Profoundly gifted (PG) kids are the brightest of lights. Defined as scoring in the top .13% of the population on IQ tests, they are at the extreme high end of the continuum of intellect.
Being highly exceptional in intellect produces incredible challenges. These students have extraordinary needs and capacity for immediate assimilation of information, profound reasoning, and construction of new ideas. Beyond intellect, PG kids are often notable for their asynchronous emotional and social development, their extreme vigor and intensity, their emotional sensitivity, and an over-developed sense of justice. Few teachers or schools understand these children, and fewer still have resources to meet their needs. PG kids struggle to connect, as the intellectual, social, and emotional gaps between them and their classmates seem too great to overcome.
Attempts to meet the intellectual needs of a PG student often result in a hopscotch of schools and grades. What worked last year for a PG kid won't work this year (and sometimes, won't work another month.) A patchwork of grade skips, radical single-subject acceleration, school changes, and emergency home-schooling sabbaticals are common. These disruptions further interfere with the childrens' opportunities to connect with other children. Building, nurturing, and growing long-term friendships becomes almost impossible.
PG kids need more than the emotional satisfaction of intellectual growth. They need, like all humans, emotional acceptance, a chance to play, a place to be themselves, and a sense of belonging.