Here are some of the typical characteristics of gifted children:
- Unusually large vocabularies for their age
- Ability to read earlier than most children, often before entering school
- Greater comprehension of the subtleties of language
- Longer attention span, persistence and intense concentration
- Ability to learn basic skills more quickly and with less practice
- Wide range of interests
- Highly developed curiosity and a limitless supply of questions
- Interest in experimenting and doing things differently
- Tendency to put ideas or things together in ways that are unusual and not obvious (divergent thinking)
- Ability to retain a great deal of information
- Unusual sense of humor
(Guiding the Gifted Child, by James T. Webb, Elizabeth A. Meckstroth, Stephanie S. Tolan)