The International Gifted Consortium (IGC), Research Center for Highly--Profoundly Gifted marks 10-years of global impact and launches search for legacy donors

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Gifted Consortium (IGC), Research Center for Highly–Profoundly Gifted, commemorates a decade of transformative service and launches an urgent campaign to secure legacy donors who will safeguard the future of one of the world's most vulnerable and overlooked populations. Since its founding in 2015, The IGC has reached more than 100,000 children, families, educators, and professionals across the United States, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, Greece, and beyond.

The IGC, Research Center's pioneering study — including a landmark literature review in 2020 and a groundbreaking 2024 publication — reveals a critical gap in early identification and educational support for highly–profoundly gifted students, beginning as early as kindergarten.

• How Can We Better Understand, Identify, and Support Highly Gifted and Profoundly Gifted Students?
  
  
• Prevalence of Emotional, Intellectual, Imaginational, Psychomotor, and Sensual Overexcitabilities in Highly and Profoundly Gifted Children and Adolescents?

The Need Is Immediate Only 0.13% of the population — approximately 13 out of every 10,000 children — are highly–profoundly gifted. These exceptional minds often go unrecognized, misdiagnosed, or underserved, leading to devastating consequences including anxiety, depression, and academic disengagement. "These are our future change agents," says Vanessa Reineke Wood, Psy.D., Co-founder and President of IGC. "We are calling on visionary donors to step forward now — to become the namesake of the IGC Research Center and ensure that generations of gifted youth receive the support they urgently need."

Global Collaboration, Local Impact IGC collaborations include research partners from leading institutions including Johns Hopkins University and the University of Antwerp to deliver open-access research, outreach, and training for educators, psychologists, pediatricians, and families. The IGC's holistic approach to giftedness — encompassing cognitive, emotional, physical, and social development — is reshaping how the profoundly gifted are understood and supported worldwide.

The Stakes Are High "Giftedness is not just about intelligence," says Dr. Reineke Wood. "It's about developmental potential and well-being. Without proper identification and support, these children face profound risks. They possess greater than typical intellectual, social-emotional, and physical developmental patterns including extraordinary sensitivity, intensity, and awareness. This puts them at high risk for misunderstanding, misidentification, and misdiagnosis (including ADHD) in our schools and by untrained practitioners."

Act Now To learn more, access open research, or become a legacy donor, visit GiftedConsortium.org.

The first-of-its-kind book, Highly—Profoundly Gifted: Universal Understandings and Holistic Approaches published by Gifted Unlimited is being released December 1, 2025.

About The IGC

The International Gifted Consortium (IGC), Research Center for Highly—Profoundly Gifted engages better understanding, identification, and support through open-access research, education-outreach, training, and research-based educational programs designed to meet the distinctly unique development of highly—profoundly gifted youth. The IGC serves educators, psychologists, pediatricians, and parents to provide access to well-being for highly—profoundly gifted children, adolescents, individuals, and families across the globe. 

Media Contact

Tiffani Helberg

[email protected]

Vanessa R. Wood, Psy.D.

[email protected]

SOURCE The International Gifted Consortium (IGC), Research Center for Highly-Profoundly Gifted