Processing Speed in Gifted Children: A Clinical Neuropsychological Perspective

ABSTRACT

Children with gifted intellects often earn lower scores on measures of processing speed than their nongifted counterparts. However, neuropsychological research indicates such a profile of scores is likely not due to a true innate neurocognitive processing speed deficit but is rather a statistical artifact resulting from the interference of common cognitive and behavioral idiosyncrasies inherent to giftedness, such as perfectionism and an aversion to completing paper and pencil tasks. The first aim of this study is to identify and explain the relative underperformance of children with gifted intellects on measures of processing speed. The second aim is to develop a neuropsychologically informed framework for clinically assessing processing speed in children with gifted intellects using alternative measures from the WISC–V. Clinical implications are discussed as they relate to the relative disabling effects of common gifted-related idiosyncrasies on the expression of their otherwise intact neuropsychological capabilities.

KEYWORDS:

• diagnostics
• gifted
• neuropsychology
• perfectionism
• processing speed

Authors’ contributions

Conceptualization: Paul Beljan, Justin M. Gardner; Methodology: Paul Beljan, Justin M. Gardner; Formal analysis and investigation: Paul Beljan, Justin M. Gardner; Writing—original draft preparation: Paul Beljan, Justin M. Gardner, Dana Homaijani; Writing— review and editing: Paul Beljan, Justin M. Gardner, Dana Homaijani.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.

Notes on contributors

Paul Beljan

Paul Beljan, PsyD, ABPdN, ABN, is a clinical neuropsychologist in private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is double board certified with the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology (ABPdN) and the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology (ABN). His clinical and research focus is on gifted intelligence, Alcohol/Drug Related Neurodevelopmental Deficit (A/DRND), learning disorders, traumatic brain injury, and attention and executive functioning deficits and their associated interventions. Dr. Beljan is an expert in evaluating and understanding gifted children and their common misdiagnoses. He is a co-author of the books, Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children and Adults and Large Scale Brain Systems and Neuropsychological Assessment. Dr. Beljan also has authored several chapters and articles in various publications. Email: [email protected].

Justin M. Gardner

Justin Gardner, PsyD, is currently finishing his Post-Doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology under the supervision of Paul Beljan, PsyD at Beljan Psychological Services. Dr. Gardner completed his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Midwestern University, Glendale. He completed his predoctoral internship at The Rochester Institute of Technology where he developed computational modeling approaches for diagnosing and predicting maximal treatment outcomes for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and chronic pain conditions. Dr. Gardner is passionate about conducting research and has been invited to present at numerous national and international conferences regarding his research into the use of artificial intelligence, computational modeling, and other algorithmic approaches to the diagnostic process of various neuropsychological disorders. Email: [email protected].

Dana Homaijani

Dana Homaijani, MA, is completing her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at Midwestern University, Glendale. Dana’s clinical work and research centers around neuropsychological assessment and psychotherapy for children and adults with myriad mental health needs. Email: [email protected].