What is the difference between an aspie and a gifted child?

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Joined: 19 Mar 2007
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19 May 2007, 10:10 pm

I was in an "inrichment" program for a while but hated it because we never really did anything but play stupid games and talk about stupid things and it was a group thing. I don't work well in groups. Most if not all the other kids were NT. They weren't very smart either because the highlight of the enrichment program was when the teacher brough in a popular game called "Bop it". That's what I would like to do to half of the kids in there.

My friend is in the GATE program but then she goes to a diffrent school that has higer ratings than mine does (I don't go there anymore). Even the things she does don't really sound that appealing to me.

OMGpenguin
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19 May 2007, 10:26 pm

GATE is really familiar... I think that's what I was going to do, but it would have meant I had to wake up like 3 hours earlier... just the thing every 10 yearold wants to do. From what I've heard, it's just a way to faction off the kids, leaving a group ostracized. Shrug..

tatortots
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19 May 2007, 10:43 pm

JakeG wrote:

OMGpenguin wrote:

So statistically, incredibly gifted students are more likely to be AS (causally vice versa [AS students are more likely to be incredibly gifted than non-AS students]).

This isn't actually true...the statistics show that people with AS are actually less likely to be incredibly gifted (by the traditional definition of over 3 standard deviations above mean)

The overall average IQ of people with AS is slightly higher than normal, but this is merely tautological as the diagnostic criteria specify that incidence of retardation rules out an AS diagnosis.

This is not true in my opinion many AS students enrolled at my school have very high IQ's. The only statistical anomoly to me is that sometimes, even I feel, that there are some questions that i dont grasp until sometime later, (hours, day, etc.) My individual IQ taken by the school themselves is set at 142, so there is some leeway as in saying that people are "slightly" above the range from my point of view is that AS individuals are very intelligent it is the fact that on tests wording confuses my train of thought, and therefore skewing the data.

OMGpenguin
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19 May 2007, 11:09 pm

I'm glad my school didn't do IQ tests. I haven't taken a real one either, as I'm content with not putting a number on how smart I am... it lets me revel when I do something right, and shrug it off when I do something stupid. Although up until my second year of college (throughout high school), I thought other people were just being lazy or something when they take notes for a class...

Danielismyname
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20 May 2007, 12:07 am

An Autie here; halfway through primary I switched schools and they gave us all an IQ test to recruit people for the “gifted” program, the test was taken in a quiet classroom; which is a pretty good environment for me…, so I got a pretty high IQ.

Anyway, the “gifted” program quickly kicked me out when they realised I didn’t listen to or do anything they said or asked of me. :wink: (Incidentally, a test I took in high just before I left I got like <40 or something due to extratextual factors.)

I don't know about the OP's question; perhaps those on the 'trum have a higher than average intelligence due to constant introspection compared to extroverted individuals..., you know, if you don't use it you begin to "lose" it, and if you don't use it at all it doesn't exist. This is if "gifted" equates to a high IQ.

Norah_W
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20 May 2007, 2:52 pm

dktekno wrote:

http://www.dr.dk/DR2/Temaaften/Udsendels...142919.htm

I watched a bit of the "Fra en fremmed planet" (in english: "From an alien world"). It was about children who are gifted and like to pursue their special interests. They have difficulties with eye contact and "small talk" and they have difficulties being social.

Their grade is elementary school, but they have been transfered to a free school for gifted children. Here they are allowed to pursue their special interests but they will also have to learn about eye contact and other things that "normal" people do.

To me this sounds a lot like the pupils have Aspergers Syndrome, but there are nobody in the TV-documentary who refer to Aspergers Syndrome or autism at all. Nothing about autism or aspergers is mentioned.

So I am curious: What is the difference between a gifted child with social problems and problems with eye contact and a child with Aspergers Syndrome?

And what is the difference between a free school for gifted children and a special school for children with Aspergers Syndrome?

I think we need to understand the difference. Because I think a lot of these children are actually aspies. And in case they are, they go undiagnosed. And being an undiagnosed aspie in Denmark is NOT a good thing: Because we have compulsory military service (conscription). And when they turn 18 they will be drafted into the army. The danish military requires a lot of social contact and In fact the danish military is hell for an aspie. So they really need to get diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome if they have it, or they will be drafted into hell.

I sent an email to some of the free schools telling them I think these children are aspies.

What do you think? Are they aspies? Or are they not?

If they have social problems and have to learn about eye contact, they're probably Aspie. Social problems don't necessarily mean AS, but I thought lack of eye contact did. Or I guess they could have developed social anxiety because they were "different" from their peers due to being gifted and having different interests than the other kids. Social anxiety could cause them to avoid eye contact due to fear. But in that case they wouldn't have to learn to do eye contact; they'd have to be helped to get over the social anxiety. Or if they were gifted I guess they could have been bored with "normal" kids, and just not socialized as much--maybe they're introverts too. But I'm sure there are a large number of Aspies there.

JakeG
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21 May 2007, 8:53 am

tatortots wrote:

JakeG wrote:

OMGpenguin wrote:

So statistically, incredibly gifted students are more likely to be AS (causally vice versa [AS students are more likely to be incredibly gifted than non-AS students]).

Well your opinion based on a few students that you know probably isn't as statistically significant as the statistics based on academic research where much larger samples have been taken and measured.

The diagnostic criteria ruling out cases of mental retardation for an AS diagnosis is just fact; there isn't much opinion involved in that.

aspiebegood
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21 May 2007, 10:18 am

I was diagnosed with Asperger's and giftedness after doing my testing for Asperger's. The second diagnosis was a surprise to me. I might be assuming but there has not been much conclusive evidence regarding these diagnosis being related, but I would not be suprised if they were.

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Mitch8817
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21 May 2007, 10:19 am

What's the difference between two pieces of string?

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JakeG
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21 May 2007, 11:40 am

Mitch8817 wrote:

What's the difference between two pieces of string?

|Length(StringA)-Length(StringB)|

:lol:

LostInSpace
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23 May 2007, 2:41 am

JakeG wrote:

Mitch8817 wrote:

What's the difference between two pieces of string?

|Length(StringA)-Length(StringB)|

:lol:

Also thickness, material, and the way it is woven. Color, too. Lots of differences!

Okay, I totally didn't understand the point of Mitch8817's post, so if my reply makes no sense- sorry!

Last edited by LostInSpace on 23 May 2007, 3:01 am, edited 2 times in total.

LostInSpace
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23 May 2007, 2:47 am

Kids with high IQs may not be able to relate well to peers of average intelligence, which could cause anxiety, which then would lead to difficulties with eye contact, etc. I think I read something that said that "useful" giftedness is reflected by IQ scores between 130 and 155. Above 155, the person's intelligence is so far removed from those of the people around them (except in specialized settings), that it is extremely difficult for them to relate to others, and they end up feeling anxious and isolated.

I'd known that gifted kids tend to have obsessions, so I had wondered when an obsession could be attributed to giftedness, and when to Asperger's. When I was younger, I assumed that my intense interests were due to my giftedness (VIQ is 147), but since being diagnosed with NLD, I wonder if they are related to that. It's funny, because when viewed through the lens of giftedness, the obsession is the positive expression of a focused, intellectually-curious mind, whereas when viewed through the lens of NLD, it becomes pathologized as part of a disorder. The obsession hasn't changed, just its interpretation has.

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