Gifted behavior? Normal? 18 mo questions

[Lyci]

Ok, I have moved to this forum because I feel really uncomfortable mentioning these things anywhere else for fear of mama's thinking I am bragging. Having a child who is exceeding your expectations can be just as hard as one who is not. Does that make any sense? I don't know who to talk to about ds's language development because all his peers are struggling and he is not. Ds is an active, determined and funny 18 mo. He has been signing since he was about 8-10 months and did gross motor skills "on time" or a little early. He speaks about 60-70 words, is working on saying about 10 others, and signs about 20 words that he hasn't learned to say. His fine motor skills are exceptional and that's where we are running into problems. He can open things we didn't think he was capable of (gates, jars, outlet covers-you name it). He is obsessed with wires, cords, and anything electrical. He chooses a bag of wires and cords over toys any day and really doesn't bother with many toys except his train set and Tinker Toys. He interacts well with us and others so we aren't worried. He initiated peek-a-boo around 6 months, we have an avi video file if you want to see it. Just looking for some support from those who have been through frustrating days with a very bright toddler. Thanks!

[TiredX2]

You might want to post this on the following thread:

Support for Parents of Gifted Children, #4
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=274130

[Vermillion]

Not sure of the speech thing. I was talking in complete sentences by 12 months and while I am intelligent I am not a genius.

My DS got a late start talking but is a truly a brilliant child. He is constantly amazing me!

Anyway, I can totally relate on the motor skill stuff. Baby proofing? Impossible here. As soon as my DS was mobile (10 month crawling) he was taking locks off of things, opening doors that were baby proofed, basically figuring out a way into everything he could get his little hands on. He is very determined. Sometimes it is difficult keeping up. He has always been up 6 months ahead in his fine and large motor skills, so he is always doing new things that I was expecting a little later on.

I can also relate to the singing thing. My DS is big into music. He was humming perfect tunes before he could even speak. He is definitely musically talented!

[Willowrose]

My older son was just like this. Except for the speech. He didn't say his first word till 18 months and at 2 was only speaking in one to two word sentences.
Nothing was babyproofed from him. He would open everything. He would climb to get things, unlock doors, locks, etc...
With his gross motor skills he has always surpassed his age. He taught himself to skateboard at 2. To ice-skate at 2. To ride a 2-wheel bike at 3.
There seems to be nothing this boy can't do!
He is labled by an evaluation as being Aspergers Syndrome or gifted. We go by the first "label" for now, so that we can give him the speech and occupational therapy he needs.
Its so hard to say at this stage. To me, it really doesn't matter. I encourage him in the areas he wants to excell at. He is so inquisitive and fascinated with everything, so I nurture that.
I think in our society we are very quick to want a label. Sometimes its a good idea in order to help or treat the issues. Other times it simply creates an expectency in that child.
I would just love him and enjoy his spiritedness. He seems like a delightful child!

[USAmma]

It's so hard to say at that age, but he certainly sounds very bright! If he continues to show you jaw-dropping moments, you can have him tested at some point. Usually they test at 3-5 years old in order to help place them in preschool or school.

At 12-15 mos. Abi had a vocabulary of close to 100 words. At 18 mos she could draw a circle and a line, knew all her letters and the sounds they made, could count to at least 20. Lots of other things too. However she focused so much on those skills that she had very little interest in social/emotional development until much later. That is very common in some bright/gifted children-- to develop differently in different areas.

We had her tested at 3.5 and our suspicions about her giftedness were confirmed at that time, along with our suspicions of other issues. Turns out she had sensory issues. One of the reasons (we think) that she was so enthusiastic about academics was it was very safe and calm compared to social development. For her that was scary and overwhelming. She's doing much better now.

Nitara has sensory issues. At 15 mos. old she knows close to 100 words, and has spoken a couple of 2 and 3 word sentences. We know she's good with language, but not sure about the gifted part. Time will tell.

Sorry I didn't mean to go on and on about Abi. Just being a proud mommy!

[Bestbirths]

I wonder if there decomissioned lamp (that doesn't hook up to electricity) that you could kind of rig that would be safe for him to play with? YK like people do when their children are obsessed with the phone, they get a toy phone. I don't think it is very safe for an 18 month old to be playing with a bag of wires and cords unless you are really supervising it because it sounds like a potential choking hazard (around the neck). If he can get the outlet covers off and knows how to plug things in, this could really be dangerous.

I think I remember seeing some super duper smart kid proof outlet covers. They arent just the plug kind, they are a complete outlet cover with these strong locks that ain't going nowhere. Maybe the Mom's in the gifted area they may know where you can order those.

I wonder if you can get him some electrical pieces or covers from a hardware store, with no small parts or chokables, large enough. Instead of blocks, he could stack light boxes or something. You could probably have a lot of fun in a hardware store with this little guy....Get Dh in on this...it sounds like you will have an inexpensive Christmas.....You could say that these electrical toys are for baby and the stuff that plugs in for real is only for mommy and daddy. Would this work???

what about a toy flashlight that lights up? Our children have these cute little flashlights that are animals and you push the lever and the mouth opens, the light turns on and it makes a noise.....You could say this is your light, and this on the table is mommy and daddies light.....

[Yummymummy74]

Sounds pretty bright to me :LOL its funny because here I am in this forum posting about my older son, and yet I have two younger children who I suspect are definately gifted.. my 19 month old has an extensive vocabulary.. interacts very well with adults and older kids .. very strong willed independant little creature.. enjoys making pictures, playing with playdough (not in the way you would expect from a 19 mos old!) and generally runs absolute circles around her cousin who is 20 days younger.. and IMO pretty on track developmentally.

Some days between my son who I feel horribly for because he seems so lost there somewhere and my youngest who seems like a wildfire... I want to pull my hair out! :LOL

Little B enjoys toys greatly.. but not *baby* toys.. it has to be something to engage her... as a young infant we found her very prone to sensory issues.. I think giftedness and sensory problems go hand in hand.

I would love to know if there have been any studies that correlate a genetic link to this stuff, my husband scores rather high IQ wise and finds hobbies in things most people would loathe (can we say calculus?

:LOL

[Shiloh]

for fear of mama's thinking I am bragging.
=Actually for me with ds1 it was the other mothers who would use my son to torment the ones they didn't like. My son was almost 11 pounds and 23 1/2 inches at birth, by eight weeks he was 28 inches, he was HUGE, and started walking at 7 1/2 months, talking at five, other mothers would say 'oh your son is his age' and point to mine....sigh...while they child would be sitting up and drooling mine is the size of a two year old and running around.

Having a child who is exceeding your expectations can be just as hard as one who is not. Does that make any sense?
=lol so true, I have a seven and a half month old now who is not walking yet, its so nice he's just started crawling.

Also a bright child puts more pressure on you as a mom, they aren't the teletubbies kids that would happily watch tv and do nothing You got to keep them happy and learning...

The smarter and more mobile you are the more problems you have.
My friend had a baby who is now older and a very bright young man but he just wanted to sit on the couch all day from the time he could sit up. My son was getting into everything, child proof? lol.

[Silliest]

check out www.hoagiesgifted.com

it has saved what's left of my sanity ;->