Are they all asynchronous and when does this start to show?

[Holiztic]

I have been seeing the word asynchronous around here and other places for ages now and never gave it much thought.  It just made intuitive sense to me that people are rarely gifted in everything, so there's going to be some asynchronicity.

But I was just starting to wonder, when do you usually start to see asynchronicity? 

I had been thinking for a while now that DS (3y8m) was average in motor skills (at times I wondered if he was a little behind, but mostly found him to just be cautious, not incapable--things like not climbing the structures at the playground other kids his age were climbing).  He didn't walk early, kick a ball early, he is only okay in his gymnastics class.  I never gave it much thought until a few weeks ago he started skipping (really well!) out of nowhere--I'm not even sure he'd ever seen anyone skip, then he got a tricycle for christmas and was riding it around a very crowded house and missing obstacles by millimeters every time, going fast, stopping on a dime, going backwards (while steering around things.)  My cousin (who teaches 3 year olds and has 4 kids) commented on how advanced his motor skills were (I was surprised!) 

So at 3.5 I cannot think of an area that he is not at the level of a 5-6 year old (oh, except emotionally!)

This got me thinking about a) if most/all gifted kids are asynchronous AND if b) perhaps it doesn't show up this early.

Thoughts? Experiences? 

[whatsnextmom]

For us, it just pops up here and there. It's not something we consistantly notice and it doesn't always last long when we do. I have 13 years of stories I'd rather not sift through but like I said, there have been moments that catch me off guard and I have to stop and say "oh, that was a normal response for their age." I still see it come up with my teenager who is extremely mature and universally gifted... sometimes those eyes roll and I think "oh yeah, she talks like she's 20 but she is actually 13."

[no5no5]

I don't think it's as simple as a child being advanced in one area and average in another and staying that way for life.  I think that most kids (even ND kids) are ahead in individual skills and behind in others, varying a good deal over time, and that is even more true for gifted kids.  As an example, take a child who is ahead in reading.  The child may decode at one level, comprehend at another, and be motivated to read at still another...and that doesn't even take into account the variation within each of those subcategories (e.g., a child may be able to comprehend some topics at a much more advanced level than others).  So, yeah, I think this is a reality for the vast majority of kids.  I think it would be extremely unusual to find a child who is exactly average in every way.  Likewise, it would be pretty bizarre to find a gifted child who was advanced to the exact same degree in every way. 

I don't think it's terribly unusual to find a gifted child who has advanced skills across the spectrum of broad categories of intelligence (e.g., broad motor, fine motor, language, math, emotional, social, etc.).  DD has certainly had advanced skills in each of these categories, though there are times when she has displayed very age-appropriate skills (or even slightly delayed skills) in each of these categories as well.  It is perhaps more apparent now (at 4 1/2) than previously, but I don't think that's a guarantee that it will continue in that way.

I'm not sure if that answered your question, though.  If what you're really asking is whether, given that your child has advanced skills in most areas, he is likely to avoid the issue of asynchronous development, I'm afraid the answer is no. 

[moominmamma]

I think you tend to become more aware of the asynchronicities when your child begins to be subjected to structured academic expectations that rely on very different sorts of intelligences. For instance, learning cursive writing, interpreting plot devices and character development in a novel, doing multiplication speed drill, editing a short story, applying the long division algorithm to decimals, spelling accurately, memorizing foreign language grammar and vocabulary. I have one kid (out of four) who is what I would consider very evenly gifted; the others all had clear evidence of relative lags that showed up by age 6 or so. But even my most evenly gifted kid, who will soon be 8 and excels in areas as diverse as dance, classical music, martial arts, knitting, reading, writing, math and science, has areas that are less advanced than others. So, for instance, she manages even quite complex linear algebraic equations very easily on paper, but is less capable than your average 7th or 8th grader at translating real-life problems into algebraic equations. She reads at a high school level but prefers the likes of Alice in Wonderland for her reading fare. She can participate in a lively dinner-table debate about the difference between feelings and beliefs ... but then cry if someone responds sarcastically to something she says. 

The asynchronicity may be subtle or profound but I'm pretty sure you'll see it. Probably more after age 6 than before. And I agree with no5no5 ... it's there to some degree in all kids, gifted or not.

