Recognizing Social and Emotional Traits of Young Gifted Children
Priya, a profoundly gifted seven-year-old from the southeastern region of the United States, is an avid reader, often tucked away in a comfortable place at home, devouring young adult fantasy-fiction like School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani. This love of reading, however, is not always seen as a positive; Priya’s mother described needing to limit reading when other life demands required attention.
In academic situations, Priya’s preferences can create conflict with adults, sometimes giving the impression of being unruly. A break from routine can be catastrophic for Priya, leading to shutdowns or oppositional behavior. For example, when a violin teacher broke routine, Priya disengaged for the remainder of the lesson, and the teacher interpreted this as uncooperative behavior rather than a sign of unmet needs.
Young gifted learners often experience the world with greater intensity than peers. As discussed by Tsomi (2023), adults may misunderstand behaviors that signal unmet needs such as connection, belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. Recognizing these needs is essential to supporting gifted children across environments.
Emotional Intensities and Overexcitabilities in Early Childhood
Gifted learners, especially younger children, may be described as intense. Emotional intensities and sensitivities are common, and these children often show strong capacities for emotion and empathy that can be nurtured.
Dabrowski defined overexcitability as a “higher than average responsiveness to stimuli” (1972). While not all gifted individuals display overexcitabilities (OEs), research suggests some OEs are more prevalent among high-ability individuals.
Two OEs discussed here are Emotional OE and Intellectual OE. Emotional OE concerns how individuals experience relationships and attachments and may manifest positively as deep empathy or negatively as anxiety or loneliness. Intellectual OE involves probing questions, abstract thinking, and a desire to analyze and understand.
Lucas (Intellectual and Emotional OE)
Lucas, age 6, struggles to follow directions without understanding why an activity is required. He asks many questions and resists following schedules he does not understand, which can be misread by teachers as defiance rather than intense curiosity and autonomy.
Julianna (Emotional OE)
Julianna, age 7, craves authentic, creative learning experiences. Abrupt transitions can provoke frustration, sarcasm, or withdrawal. She also shows strong empathy, reacting deeply to the illness of a sibling at age two.
Malik (Intellectual and Emotional OE)
Malik, age 7 and highly gifted with ADHD, becomes engrossed in nonfiction about the environment and may miss everyday cues like being called to dinner. His deep concern about climate change has caused parents to consider counseling to help him manage overwhelming feelings.
Challenges and Solutions
During early childhood, asynchronous development combined with OEs can make school challenging. Examples of challenges for those with stronger Emotional OE include:
- Steadfast beliefs about right and wrong and equity
- Sensitivity to criticism of personal work
- Prone to outbursts or overreaction due to frustration
- Experience a wide continuum of emotions from great happiness to despair
- Inability to concentrate on tasks due to strong feelings
- Show compassion for others or offer heartfelt sympathy
Helpful strategies include acknowledging feelings, teaching coping mechanisms and self-awareness, and helping children recognize bodily warning signs (increased heartbeat, stomach aches) before emotional escalation. Mindfulness and other coping skills can prevent loss of control.
The other common OE is Intellectual OE. Examples of challenges include:
- Interest in how things work (how and why)
- Becoming preoccupied with a topic and finding it hard to move on
- Following curiosity with many or profound questions
- Seeking solutions to problems
- Being enamored with a new topic and motivated to learn more
- Motivation by problem-solving strategies or games (e.g., chess)
To help manage Intellectual OEs, adults can help children find answers to questions, allow self-directed projects, encourage curiosity at home and through extracurricular activities, and talk through upsetting events they may encounter. Empowering children to take small actions on issues they care about can also be beneficial.
Conclusion
The children described exhibit behaviors characteristic of giftedness: heightened sensitivities, a strong sense of justice, empathy, and advanced moral reasoning. Intensities and asynchronous development create challenges that require tailored parenting, counseling, and teaching approaches to support success.
Although some argue gifted children are no more prone to social difficulties than others, highly or profoundly gifted children may experience developmental stages earlier and respond more strongly to stimuli. It is important that adults tune in to their social and emotional needs to leverage their talents and interests.
