills

When young children who aregifted are tested using standardizedintelligence tests, they may haveextraordinarily high performance insome areas but not necessarily in allcognitive ability areas (Fagan,1984). At a very early age, infantshave a tendency to spend more timefocusing visually on some objectsmore so than others. Fagan (1984)states infants pay more attention tonovel objects than those previouslyviewed. When Fagan studied chil-dren at 7 months and then again at3 years and 5 years, he found thatearly novelty preferences were high-ly related to later intelligence.

The ability to form analogies at avery young age and to justify thoseresponses may be another indicatorof giftedness (Caropreso & White,1994). Analogies are a type of rea-soning ability that represents a novelor non-entrenched task. UsingSternberg’s triarchic theory of intel-lectual giftedness, Caropreso andWhite (1994) explain that non-entrenched tasks are those thatrequire processing types of informa-tion that are outside of an individ-ual’s familiar experiences. In theirstudy of 108 four-, 5-, and 6-year-olds, Caropreso and White foundthe subset of 55 gifted studentsdemonstrated higher levels of ana-logical reasoning than the noniden-tified children based on their scoreson the Test of Analogical Reasoningin Children (TARC).

Curiosity is a commoncharacteristic of youngchildren who are gifted.

Table 1. Characteristics of Preschool Gifted Children

Characteristic Comment Classroom Examples

Verbal skills including advanced Early speech enables young gifted children to “When I saw the ocean, it was waving at me.”vocabulary for age and use of express their ideas, seek information through language in original and questioning, and interact verbally with their parentsmeaningful ways and family members at an age when other children are

only beginning to experiment with oral communication.

Asynchronous development The balance among social-emotional, intellectual, and Giovanni refuses to draw a picture of motor development is usually uneven. himself when he is asked. He explains that

his leg is rounded and long and he doesn’t know how to put that on paper.

Emotional sensitivity Young gifted children may demonstrate a strong Terrence asks his teacher, “Why does concern for others and their feelings. This allows for everybody lie to me? I don’t lie to them.”early development of values, empathy, and responsibility.

Early awareness of difference The potential for developing the characteristics of Carrie, a kindergartener, knows her times perfectionism may stem from gifted children’s ability to tables and can perform multiplication but judge themselves by the performance of peers in refuses to count by five out loud in frontaddition to their own expectations. of the class. Her teacher decides to read to

the class Regina’s Big Mistake by Marissa Moss.

Cooperative play style Gifted preschoolers will often initiate play sessions, Sandra asks Maria, Sherry, and Emily to coordinate, and integrate multiple complementary roles, join her at the play house to make suppertaking into consideration the actions of other children. and set the table. She assigns Maria and

Sherry the roles of older and younger sisterand asks Emily whether she would like to be the mommy or the daddy.

Use of unconventional Gifted young children appear to have an increased Jean-Claude brings a piece of tree bark objects in play need for environmental stimulation. in from the playground to use as an iron.

Leadership Gifted children are frequently sought out by peers for The entire class realizes that Dante has companionship, ideas, and decisions. They interact learned to tie his shoes so they alleasily with peers. request his assistance in tying theirs.

Mature sense of humor Gifted preschoolers may respond to riddles and verbal Every time that 20-month-old Sophie hears associations rather than the visual humor that is usually her mother tell her to “eat it,” Sophie giggles found in age-level children’s books. and repeats “eat it, Edith is coming over!”

Sensitivity to problems Because of an incomplete or false understanding of a After temporarily missing one caregiversituation, gifted children may fall victim to feelings of during a hurricane, Nathan expresses greatdoubt, fear, and guilt. concern over the skill of cooking from a

recipe book. He is afraid that if he doesn’t learn to read he will have to eat roaches.

Curiosity Gifted children may integrate large amounts of On the first day that her teacher introducesinformation into their knowledge base, and interests the unit on ocean animals, Juanita sharesare marked by a clear goal orientation. with the class her knowledge of tiger

sharks. While other animals are introduced,Juanita continues to mention facts about the tiger shark. She asks her teacher to find more information about the feeding pattern of tiger sharks.

Cognitive skills They show evidence of reasoning, prelogical thinking, Hannah invents a game using the drycreativity, and spontaneous incorporation of academic measuring cups and the liquid measuringactivities into free play. cups. She tries to get her classmates to

help her guess “how many of these will go into that.”