Miranda

[Spring Lily]

If your son is advanced in some areas and at age-level emotionally, doesn't that mean he is asynchronous? Or are you just using that term to refer to his skills in various areas?

I would consider the emotional part to count as asynchronous, and in that case I believe gifted kids all face that challenge.

[KCMichigan]

All kids are different----as PP said most kids will show a broad range of abilities. Very few people (even adults would have even skills across the board- physically, emotionally, socially, academically, cognitively, etc).

My kids are 5 and suspected gifted. It has shown very early that they both had a wide range of what they could do (from delays in areas to strong advancement)....both have a history of delays (preemies) and one has social/emotional and gross motor delays that are still present. Both have had OT & PT therapies. Given that--academically they both have been 1-3+ years academically advanced since they started speaking and we discovered how much they knew.

Their thought processes and ability to apply new information is also ahead, but they do well in PreK although the teacher is at a loss at how to move them academically forward, they have learned some fabulous social skills, as well as how to function well in a group. It is hard sometimes that other kids dont share the same 'obsessions' BUT they have the same argument with each other (what to play and how to play it) so I do think that is odd at this age, though the topics can be unusual for their age!

Actually, the academics are what are more apparent now when they are with their peers----the gross motor and social delays have improved and are much less apparent than when one DD was 2 through 4 (she has/had very odd mannerisms, spun, rocked, poor eye contact, etc).

I would think it would vary by child, environment, background, personality, and innate abilities.

Edited by KCMichigan - 12/28/10 at 8:30am

[Roar]

As you note that emotionally he's closer to same age peers, it sort of sounds like you are asking if it is possible that a child could be equally advanced physically and intellectually. The answer to that is certainly yes. There are intellectually gifted kids who are also especially advanced in terms of coordination, etc.

I agree with the idea that all kids have uneven development to some extent and that it can be more extreme in gifted kids. With higher levels of giftedness this asynchrony can be more acute. The place we saw it a lot was with the child dreaming up and attempting to do stuff that was beyond the limits of preschooler endurance (and sometimes beyond the limits of time and space). He was capable of thinking of far more complex ideas than it was possible to implement. Of course that's true for lots of us, but it is harder to understand and handle when you are three years old.

[joensally]

Here's a couple of the places I've noticed asynchrony with my kids:

-not being able to print or type as quickly as their ideas are flowing

-understanding plots/concepts in fiction/films but not having the emotional experience and strategies to handle the intensity of the feelings generated.

Also, like Roar explained, not understanding the limits of their own skills or the real world and the ideas they generate.  DS has finally accepted that I will not be buying chemicals and that our backyard is not a place for explosive experimentation.  He sees himself as a physicist hampered by his environment and lack of funding :).

[Roar]

Originally Posted by joensally   DS has finally accepted that I will not be buying chemicals and that our backyard is not a place for explosive experimentation.  He sees himself as a physicist hampered by his environment and lack of funding :).

It is so unfair the NSF doesn't give grants to eight year old. Ha!
 

[MJB]

I don't tend to think of my gifted 5 yr. old as asynchronous. He has always been very advanced both physically and intellectually. He was crawling/cruising at 5.5 months, had 50 words at a year, was asking questions about death at 1.5, rode a bike without training wheels at 2.5, and read at 3. We just tend to think of him as older than he really is instead of gifted/asynchronous.

[emmaegbert]

my 6yo DS goes to a gifted school and has been tested and IDed as gifted. He is not terribly advanced academically, particularly in that setting where he is kind of at the middle. He has always been very obviously physically advanced, like some other PPs have said doing things like jumping, balancing, climbing, WAY before he was "supposed" to and able to ride a 2-wheel scooter at 2yo and 2-wheel bike at 3yo. His fine motor skills and ability to both create and understanding visual representations is way ahead of normal for his age.

For us, its obvious that emotionally/socially he is more age-typical. This can be hard when he looks older than he is, and has the vocabulary and superficial social skills of someone older, so adults (even us!) expect him to act with more maturity than he consistently has. Also, he has interests and understanding of concepts that he may have a difficult time dealing with emotionally.

I think PPs have a good point that this probably comes up for most people in their lives, but maybe more so for some kids and in ways that can be surprising to adults.