My friend is a G&T teacher. This whole article sounds like a ASD kid who was not diagnosed. He was G&T, but also had ASD.
About 1/4 of her class is twice gifted. ASD, ADHD, ODD, and other impairments. At her school, the IQ test trumps the other two tests that also gets administered, since so many parents want G&T for their kids, they tutor them before taking the test.
Being ASD does not always equal gifted, and being gifted doesn't mean you can't connect to the human race.
The hardest thing my friend has to do is tell a parent who kid is ASD or ADHD...their child is not gifted. These are parents who do not want their kids in special ed, and think because the child has a really intense special interest, that somehow the kid is gifted. They want them out of the regular class room, and not in special ed and no IEP. She totally gets not wanting to label the child, and her class is modified somewhat, but not to the degree an EPI would have it. (The parents want to by pass all testing and want the kid to go straight to GATE. Doesn't happen in her school district).
I think the article was a little over the top. Feel horrible about the person in the article.