Potential
Many cognitive abilities have a familial and hereditary component. This helps explain why questions about giftedness often arise for several members of the same family.
Giftedness · heredity · environment
Is giftedness innate or acquired?
Potential emerges early; its expression develops over time
Giftedness has a substantial hereditary component. But potential is not a predetermined destiny: environment, education, relationships and opportunities strongly influence how abilities develop, how they are used and how they are experienced.
Video in French. The article below is available in English.
Two ideas to distinguish: potential and its expression
Its expression
The environment plays a major role in whether this potential is nurtured, recognised and enjoyed, or remains underused, misunderstood or associated with a sense of being different.
What role does education play?
Environment and education can allow this talent to flourish and intellectual potential to become developed abilities—or leave it underused. The same is true of other talents: would a great painter have fully used their talent in a family that did not encourage creativity? Would a great athlete have done so in a family that valued only intellectual activities? In the same way, parents, teachers and relatives can help a gifted child understand their High Potential and use it in a fulfilling way.
If one family member is gifted, should others explore that possibility too?
It is a reasonable question, particularly when another family member also feels different, has very high abilities or shows similar characteristics. Not everyone in the family needs to have an assessment automatically, but identifying giftedness in several family members can be valuable for the family as a whole.
It is not unusual to see families in which most members are gifted. When a child is gifted, questions may arise about their siblings and parents; when a parent is gifted, it is reasonable to wonder about their children too. Given the hereditary transmission of High Potential, identifying it in a gifted person’s children, siblings and parents can often be important.
For a child, this can be particularly valuable. A parent or sibling who has also identified their giftedness can become someone particularly helpful to talk to: someone who understands from the inside aspects of the child’s sense of difference, needs or intensity. This shared understanding can also help the family appreciate each person’s individual qualities.
Identifying potential early can change how it is experienced
For children and adults alike, putting a name to a way of functioning can help adjust expectations, surroundings and choices. The aim is not to predict success, but to prevent significant potential from being misunderstood or becoming a source of feeling out of place.
Frequently asked questions
Is giftedness entirely genetic?
No. A substantial hereditary component does not prevent the environment from playing a major role in how abilities develop and are used.
Does a gifted child remain gifted as an adult?
Potential does not simply disappear with age, but the way it is expressed can change with learning, experience and environment.
If my child is gifted, should I have an assessment too?
Not necessarily, but it can be very helpful. When a parent or sibling discovers that they are also gifted, the child may have someone within the family who understands aspects of their functioning from the inside. This can make communication easier, help explain their sense of difference, and encourage appreciation of their individual qualities. An adult assessment is therefore especially relevant when the adult also has questions about themselves.
Is this a question for your family?
Screening can be a first step towards determining whether the possibility of giftedness deserves further exploration for you or your child.