Metacognitive control Young children who are gifted are economical and At nap time, Lee asks the teacher to playefficient in developing strategies to solve problems. some music. He explains “I can’t go to

sleep because my brain won’t stop.”

Academic achievement They are able to remember complex information and to After learning about body systems, decode other symbolic systems such as maps and Meaghan defines a system as “lots ofwritten language. little parts working together,” and then later

refers to a colony of termites as a system.

Precocious reading Rapid text-reading speed (both oral and silent) may be When asked to read aloud a textpreferred because it facilitates comprehension. containing controlled vocabulary, Eli races

through, and makes substitutions such as “beetle” for “bug.”

Adapted from Barnett & Fiscella (1985); Caropreso & White (1994); Eby & Smutny (1991); Feldhusen & Kolloff (1979); Hafenstein & Tucker(1995); Jackson (1992); Kitano (1982); Perez (1980); Robinson (1987), and Robinson (1993).


Several cognitive and achieve-ment-related behaviors are promi-nent in preschool-aged childrenwho are gifted. Kitano (1985) foundthat in addition to demonstratinghigh levels of accumulated knowl-edge and thinking abilities,preschool gifted children alsoshowed evidence of prelogical think-ing, discomfort with ambiguity, cre-ativity, and spontaneous incorpora-tion of academic activities into freeplay. Perhaps as a reflection of thegifted child’s greater language fluen-cy, preschoolers who are gifted alsotalk about problems, rules, and goalsto a greater extent than do theiraverage ability peers (Moss, 1992).

Metacognitive strategies such astrial and error, checking and compar-ing different possibilities, or reflect-ing on problem-solving processes(Perleth, Lehwald, & Browder, 1993)are often well defined in young chil-dren who are gifted. Moss (1992)reports findings that children whoare gifted more frequently reality testand monitor their own activities.

Studies investigating strategy useand metacognition in preschoolchildren most likely involve interac-tion with a parent or other adult(Kanevsky, 1992; Moss, 1990,1992). For example, in Kanevsky’s(1992) study, 4- and 5-year-old chil-dren were given puzzles to solve inthe presence of a supportive tutorwho was available both to answerquestions and to offer help. Theyoung children who were intellectu-ally gifted were more able to evalu-ate their own need for assistance.They asked for help and denied

assistance when they felt that theycould solve a step in the puzzle ontheir own, whereas the average 4-and 5-year-olds seldom denied helpand generally accepted the tutor’soffer to help.

Kanevsky (1992) found thatyoung children who are gifted weremore like older children who aregifted in their engagement, inde-pendence, and self-monitoring. Fur-thermore, the young gifted childrenwere more economical and efficientin their strategy development.According to Kanevsky, their effi-ciency points to differences inmetacognition, which explain indi-vidual differences in memory, learn-ing, and problem-solving abilities.

Academic AchievementAlthough several academic disci-

plines require a good amount oftime and persistent training to builda knowledge base, as is the case with

numerical and mathematical exper-tise, young children who are giftedoften show promise in certain aca-demic behaviors (Perleth, Lehwald,& Browder, 1993; Tannenbaum,1992). Even as infants, childrenwho are gifted showed significantlygreater goal directness, longer atten-tion spans, and more responsivenessin testing situations (Damiani, 1997).

Pletan, Robinson, Berninger, andAbbott (1995) found that kinder-garten-age children who showedsigns of mathematical precocity,indeed, had more complex reason-ing skills and memory skills such asverbal reasoning skills, ability toremember complex information,and to decode other symbolic systemssuch as maps and written language.

Precocious readers also excelledin text-reading speed (both oral andsilent), phonetic analysis to identifynonsense words, and spelling of dic-tated words (Burns, Collins, &Paulsell, 1991; Jackson, 1992). It

Abilities unfold unevenly.


Elizabeth Nichols

Preschool gifted children show evidence of prelogical thinking, discomfort with ambiguity, creativity, and spontaneous incorporation of academic activities into free play.


has been noted that precocious read-ers’ preference for rapid reading facil-itates comprehension. Perhaps preco-cious readers have learned thatplunging through the text at themost rapid pace is the best way toabsorb and enjoy its contents (Jack-son, 1992).

