Doctor said my baby = "genius" --- wha-wha-whaaaaaat??? - Page 2

[loraxc]

For another perspective, my DD had very similar early toddler milestones, including a bunch of sight words by 18 months. She was extremely noticeable in her 1s and 2s and her pediatrician told me that I should consider homeschooling at her 1-year WCV. She is now 7.5 and has tested as gifted, but moderately so (the number may be an underestimate, but I think it is not far off). She definitely does need accommodations at school, in part because she is highly motivated and loves academics, and is now at a full-time gifted school. I would say she is 2-3 years ahead of grade on average, though she has not had much instruction in some areas.

She is NOT profoundly gifted, though, and will definitely not be in college at 9 or anything like that. Very bright, 98th-99th%, but not quite as far out on the edge as she appeared as a toddler.

[ILoveSweetpea]

Thank you both so much for sharing your experiences with your own children.  It's so helpful to hear these stories to have a better context.

I've really been doing a lot of reading and researching.  I have started reading the book recommended above - 5 Levels of Gifted.  Whoa - that has been a real eye opener.  I was really shocked (terrified?) to see how much DD is similar (and even exceeds in some areas - like counting and reading) many of the "level 5" gifted kids at her age.  I think she isn't as verbal as many of the level 5s, though, so she may or may not belong to this group. But it was still a really big eye opener as to just how gifted and unusual she might be.  My DS is also possibly around a 4 - which is really surprising.   The book has been very useful to put his development in context and realize that he will likely need specialized education as much as DD.

Our local schools do indeed have a gifted program, although who knows how long they will have funding.  One of our local schools may soon be closing due to some forced consolidation the state is possibly going to do.   The gifted program doesn't start until 3rd grade.  They use cluster classrooms (see? I'm learning new terminology and everything.  LOL. Lots of reading, I tell ya.) I am happy that they have some sort of gifted program, but I don't know how to tell if it is really going to be adequate.  My gut tells me it may not be enough.   Part of the problem is that the class sizes are pretty big - and if this consolidation happens they will only get bigger - and I suspect DS would be better off in a smaller classroom if possible.  It's too early to know what sort of classroom would suit DD's personality, but DS would almost definitely do better with a small classroom.

Of course, we don't have to make any decisions right now.  My DH and I did decide, however, that if we determine the kids really "need" a full time gifted school that I will make the 50 minute communte to take them there.  It's K-8, so I don't know what we'd do when it came time for high school, but we could cross that bridge when we come to it.   We also have other options, but if their giftedness is an "issue" that the local schools can't handle that might be our best option.  We'll have to go and check out the school in person and maybe talk to other parents, but that is what we are thinking right now.

I haven't heard back from the local psych.  I'll let you guys know when and if I do hear from her.   I hope she's still in business!

As a sidenote, my husband was changing DD's diaper last night and she just started counting backwards 12 to zero.  I don't know why she did this, or what triggered it, but it was just another one of her "surprises".   I just can't imagine what she will be like by the time she is 2.... or 1 1/2 for that matter.   When she does things like this, I get a real conflicting internal response of "oh how cute" and "holy CRAP wtf did she just say?!? how am I ever going to meet this child's needs?"   I imagine many of you here understand that feeling.   (This is the type of story I would never tell anyone IRL because they would likely think I was either insane or a liar.  It is so great to have this resource of parents that understand!)

Once again, a long and rambling post.  Thanks for listening.

[ellemenope]

We have had many of those "surprises."  But, TBH, my DD sounds more like your son.

She turned 3 about two months ago.  She has been reading for over six months and has been doing simple math on her fingers for about as long.  Her reading is a bit uneven.  She can read large words, but not large books.  She never went through a sight word phase.  She was obsessed with learning phonics for a few weeks, wanted to talk about reading for about a month, learned to read, and then moved on.  She has a few splinter skills--like memorizing anything she wants (US states, presidents, birthdays, books, songs.)  Or, being able to read pretty large words spelled out to her.  She also seems to understand complex ideas after only a brief explanation.  And, she is verbally advanced.  I would guess she spoke nearly a thousand words around 18 months including letters, numbers, colors, shapes (recognizing them.)  She spoke in complex sentences somewhere between 18-21 months, like, "I wan't to go to a toy store tomorrow, so I can see a baby that has a hard head."  By 2, I am pretty sure she was speaking near adult level complexity.  She did not 1:1 count (enumerate) above five until she was 2.5. Then she started counting 1:1 up into the 40s and doing simple addition using manipulatives.  Although, she could rote count up to 100 before then.

