A lot of autistic people are gifted, which is becoming more and more recognized.
The National Association for Gifted Children defines giftedness as "Children are gifted when their ability is significantly above the norm for their age. Giftedness may manifest in one or more domains such as; intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, or in a specific academic field such as language arts, mathematics or science."
An intellectually gifted person is generally recognized as having an IQ of a certain number; usually beginning at 130 or 132 in America. Though of course measuring someone's IQ properly and accurately is a very tricky thing and often not accomplished.
Raising Lifelong Learners says, "The gifted child is... smart, funny, argumentative, intense, introverted, sarcastic, extroverted, linear, asynchronous, withdrawn, creative, pragmatic, highly motivated, underachieving, precocious, spatial, sequential, innovative, sensitive, perfectionistic, messy, lazy, concrete, and so much more.
Often simultaneously.
Some gifted children struggle socially and emotionally. Others are easy-going and can charm anyone. The stereotypical teacher's pet image most people think of when they hear the term gifted is rarely a reality. It's hard to know what exactly you're dealing with when your child is so unlike the norm, and nobody around you truly gets your struggles.
Is he gifted? Does she have a problem? Why does he do that? Do all children teach themselves to read? Is it normal for a three year old to know all of the scientific names of every beetle species in the world, and be able to identify them by sight?
Gifted children – especially those in the highly, exceptionally, and profoundly gifted ranges – just aren't typical kids. They tend to display their "outstanding talent" in one or more areas. And many of them have additional issues as well; autism, ADHD, sensory processing disorder, or learning disabilities, among others."
(I'll get into these commonly coexisting delays/disabilities/disorders later.)
People shy away from talking about giftedness because it feels like bragging, though it's simply how one is born, and often comes with many struggles.
My daughter is exceptionally smart. She had a huge vocabulary at a few years old, and is insanely verbal (when her selective mutism wasn't in play . . . more on that later). I could give a million examples but trust me. As I've mentioned, they tested her IQ at age six (as much as they could when she whispered the answers in my ear and I told relayed them . . . luckily she whispers very loudly 😊)and labeled her as intellectugifted. I knew already so it wasn't a huge surprise. I'm gifted myself, but she's smarter than I am. I don't plan on telling her that anytime soon though! 🤭
Giftedness generally refers to intellectual ability, but many areas are recognized. One only has to look at the autism community here on Wattpad to see the giftedness of many autistic writers we have.
It's amazing to see a tiny brain work like my daughter's does. She is always thinking, planning, learning, doing, talking, wondering, figuring, mentally going-going-going. She wakes before dawn oftentimes talking a mile a minute about all the things she wants to do and build and find out about. It used to get overwhelming because the thoughts never stopped bombarding her, to the point where she had trouble listening, as she's stated. Now she takes medication that helps her enormously.
She is of course twice-exceptional (keep reading); that is, advanced and delayed. Many (most, I would say) gifted people have delays or disabilities of some sort. Many of us have depression.
There is a theory floating around that many autistic people are actually just gifted individuals that have sensory and/or other issues, and not autistic at all.
In my experience as an autistic person and working with so many autistic people in my life tells me that it's a spectrum thing as well as a gifted thing in most cases.
There are certain quirks and "tells" that you just recognize in so many others on the spectrum after years and years of being around them.
But giftedness is prevalent in autism and that goes for so many nonverbal autistic people too.
Raising Lifelong Learners: https://raisinglifelonglearners.com/what-does-a-gifted-child-look-like/#_a5y_p=2369462
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I Can't Think Inside This Box! a book about autism
Non-FictionMy daughter and I are both autistic, and over the years I have compiled a list (read: Pinterest board) of many great references and helpful articles, which just occurred to me to share here. This book will include info about all aspects of the auti...
