THE UNIVERSAL EXPERIENCE OF BEING OUT-OF-SYNC
When giftedness is defined as asynchronous development, it is not limited by ethnicity, gender, age, socio-economic status, or geographical or political boundaries. In all cultures, there are children who progress through the developmental milestones at a more rapid rate than their peers. The brighter they are, the more uneven their development is likely to be—intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally. They are also likely to be out-of-sync with their agemates and with age-related cultural norms. Intellectual and personality characteristics accompany asynchrony: sensitivity, intensity, curiosity, perceptiveness, complexity, reflectiveness, and perfectionism. These characteristics are lifelong and differentiate the experience of gifted individuals from birth to maturity.
