The 5 differences between giftedness and genius in childhood

Little ones with outstanding mental abilities are not part of a single category.

Concerns about the development of intellectual abilities have long been a subject of debate. has long been a topic of debate. More recently, it is a topic that has been strongly related to school performance and achievement. It has therefore become very common to hear that teachers or relatives of school-age children suspect that some of them have competencies, both intellectual and social, that are superior to those of the rest.

Amidst the excitement and uncertainty, a lot of questions arise: Will it be a boy genius? will it be a girl talent? a gifted boy? a girl prodigy? ...among many others. And psychology is one of the disciplines in charge of providing answers.

5 differences between gifted and genius

It is not uncommon for communication to be difficult between a teacher and a child's family when some consider the child a genius, others consider him/her gifted, and others simply a talented child; even if these concepts are quite discussed or even discredited by a good part of psychopedagogy.

So, considering that they are controversial terms and involved in a great diversity of opinions, but that they are still used and generate some confusion, we will see below some differences between gifted children and genius children that could be useful at a general orientation level.

1. IQ is not everything

A child is generally considered to be gifted if he or she has an above-average intelligence (around 130 IQ points or more, depending on age), who has also been able to learn certain things more quickly.

On the other hand, until recently, a child genius was considered to be a child with an IQ score of over 180. A genius is considered to be a gifted child who also performs a brilliant work.

That is, the genius is defined a posteriori, by the product of his work or work, which not only depends on the IQ but also on the creativity, motivation and commitment to his task.

2. The repercussions of your work make the difference

In line with the above, the gifted child may be an early learner, a child prodigy (one who performs at adult levels of performance at a young age) or a child talent (one who has superior performance in a particular and socially valuable area, especially in some field of scientific knowledge), but not necessarily is or becomes a child genius, because he/she does not alwaysbecause he or she does not always perform a work that is considered transcendental.

3. Learning does not always seem to be advanced

Gifted children generally show "early" learning in the area of language and visual-motor coordination, but also in other areas related to cognitive skills.but also in other areas related to cognitive skills.

A child of genius does not necessarily show early and socially valued learning, since he/she is considered a genius once his/her competencies have had an impact perceived by others as important.

4. Motivation for learning is very important

Gifted children can develop a special talent for a specific task, but this does not occur naturally, it is necessary to provide them with the possibility for this to happen, especially by fostering a motivation for learning.

As the genius is the one who has produced a work that is considered valuable, we take for granted that he has been or was a child who had the opportunity to constantly reinforce the motivation for what he does.

5. School performance is not always superior

Related to the previous point, a gifted child is easier to identify within a school, since it is very noticeable that school learning is not always superior. it is very noticeable that school learning is faster.The child's genius is not always a genius because, as we have seen, genius is a characteristic that is attributed later and that is not only related to skills and IQ, but also to the child's abilities and IQ, which are not only related to the child's abilities and IQ.

On the other hand, a genius child does not always show superior school performance, since, as we have seen, genius is a characteristic that is attributed later and that is not only related to skills and IQ, but also to creativity and motivation for learning.

Other proposals: Outstanding Abilities

The study of intellectual abilities as well as school performance is constantly being updated. It is one of the most researched areas in psychology and pedagogy nowadays, especially since the educational paradigms are focused on favoring both the competencies and interests of children, often even if teachers or family members do not have the necessary strategies to help them..

In an attempt to offer explanations and alternatives that favor the learning of boys and girls, the concept of Competencies and Outstanding Abilities and Aptitudes (CAS) has arisen, with which even standardized ways of identifying "CAS children" (children with outstanding abilities and aptitudes) have been developed.

Broadly speaking, the term CAS allows to encompass several of the characteristics of intellectual development, without the need to use the terms "gifted" or "genius", whose differentiation can be very problematic in some contexts.

It is also one of the conceptual tools that have made it possible to design and implement curricular adaptations and to recognize and attend to the diversity of intellectual and social abilities during childhood.