At 16 months we were blissfully unaware of all that was going on in her head, yet she still somehow seemed advanced.

Looking at the Ruf estimates, DD would be somewhere between 3-5.  (She hates puzzles, but also has a vision problem, so that skews things.)   In real life we have never gotten anything more than "wow, she is really bright," raised eyebrows, or "that's cute."  But, she has made other parents worry, become defensive or even rude.  She does pretty good right now at a play-based preschool.  Although, she does not go undetected.  The other day she told her class that one of her favorite places to visit was the National Portrait Gallery to see the presidents.  This somehow led to the teacher approaching me at pickup and commenting that her son did not memorize the US presidents in order until first grade.  

There is a full-time gifted school in our area that starts at pre-k we have applied for.  Thing is, the application process started a couple of weeks ago, so beware of deadlines for your DS, wether it be a gifted school or whatever.  (and, in our case, the applicant pool is pretty large because this is the only school for gifted pre-k in a very large metropolitan area and it is hugely popular as well as successful, so if you miss the deadline you wait till next year.)

[Greenmama2]

Originally Posted by loraxc 

For another perspective, my DD had very similar early toddler milestones, including a bunch of sight words by 18 months. She was extremely noticeable in her 1s and 2s and her pediatrician told me that I should consider homeschooling at her 1-year WCV. She is now 7.5 and has tested as gifted, but moderately so (the number may be an underestimate, but I think it is not far off). She definitely does need accommodations at school, in part because she is highly motivated and loves academics, and is now at a full-time gifted school. I would say she is 2-3 years ahead of grade on average, though she has not had much instruction in some areas.

She is NOT profoundly gifted, though, and will definitely not be in college at 9 or anything like that. Very bright, 98th-99th%, but not quite as far out on the edge as she appeared as a toddler.

Uhuh. My DD (now 5.25) also sounded extremely similar as a one year old (sentences at 14 months, a bunch of sight words, huge complex vocab by 12 months, I thought all kids just naturally recognised letters and numbers etc etc). I was pretty shocked when I first discovered this board when she was a around 19 months and read Ruf's "Levels of giftedness" to see that she fit the description (for her age) of a level 5. I also felt instinctually that it was wrong. Now, perhaps I have stifled her with my "low" expectations or perhaps not but now at five she doesn't stick out like a sore thumb the way she used to up till about 3.5 or maybe even 4.
Her educational needs would certainly be difficult to meet in a traditional classroom and homeschooling is meeting them well. But she's not radically accelerated, she's only at a late 1st grade level in maths, still not reading fluently despite those early sight words and an obsession with star fall from around 16 months - 2.5 (although my definition of fluent reading is perhaps a little harsh and she is certainly above grade level). She is unusually advanced in her scientific understanding and interests (will be starting a university based enrichment program for advance 10-12 year olds in a few weeks), but unless one engages her in conversation about that one doesn't notice.
I must say though, it certainly does sound as though BOTH your children are brighter than average. Do investigate your options with regard to schooling and please, I don't say this just as a passionate homeschoolers (which I am), please do think seriously about the option of home schooling and be prepared to keep it on the table if you do try school. Even without 2E issues, asynchronous development is common in gifted kids and depending on the severity it can make meeting their needs in a classroom difficult to downright impossible.

[Aufilia]

You've already gotten a lot of advice on schooling and so on, but I just wanted to address your concern about your family thinking you are "bragging" if you talk to them about your kids.  Here's my thought: your bright family members may be some of the people in your life at the moment who take you seriously and don't think you're bragging when you say you're worried about your kids at their young ages.  They have BTDT and they know first-hand that really bright kids exist and need support.  I am always so glad that I can talk to my mom and get her advice about DD because she had 3 really bright kids and usually just "gets" it whereas most other people just don't.

[UpToSomeGood]

There's no reliable way to predict intelligence based on when a child hits milestones.  There are also many components to intelligence; for instance, some children score very highly on working memory and processing speed, while having fairly normal scores in other areas.  There's just no way to tell that your child is a "genius" at this age, if that term had a non-vague definition.  Nor is your doctor, no matter how many children he's seen, likely to be an expert on gifted children or intelligence.

The lucky thing is that you don't need to worry about any special services for quite some time.  Your child's not even 2.  Just keep her surrounded with interesting, engaging things, and give her stimulating life experiences, and she will grow.