Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Does a high IQ kid always has a talent?

I wonder if a high IQ kid will always has talent in at least one area, and would appreciate your input or share your experience here.

My DC had a WISC-IV FSIQ 155+ (in PG range), and when I look at the application form for DYS, and there is a question 'in what area does your child exhibit prodigious talent? (i.e. math, writing, music, chess, etc).' I have trouble to answer this question, since I don't see DC has Progigious Talent in any areas, DC is definitely fast learner with exceptional memory and very sharp obvervation ability. But DC did not excel on music/instrument, art, chess or writing. only math is more advanced, but I don't feel it is talent.

However, I wonder if it is common for PG kid not to have prodigious talent on certain area. Or maybe DC has one and I just have not find it out yet?

I don't see how it would be the case. Not everyone fixes focus somewhere. Balanced is a fair thing to be. My DS6 (untested) ranges all over the place in interests and would likely be prodigious if one thing struck his fancy. But at this age exploring the new seems to be his thing and I totally get it. But if he had to do a stage trick I'd say word sponge.

Very few things are "always" in this world, but it would be a bit surprising if with that IQ and at age 8 your DS is not obviously advanced at anything. Is it possible that your yardstick is off, e.g., are you judging that he isn't exceptional at maths because he's no better than you were at his age? That kind of thing can be a danger for gifted parents :-)

I struggled with that question, too. I think the answer is that no, not all PG kids have a "prodigious talent." But generally, they will have some area or areas that they show their advanced thinking skills.

It sounds like part of the problem might be linguistic. It is definitely possible to be talented at math, but it sounds like you think of that word as meaning artistic talent. I would just talk about some area where s/he learned to a greater depth with more ease than you might expect of his/her classmates, even if it doesn't seem "prodigious" to you.

I think that that word "prodigious" can be off-putting because it seems to imply that your child should be a prodigy. That's definitely not what they're going for, though-- they're probably just using it as a synonym for "profound" as a shorthand for "working multiple years ahead" etc. Your child doesn't have to be a prodigy for entry.

If you have qualifying scores on both IQ and achievement tests, I wouldn't sweat the application that much. Just fill in some general statements about your child's intellectual abilities that are out of the ordinary in your opinion and in line with the testing.

Thanks for all replies! I can definitely see his advanced thinking and problem solving skills, and I will put some examples down for this question.

I guess when I look at the word 'talent', I just think about talent shows and awards

DD actually struggles a bit with this as a part of her identity, which I gather isn't all that uncommon.

She feels a little insecure about being PG because she seems to lack an area of-- well, of singularity, for lack of a better term. She does most cognitively-based tasks and activities well, often with little practice or effort, and often at a level 2+ years beyond her agemates.

To her, it feels pretty even. To others it can seem pretty even, too-- at least if she were 16-17 and not 12-13, that is.

Just wanted to let you know that this kind of child comes with their own challenges as far as self-identity goes. It's entirely too easy for them to float by entirely unrecognized other than as "just great, really smart kids" in busy classrooms, provided that they are reasonably cooperative.

I was exactly this way as a child. I remember one night being in tears because, "Sure I'm good at a lot of things, but I'm not the best at anything!" and my mother trying to reassure me.

I was reminded here, when doing our app several years ago, that memorizing 100s of Pokemon cards, levels and abilities is "prodigious" when you're only 6. Most people equate this talent question to something academic, musical or artistic. For us, it was (and still is) strategy, games and memorization.

With my DD9 it's obsessing. LOL

(sigh)