title: Developmental and cognitive characteristics of "high-level potentialities" (highly gifted) children.
abstract: This study covers the interesting field of the development in gifted children which is often neglected in pediatrics because psychomotor development data are still rare, since "gifted" children are generally noticed towards the end of their primary schooling by IQ measurement. Developmental studies have shown the evidence from several fields that children identified as "high-level potentialities" or "intellectually gifted" develop sensory, locomotor, neuropsychological, and language skills earlier than typically expected. The hypothesis is offered that the earlier development originates from biological processes affecting the physical development of the brain and in turn even intellectual abilities are developed earlier, potentially allowing for advanced development. Further it is discussed how these developmental advances interact with the social environment and in certain circumstances may entail increased risk for developing socioemotional difficulties and learning disabilities that often go unaddressed due to the masking by the advance intellectual abilities.
authors: University of Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, and Inserm UMR-S0669 University Paris-Sud-Paris Descartes, 12 Rue de l'École de Médecine, 75006 Paris, France.
authors: Laurence
authors: L
authors: Vaivre-Douret