Many that come looking for a “test for gifted adults” are doing so because they were never tested as children, and yet they have an idea that they might be gifted. If that is you then I encourage you to first read through the “what is giftedness” page. When you have read that, click on the “self-test” button at the bottom of the page and it will bring you right back here.

So, what do you really want to know?

Any amount of browsing the internet will reveal a plethora of websites that seek to explain and describe giftedness. But what most people are usually asking goes beyond just those surface discussions. Often it is more like:

‘Do you understand giftedness like I do?’

Well, if you have read this far then I can begin to make certain assumptions about you. For instance, you are likely fascinated with the deeper meaning of things; consumed with this vague feeling of obligation or responsibility to “do something” with yourself and your gifts/talents; driven by a relentless search for purpose; often feeling as if life is too short to accomplish all the wonderfully incredible images that your creative and vibrant imagination shows you on a daily basis…

How am I doing so far?

Maybe you are vaguely aware that although you have lots of aqcuaintences, there is a difference between you and most others that just really cannot be spoken, either because you don’t want to risk insult, or because you just can’t explain it. Or maybe you find yourself just naturally following your own path, often into completely uncharted or unconventional places, as if you are looking for something… even if you aren’t exactly sure what it is.

Maybe you have always felt 10-20 years older than your physical age? Or maybe the career advice “just do what you are good at” or “just do what you love to do” makes you sick because you are good at EVERYTHING. Sound familiar?

The real answer.

If I really try to explain what the word gifted means from this perspective, I will either exhaust my ability to communicate entirely, or I will go mad trying. How does anyone express what is at the essence of their being? No matter how empathic a person I might proclaim myself to be, I will never truly understand what it is like to be a paraplegic, for instance, unless I have lost the use of my legs. There are certain issues and situations that are completely unique to that particular experience, that simply cannot be explained to people that do not share that experience first-hand.

For those that are parapalegic, or in this case, gifted, the communication required to express the personal experience is minimal. In fact, often times they are the unspoken words that say the most. You’ll see it in a head nod, or a glimmer of hope in a person’s eyes, as if they are saying to you “I know that you understand me, and I am thankful for that.” 

So, if you came here in hopes of taking a test that would confirm what you think might be true, I have both good and bad news for you. The bad news is that the only kind of tests I could employ through this medium are not worth the pixels that make them appear. They are like online IQ tests, which similarly are completely invalid. The kinds of tests that are required to test IQ or giftedness require trained professionals in a face-to-face encounter, and go far beyond what I can provide here.

In the absence of trained professionals and standardized tests, I am afraid you are left with only one other test. The good news is that you have already taken it.

See, while you have read through this entire page you have experienced a response to my words. Scoring this test is really the easiest part. If you found yourself shaking your head up and down when you read this, then you are probably gifted. If you found yourself shaking your head left and right, or with a confused look on your face when you read this, then you are probably not.

While it would be nice to be able to come to a website and be told that you are the greatest thing since sliced bread, I simply cannot provide that. But the reality is that you do not need my or anyone else’s confirmation or approval. Your reaction is confirmation enough. You would not have been able to understand on that level, or responded with that kind of emotion, unless you had been there yourself. You understood my words because you have experienced them. You connected with what I was saying because it might as well have been you saying it.

So, where do I go from here?

As with any effort to give directions, two things are required first: a clear idea of where you are, and a clear idea of where you would like to go.