Defining Gifted There are many definitions of giftedness, none of which are universally agreed upon. Depending on the context, definitions often guide and influence key decisions in schools such as determining the eligibility and criteria for gifted education programs and services, what areas of giftedness will be addressed (e.g., specific abilities in a subject area such as math), and when the services will be offered. Children who are gifted are defined as those who demonstrate an advanced ability or potential in one or more specific areas when compared to others of the same age, experience or environment. These gifted individuals excel in their ability to think, reason and judge, making it necessary for them to receive special educational services and support to be able to fully develop their potential and talents. Gifted children come from all different racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as economic status. While no two gifted children are the same, many share common  gifted characteristics and traits Traits of Giftedness No gifted individual is exactly the same, each with his own unique patterns and traits.   There are many traits that gifted individuals have in common, but no gifted learner exhibits traits in every area.  This list of traits may help you better understand whether or not your child is gifted. Cognitive Creative Affective Behavioral Keen power of abstraction Interest in problem-solving and applying concepts Voracious and early reader Large vocabulary Intellectual curiosity Power of critical thinking, skepticism, self-criticism Persistent, goal-directed behavior Independence in work and study Diversity of interests and abilities Creativeness and inventiveness Keen sense of humor Ability for fantasy Openness to stimuli, wide interests Intuitiveness Flexibility Independence in attitude and social behavior Self-acceptance and unconcern for social norms Radicalism Aesthetic and moral commitment to self-selected work Unusual emotional depth and intensity Sensitivity or empathy to the feelings of others High expectations of self and others, often leading to feelings of frustration Heightened self-awareness, accompanied by feelings of being different Easily wounded, need for emotional support Need for consistency between abstract values and personal actions Advanced levels of moral judgment Idealism and sense of justice Spontaneity Boundless enthusiasm Intensely focused on passions—resists changing activities when engrossed in own interests Highly energetic—needs little sleep or down time Constantly questions Insatiable curiosity Impulsive, eager and spirited Perseverance—strong determination in areas of importance High levels of frustration—particularly when having difficulty meeting standards of performance (either imposed by self or others) Volatile temper, especially related to perceptions of failure Non-stop talking/chattering Source:  Clark, B. (2008).  Growing up gifted (7th ed.)   Upper Saddle .

1. Defining Gifted
There are many definitions of giftedness, none of which are
universally agreed upon. Depending on the context, definitions
often guide and influence key decisions in schools such as
determining the eligibility and criteria for gifted education
programs and services, what areas of giftedness will be
addressed (e.g., specific abilities in a subject area such as
math), and when the services will be offered.
Children who are gifted are defined as those who demonstrate
an advanced ability or potential in one or more specific areas
when compared to others of the same age, experience or
environment. These gifted individuals excel in their ability to
think, reason and judge, making it necessary for them to receive
special educational services and support to be able to fully
develop their potential and talents.
Gifted children come from all different racial and ethnic
backgrounds, as well as economic status. While no two gifted
children are the same, many share common
gifted characteristics and traits
Traits of Giftedness
No gifted individual is exactly the same, each with his own
unique patterns and traits. There are many traits that gifted
individuals have in common, but no gifted learner exhibits traits
in every area. This list of traits may help you better understand
whether or not your child is gifted.
Cognitive
Creative
Affective
Behavioral
Keen power of abstraction
Interest in problem-solving and applying concepts
Voracious and early reader
Large vocabulary
Intellectual curiosity

2. Power of critical thinking, skepticism, self-criticism
Persistent, goal-directed behavior
Independence in work and study
Diversity of interests and abilities
Creativeness and inventiveness
Keen sense of humor
Ability for fantasy
Openness to stimuli, wide interests
Intuitiveness
Flexibility
Independence in attitude and social behavior
Self-acceptance and unconcern for social norms
Radicalism
Aesthetic and moral commitment to self-selected work
Unusual emotional depth and intensity
Sensitivity or empathy to the feelings of others
High expectations of self and others, often leading to feelings
of frustration
Heightened self-awareness, accompanied by feelings of being
different
Easily wounded, need for emotional support
Need for consistency between abstract values and personal
actions
Advanced levels of moral judgment
Idealism and sense of justice
Spontaneity
Boundless enthusiasm
Intensely focused on passions—resists changing activities when
engrossed in own interests
Highly energetic—needs little sleep or down time
Constantly questions
Insatiable curiosity
Impulsive, eager and spirited
Perseverance—strong determination in areas of importance
High levels of frustration—particularly when having difficulty
meeting standards of performance (either imposed by self or

3. others)
Volatile temper, especially related to perceptions of failure
Non-stop talking/chattering
Source: Clark, B. (2008).
Growing up gifted (7th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Prentice Hall.
500–700-word response total (not for each question):
Provide a response to these prompts:
· You are a counselor in an agency setting. A new client has just
been staffed to you for aftercare and you are investigating the
client’s records. You learn that while inpatient the client took a
depression inventory, and the resulting z score was +2.
Assuming a normal distribution, what percentage of the
population would score at or below that level? Assuming higher
scores indicate higher levels of depression on this instrument,
how would you interpret the client’s scores?
· The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is
one of the most widely used instruments. Scales on the MMPI
have uniform t-score distributions. One of the scales is called
Ego Strength. Assuming you do not know anything more about
the MMPI, interpret a t-score of 30 for a client who has reported
thoughts of suicide.
· On your final exam for your assessment course, your
instructor reports that there was a positive skew with regard to
distribution of scores. Describe what those scores might have
looked like on this test. What are the implications for the
group’s performance? What implications might there be with
regard to reliability and validity of the exam?