The term “highly sensitive child” was popularised by Elaine Aron, an American psychologist, in the late 1990s. It describes children with a nervous system that is highly attuned and quick to react to stimuli, making them deeply aware of their environment. These children can grasp subtle changes, reflect deeply, and behave conscientiously. However, they are also easily overwhelmed by high levels of stimulation, sudden changes, and the emotional distress of others. Aron argues that this sensitivity is an inherited temperament rather than a disorder. Although widely used in popular psychology, the term “highly sensitive child” is not recognised as an official diagnosis in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) or ICD (International Classification of Diseases). Instead, it serves as an umbrella concept to describe a collection of interconnected traits and behaviours.
The concept of the highly sensitive child is rooted in Elaine Aron’s research into sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), a personality trait characterised by heightened nervous system sensitivity and deeper cognitive processing of emotional, social, and physical stimuli. Aron and her husband, Arthur Aron, developed the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) questionnaire to measure this trait, which they found in approximately 15-20% of the population. Aron expanded her research on highly sensitive people (HSPs) to children in her 2002 book, The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them. In this book, she provided a framework to help parents and educators understand and support children with sensory processing sensitivity. Aron emphasised that high sensitivity is not a dysfunction but a natural variation in temperament, which can be an asset when appropriately nurtured.
Highly sensitive children exhibit distinct characteristics that set them apart from their peers. These include strong emotional reactions, deep empathy, heightened awareness of their surroundings, and sensitivity to subtle environmental changes such as noise, light, or textures.
They are easily overwhelmed by excessive stimulation, require more time to process information, behave cautiously in unfamiliar situations, and often display a tendency toward perfectionism. However, this sensitivity is sometimes misunderstood by parents and teachers, who may perceive these traits as weaknesses or even dysfunctions. As a result, highly sensitive children are frequently mislabelled as “problem children” or misdiagnosed with disorders such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, predominantly inattentive presentation. Despite these challenges, research has shown that when placed in a supportive environment that values their sensitivity, these children often outperform their peers and thrive.
In conclusion, while the term “highly sensitive child” is not a formal psychological diagnosis, it is based on Elaine Aron’s research. It has become a valuable framework for understanding children with sensory processing sensitivity. By reframing sensitivity as a temperamental strength rather than a deficit, this concept has helped both professionals and the public recognise the needs and potential of highly sensitive children. Providing them with nurturing environments is key to helping these children develop their unique strengths and flourish.
Our IQ assessment is only provided to our student members or students who have participated in our nomination scheme for the current academic year. Hence, teachers can try to enquire about the intellectual assessment services provided by the Child Assessment Centre of the Department of Health, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (https://www.dhcas.gov.hk/en/index.html).
First, students referred by teachers should be our student members or students who have participated in our nomination scheme under the current academic year. Any student who receive our IQ assessment, they (or their parents) still needs to pay for the standard fee.
All students need to receive the assessment at the campus of HKAGE in Sha Kok Estate, Shatin.
It usually takes at least two to three months before an IQ assessment is arranged.
It usually takes less than one month before an IQ report is prepared after the assessment is done.
Student and their parents will receive the IQ report on the campus of HKAGE at Sha Kok Estate, and our psychologist will explain the contents of the IQ report to them in person.
As the IQ report belongs to students and their parents, it is the sole decision of students or their parents to give you a copy of the IQ report. HKAGE could not give a copy of the IQ report to anyone.
A student should expect a psychologist to ask the questions or give the tasks either in verbal form or in a graphic with verbal form. Various kinds of questions or tasks are designed to measure your student’s abstract thinking, verbal reasoning, perception of relationships between things and idea, distinction between nonessential and essential features, verbal expression, general word knowledge, verbal concept formation, long-term memory or learning ability, degree of language development, auditory perception, verbal comprehension and expression, the ability to evaluate and use past experiences, practical social knowledge, social judgement, common sense, ability to visualize and synthesize abstract visual stimuli, visual perception and organization, simultaneous processing, visual-motor skills, visual-spatial integration, culture-fair and language-free measure of fluid intelligence, abstract and categorical reasoning abilities, auditory short-term memory, sequencing, attention and concentration, auditory processing, working memory, visual-spatial imaging, cognitive flexibility, mental alertness, ability to learn new non-verbal material, manual and/or fine-motor speed and precision, visual scanning and perception, sequential processing, attention, concentration, motivation, short-term visual memory, visual discrimination, perceptual organization and planning, etc.
Basically, your student does not need to prepare for the IQ assessment besides your student should get enough sleep or rest the night before the IQ assessment, and your student should be in normal emotional and physical condition before receiving the IQ assessment, so that your student could perform as high as possible his or her intellectual functioning during the assessment.
IQ assessment service does not include follow-up training for students, but our student members can participate in various programmes of our Academy. Also, if students who have participated in our nomination scheme and have finally accepted to be our student members, they can register in various training or learning programmes that they are interested in.
Update Date：2025-10-23