Older Parents, Precocious Child? The Relationship between Medically Assisted Procreation and High Intellectual Potential

Our research with very gifted children and teenagers has revealed the large number who were conceived by medically assisted procreation (MAP). Are these particular methods traumatic when they are used to fulfill the desire for a child? Do they induce an over-investment in the child? Can we consider the high potential of such children to be an anti-traumatic response? The rare longitudinal studies on children conceived through medically assisted procreation note the frequency of high scholastic achievement of children whose parents pay close attention to their school work. While this paper does not generalize this correlation between high potential and medically assisted procreation, the authors believe these data should be viewed in light of their work. (1) Among so-called gifted children, the survival of infantile sexual theories can contribute to particular centers of interest concerning the origin and the end of life. Infantile sexual theories will be Ariane’s thread because they are strongly reactivated in couples who make use of such techniques. (2) The topics of genitor, genesis, and genius confirm each other on the etymological level: genitor arises from the Latin genitorem, genitum (to engender) and genius from the Latin Genius (god who gave birth to all things). Research on the origins of scientific, literary, or artistic genius regularly demonstrate their obscure nature and the search for excessive knowledge associated with exquisite sensitivity in the chosen domain. Clinical cases will be used to illustrate these points and to attempt to determine whether the process is pathological or structuring in nature.