SummaryMany characteristics are used to

describe the young child who is gift-ed (see Table 1). However, it isimportant to remember that a childis a total entity. A preschool-agedchild who is gifted may present just afew of these traits or perhaps a com-bination of many characteristics.Many strengths of the young childwho is gifted significantly impactother areas of development. Thedomains of very young children’sdevelopmental skills are closely relat-ed and influenced by each other. It ismost likely that their abilities willunfold unevenly.

Each child develops in a uniqueway and different areas of each child’sfunctioning may appear at variedstages. Within early childhood, a vari-ety of opportunities and experiencesmay be required in order to translatepotential into performance.

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SECA expresses its appreciation to these content experts who reviewed the articles thatappear in this issue of Dimensions of Early Childhood.

Early childhood professionals who are interested in becoming SECA volunteer manuscript reviewers are encouraged to complete the Reviewer Application at

SouthernEarlyChildhood.org.

Roberta BaileyAnne M. Stanberry Burgess

Cynthia DiCarloE. Anne Eddowes

Ann LevySharon Lynch

Gloria F. McGee

Joyce Eady MyersRobin McClellanLeslie McDermott

Stacey Neuharth-PritchettDean RicheyMarie SloaneRose Weiss

Thank you, Reviewers!

Put These Ideas Into Pract ice !

Note: Dimensions of Early Childhood readers are encouraged to copy this material for early childhood students as well as teachers of young children as a professional development tool.

Recognizing Giftedness: Defining High Ability in Young Childrenby Jesse R. Cukierkorn, Frances A. Karnes, Sandra J. Manning,

Heather Houston, and Kevin Besnoy

Recognizing—Cognitive Characteristics• Alertness in infancy• Faster pace in reaching motor development

milestones• Early language development

Advanced vocabularyComplex speech patterns

• Interest in the alphabet and symbols• Intense curiosity• Sustained attention• Abstract thinker• Ability to transfer knowledge• Generates original ideas• Creative/imaginative• Excellent memory• May be an early reader

Serving—Ideas for Families and Teachers of Gifted Children• Create balance between academic

and play activities• Involve children in decisions about

what to learn• Integrate learning from a wide range

of fields• Remember that social development is

important: children need intellectual peers in addition to age peers

• Encourage children to explore the world through drama, art, andmovement

• Teach processes such as brainstorming and thinking aloud

• View children as separate from their gifts

• Build on prior knowledge and scaffold new experiences based on children’s comments and current understandingsof their world

• Provide centers or learning spaces in the classroom and home

- Writing and art- Science- Math- Technology- Reading- Drama and dance

A word about asynchronous developmentIntellectual, social-emotional, and motor development often proceed unevenly in young children. This pattern is especially evident ingifted childen. For example, a gifted preschooler might have a remarkable vocabulary and ability to engage in conversation, butmotor skills may be developing normally. Children may display gifted characteristics in one area and not in another.

Definition of GiftednessPotentially gifted preschoolers are those who show promise of performing at high levels due to their advanced or accelerateddevelopment (B. Clark, Growing Up Gifted, 2002). The federal government defines "gifted and talented" students, children,or youth as those

“who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadershipcapacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school inorder to fully develop those capabilities.” [No Child Left Behind Act, P.L. 107-110 (Title IX, Part A, Definitions(22) (2002); 20 U.S.C. Sec. 7802 (22) (2004)].

For More Information on the Webhttp://www.hoagiesgifted.org/young_children.htm. While this page focuses almost entirely on preschoolers—parenting, teaching, and emotional-socialissues—the rest of the site provides information on all aspects of giftedness. Hoagies contains links to articles, books, Web pages, and much more.

http://www.nationdeceived.org/ Fifty years of study involving acceleration proves that this often-overlooked resource for gifted children is a viable option. Par-ents interested in acceleration will find research-based support for their advocacy efforts. This report includes information about entering school early and skipping elemen-tary grades.

Understanding—Social/Emotional Characteristics• Early empathy development• Emotional intensity/sensitivity• Frustration with own limitations• Concern with truth and fair play• Early awareness of difference• Mature sense of humor• Perfectionism• Leader in cooperative play


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