The 5 differences between being gifted and genius in childhood

Concern for the development of intellectual abilities It has been the subject of debate for a long time. More recently it is an issue that has been significantly related to achievement and school performance. That is why it has become very common to hear that teachers or relatives of school-age children they suspect that some of them have competencies, both intellectual and social, that are superior to those the rest.

Between emotion and uncertainty, a large number of questions arise: will he be a genius child? Will it be a talented girl? A gifted child? a prodigy girl? ...among many others. And psychology is one of the disciplines in charge of offering answers.

• Related article: "What really is intellectual giftedness?"

5 differences between gifted and genius

It is not uncommon for communication between a teacher and a child's family to become difficult. when some consider him a genius, others consider him gifted, and others simply a child talented; 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, next we will see some differences between gifted children and genius children which could be useful at a general guidance level.

1. IQ is not everything

Generally, a girl or boy is considered gifted if they have an intelligence well above average (around 130 IQ points or more, depending on age), who has also been able to learn certain things more quickly speed.

On the other hand, until recently a genius child was considered to be one who had an IQ score above 180. This criterion is currently deprecated. A gifted person who also performs a great work is considered a genius.

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

• You may be interested in: "theories of human intelligence"

2. The repercussions of his work make a difference

In line with the above, the gifted child can be a child of early learning, a child prodigy (one who performs activities with levels of performance from an adult to young age) or a talented child (the one who has superior performance in a certain and socially valuable area, especially in some field of scientific knowledge), but not necessarily is or becomes a genius child, because he does not always carry out a work that is considered transcendental.

3. Learning doesn't always seem advanced

gifted children they generally show “early” learning in the area of ​​language and eye-motor coordination, but also in other areas related to cognitive abilities.

A genius child does not necessarily show precocious or socially valued learning, since they considered genius once their skills 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 happen naturally, it is necessary to give them the possibility for this to happen, especially promoting a motivation for learning.

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

• Related article: "Developmental Psychology: main theories and authors"

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 faster, or it puts us in the need to make curricular adaptations to promote their abilities, or, to avoid getting bored in the classroom.

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 abilities and IQ, but also to creativity and motivation for the learning.

Other proposals: Outstanding Aptitudes

The study of intellectual abilities, as well as school performance, is constantly updated. It is one of the most researched areas in psychology and pedagogy today, especially since the educational paradigms are focused on favoring both the competences and the interests of boys and girls, many times even if teachers or family members do not have the necessary strategies.

In an attempt to offer explanations and alternatives that favor the learning of boys and girls, the concept of Capacities and Aptitudes has emerged. Gifted (CAS), with which even standardized ways of identifying “CAS children” (children with abilities and aptitudes) have been developed. outstanding).

In very broad terms, the term CAS allows us to encompass several of the characteristics of intellectual development, without need to use the terms “gifted” or “genius”, the differentiation of which can be very problematic in some contexts.

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