5 Differences Between Gifted Children And Geniuses
Sometimes, at school, children with high capacities go unnoticed and are not diagnosed, but within high capacities we can also find genius children. And how are gifted and genius children different? In the following lines we will try to explain it.
In general, gifted children are small with an intelligence quotient (IQ) above 130 (the normal population has an average IQ = 100). Genius children excel in a certain field or area and have a very specific talent.
Both groups of children have cognitive abilities above the normal average, but there is a difference between them. Do you want to know how they differ? Keep reading and don’t miss it.
Gifted and geniuses: what are they?
A gifted child is one who achieves high potential in various areas and his IQ would be above 130. They tend to function in a variety of ways at the cognitive, executive, mental and neural levels. In addition to this, they usually have certain personality traits.
Genius children usually excel in a certain area or aspect and perform important and very significant works for society. Normally, they have a special talent, they are innovative, creative people, etc., so we can say that a gifted child would stand out in all areas while a genius would do it for a more specific area.
Differences between gifted and geniuses
Now, we are going to see some of the aspects that differentiate gifted children and geniuses. These tend to focus mainly on intelligence and motivation to learn, among others.
Whenever there is a suspicion that a child has high abilities, a thorough evaluation should be done in order to conclude what type of ability it is. In this way, an oriented and personalized plan can be devised for that particular child, improving their quality of life, development, learning and self-esteem.
Intelligence versus talent
When we are dealing with a gifted child, he has a high capacity in the development of tasks and problem solving. Their intelligence is usually high and arises early. From a young age it can be detected, although it is not always achieved.
On the other hand, we have genius children, who do not have to have high intelligence; what defines these children is their talent, work or area in which they excel in an exceptional and prodigious way (a genius in mathematics, art, music, etc.)
Scopes or areas in which they stand out
A gifted person is a very intelligent person who excels in different areas: mathematics, languages, science, technology, etc. However, a genius excels in an extraordinary way in a specific area and often demonstrates it through important works or works.
Motivation to learn or create things
Gifted children are not usually motivated to learn, indeed, they need a push to get to work precisely because they know that thanks to their ability they can pass effortlessly.
Genius kids, however, are innately highly motivated kids to develop that talent they have in a certain area simply by doing what they like. They are children who are passionate about what they like and they increasingly develop that aspect thanks to their motivation.
Intelligence anticipation
In gifted children, intelligence tends to occur early ; They are boys who, from a very early age, are capable of doing things that a normal child of their age cannot do.
However, in genius children this does not have to be the case, and that intelligence or talent in a certain area does not have to occur early, they can do it at any time.
How is it detected?
Gifted children are easier to spot than genius children. The explanation would be that gifted people learn much faster or perform poorly, precisely because they get bored, since they already know these contents.
Geniuses may not be that intelligent, they may not even realize it at school because their performance is that of a normal child (academically speaking), but once they get out of it they have an area in which they excel such as music, painting, dancing, etc.
On the differences between gifted children and geniuses
As you have already seen, these are some of the differences that we can find between gifted children and geniuses; For this reason, we cannot generalize, each case must always be evaluated and viewed specifically and specifically.
The most important thing is to accompany the children (professionals, parents, family,) to adapt to those special needs that they have and that we must attend to. This is crucial to enhance those remarkable skills and help them, in this way, improve their emotional well-being. A child who feels fulfilled in what he likes is a happy child.
