GIFTED-CHILDREN AND DYSHARMONIOUS DEVELOP MENT

Gifted children are exposed to psychological disturbances. How much th is psychological fragility is of a constitutional origin or is acquire d, resulted from their intellectual precocity, is unclear. Nevertheles s it justifies an early recognition of these children, knowing that ps ychological disturbances may be present early in life and mask the int ellectual precocity. This is illustrated by the case of a three-year-o ld girl. Psychometric tests should be performed on an individual basis in order to avoid the negative effects of affective and emotional fac tors; an IQ above 140 characterizes gifted children. However, creativi ty tests are equally important allowing to identify their high capacit y of originality and creativity. Uneven development of intelligence, a ffectivity and psychomotricity is frequent, which may induce anxiety d isorders, obsessional behaviour and personality disorders. It appears that the higher the Ia is, the greater the psychological fragility, th is fragility usually being important for an IQ above 170. The educatio n of gifted children should be concentrated on the development of crea tivity and reflection, avoiding: the tediousness of learning mainly ba sed on memorizing and the acquisition of mechanisms. Early interventio n is recommended in the case of psychological and behavioural disturba nces, as an attempt to prevent the risk of pathological psychological organization.