By Marni Kammersell, M.A.
Parenting PDA kids requires patience, curiosity, and a lot of detective work. Many PDA kids have intense passions and highly spiky profiles—excelling in some areas while completely refusing to engage in others. They are often self-taught learners who independently develop deep expertise in their areas of interest, often with little formal instruction.
This uneven development can make it hard to determine whether the term “gifted” applies. And even if it does, is it useful? For those who embrace diverse ways of being, the label can feel complicated. Is there a place for giftedness among individuals who challenge conventional ideas of achievement, advocate for true inclusivity, and honor the many ways people learn and exist in the world?
What is Giftedness?
Giftedness is a complex, misunderstood, and often misused concept. While conventional definitions rely on standardized measures like IQ tests, there are multiple ways to understand and identify giftedness.
Conventional Definition
- Giftedness as High IQ: Giftedness has often been defined by a high score on cognitive assessments, typically scoring at least two standard deviations above the norm (e.g., a composite score above 130 on the WISC), which equates to approximately the top 2% of the population.
- IQ tests have a history rooted in eugenics and disproportionately favor certain aptitudes, such as verbal and spatial reasoning.
- Many neurodivergent children struggle to fully demonstrate their abilities on these tests, making them an unreliable measure even of the limited aptitudes they are aiming to examine.
Expanding the Definition of Giftedness
- Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences: Intelligence is not a single factor but includes linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic intelligences (Gardner, 2011).
- Gardner’s framework highlights that people can make meaningful contributions to the world and find joy in all kinds of ways—not just in academics you can test, but also in practical, creative, and emotional skills.
- Even though some critics question the science behind it, his work is still a helpful way to see and appreciate strengths that often get overlooked, and to start to think beyond IQ.
- The Columbus Group’s Definition: Giftedness is “asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm” (Columbus Group, 1991).
- This popular definition of giftedness aims to move beyond narrow metrics of achievement to focus on the inner experiences of gifted individuals.
- However, asynchronous development and heightened intensity are not exclusive to giftedness; they also appear in many neurodivergent profiles.
- The term “advanced cognitive ability” is vague and difficult to define outside of standardized testing.
Why IQ Tests Often Don’t Work for PDA Kids
When it comes to kids with a PDA profile, measuring their aptitudes and abilities is complicated.
Some PDA kids can manage to complete cognitive testing like the WISC, and many score in the gifted range—especially when working with an evaluator who takes time to build trust and rapport. Skilled evaluators may spread testing across multiple days or even months to get a more accurate picture of a child’s abilities at their best (of course, this kind of testing often comes with a hefty price tag as well).
However, the entire premise of intelligence testing is flawed; no single test can capture the full complexity of the human mind or its potential. This is particularly true for Autistic kids, who often have unique communication styles and highly spiky cognitive profiles.
Additionally, there are many PDA kids who flat-out refuse to participate in adult-directed testing. They won’t perform on demand and can easily detect any attempt to evaluate what they know. Unfortunately, this refusal is often misinterpreted as a lack of ability rather than what it truly reflects—a different processing style, unmet needs in the testing environment, or even a perfectly reasonable belief that their time is better spent elsewhere!
Giftedness as Neurodivergence
So if giftedness is a problematic construct that is difficult to measure, especially in PDA kids, why is it still an important concept to consider? Similar to other neurodivergent identities, understanding one’s experiences through the lens of giftedness can provide valuable insights into how someone thinks, learns, and interacts with the world. It can help illuminate patterns, validate struggles, and offer language for experiences that might otherwise feel isolating or misunderstood.
Instead of focusing on a single overall IQ number, comparing subtests can highlight strengths, challenges, and discrepancies that impact daily life. For example, a two-standard-deviation gap between fluid reasoning and working memory can lead to significant frustration. Beyond standardized testing, more holistic conceptions of giftedness emphasize the lived experiences of intensity, curiosity, and deep engagement.
Recognizing giftedness can also guide practical strategies for supporting PDA kids. A gifted dyslexic child, for example, may struggle with phonemic awareness and be a late reader. Or, conversely, they might compensate so well with advanced problem-solving skills that they start reading on time or even early (whatever that means). The concept of “stealth dyslexia,” which is often discussed in gifted spaces, can help parents to identify how their child who struggles with spelling and rhyming, rather than reading, may nonetheless be dyslexic.
Similarly, a PDA child who refuses to read might not be avoiding books due to demand avoidance alone—they could be bored by material that’s too simplistic. A parent or educator who understands the child’s giftedness might try offering a much more advanced book, either by strewing it or reading it aloud. What seemed like resistance might actually be a need for more engaging content.
For PDA kids, whose experiences are shaped by demand avoidance and intense monotropism (deep focus on specific interests), these complexities can be difficult to untangle. That’s why it’s helpful to consider multiple lenses to understand their behaviors and experiences.
Embracing Complexity and Growth
Navigating the intersection of PDA and giftedness challenges us to rethink conventional ideas about ability, intelligence, and support. Which is a good thing! One of the gifts of parenting neurodivergent kids is the invitation (and often the necessity) to become changemakers, questioning everything we thought we knew about the world.
If you or your child has been harmed by the way giftedness is defined and measured, that is valid. IQ testing can be weaponized and often is, especially against people of color. This is wrong and we need to do better. Perceived cognitive ability should not be used to define any human’s inherent worth. Every individual deserves respect, support, and the opportunity to thrive on their own terms.
Still, it’s worth exploring a variety of perspectives, even when they come from outdated or imperfect frameworks. I do believe there’s value in exploring and understanding giftedness. But I see it as just one facet of neurodivergence—important in its own right, but only one part of the rich and complex story that makes up an individual’s unique experience.
Marni is a neurodivergent educator and consultant who helps families find or create empowering, neuro-affirming home and learning environments. Specializing in homeschooling and unschooling PDA children, she brings 15 years of experience in alternative education to her work. Currently in her third year as a doctoral student in education, Marni blends insights from research with lived experience. Her greatest teachers are her own three children, who have never been to school.
Connect with Marni via her website or through her newsletter on Substack, Wandering Brightly.
References
Columbus Group. (1991, July). Unpublished transcript of the meeting of the Columbus Group. Columbus, OH.
Gardner, H. (Ed.). (2011). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. Basic Books.
