Characteristics of Gifted Children -- Real Life Experiences - Page 5

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by chann96

My parents did not allow that to be an issue in my life however and those issues never threatened my life.

I would think that the extremely high rates of suicide among gifted teens would qualify as "life threatening issues," but maybe it's not the same, since the danger is from themselves? But then, how is Asperger's syndrome, in and of itself, life threatening?

I'm not going to argue it with you after this point because you simply refuse to believe that you might not understand where the rest of us are coming from

Your statements demonstrate that you don't in fact understand where *we're* coming from.

and that having to see all of the wonderful things your children are accomplishing might be hurtful and offensive to all of us that come to this special needs subforum to talk with other moms who do understand the trials and fears we go through on a daily basis.

Of course. Because there are no trials and fears involved in parenting a gifted child. I give up.

[LadyMarmalade]

If the OP is around, would they consider putting 'support only' in the title? That way people can focus on the issue instead of having to repeat themselves over and over for the unbelievers.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Britishmum

My child - yes, my gifted child - will probably not be able to go. Her OT told me the other day that the school district will refuse her help until she fails. If I send her without help, she will fail. Then she would start showing enough 'symptoms' of something to get a false diagnosis, probably of ASD. Then she'd get the help she needs. She needs help because she is gifted. (Ironically, though, if I got a false diagnosis of ASD, I presume I'd have enough 'real' trials and fears to be made welcome here.)

And this is a SERIOUS concern. When I was teaching in a public school (in a "good" school, in a gifted program fwiw) I had a VERY gifted little girl. I saw right off that she was not performing to what she could be- though she tried hard. It became very clear very quickly that she had a learning disability. So, I started the process to identify her so that she could get appropriate accommodations.

Below are a few of the phrases I heard from top EDUCATORS:

well, she's not failing, so we don't need to do anything
how about we just take her out of the gifted program?
I teach GIFTED kids, I'm not going to do modifications.
I don't think that IQ is real- she's not making all As.



This is one of MANY issues that parents of gifted kids deal with. They ARE real issues. They ARE special needs. Just because (general) you can't accept what the experts agree on doesn't change things.

-Angela

[Cinder]

Originally Posted by chann96

I recognize that there are issues with gifted children, but it is not the same. I'm not going to argue it with you after this point because you simply refuse to believe that you might not understand where the rest of us are coming from and that having to see all of the wonderful things your children are accomplishing might be hurtful and offensive to all of us that come to this special needs subforum to talk with other moms who do understand the trials and fears we go through on a daily basis.

I'm still just baffled by this thought. I have two kids, an almost 4 year old and a 2 1/2 year old...she is a very bright kid, I have no clue if she is gifted or not, but she amazes us every day, she taught herself to read, tell time, do addition, know's about 300 words (At last count) in 3 languages...you get the idea. He doesn't talk, likes to head butt walls, doesn't understand 90% of what we say to him (he has a receptive communication level of about a 14 month old), has cognitive delays, can seriously go days refusing to eat ANYTHING (so not just pick, actually nothing passes his lips and gets swallowed), and I spent all week in and out of doctor's offices and the ER, then last night on the ped ward of st. joseph hospital in Ann Arbor cause his seizures are back to being out of control and we don't know what to do...ohh, and he ended up with possibly a toxic dose of his medication cause due to the failure to eat thing he lost 6lbs since june 6th...which is a lot for a 2 year old.

But, as far as special needs, I'd say they are tied...her sensory profile is scary, she is terrified, will cry till she throws up terrified of freakin grass! She also had OCD and will wipe herself after peeing to the point that she bleeds, and still says she is dirty...from what I've learned from the psychiatrist (that our insurance won't cover...and she can't get any other services either, cause she isn't delayed) this goes hand and hand with giftedness...

So truly, I just don't get how anyone thinks the gifted threads don't belong in this forum...and this is coming from someone who is on the other side and has a "true" "special needs" kid as well.

[Rigama]

Characteristics of a Gifted kiddo

I've stated in another thread that i'm not positive I belong here, but I think I do!

Your 4 year old calls his own imaginary friends imaginary.

When naming tadpoles that we caught in a puddle he points to one and says "That one's Peace, because he doesn't fight."

He makes up words in languages that sound very real "Peasos Keninioss" means Fast Swimmer (see tadpole names above)

He suddenly gets a very glum look on his face and lowers his head. When I ask what's wrong he says, almost in tears, "I'm just so disappointed that I never had a chance to learn how to count by 7's" When reminded that he's 4and that he has his whole life to learn to count by 7's, he brightens up and says "Your right! Can you teach me to count by 9's instead?"

[meemee]

oooh i have some to add... i just dont get the opportunity to say them aloud.

* when ur 2 year old sits with the park 'plumber' for over half an hour talking about sprinkler systems.

* when ur 3 year old leaves messages on answerring machines when the person she has called is not there.

* when ur 3 1/2 year olds conversation of about the different ways of 'disposing' dead bodies creates gasps from all teh people around on the bus.

* when ur 6 month old shrieks because you recited brown bear brown bear in the wrong order.

* when ur almost 4 year old know every line from spiderman1 and my friend totorro and accuses other movies of stealing the line from those movies.

* when her questions makes adults reach for the dictionary or encyclopedias or stop a group discussion to find out questions like do koala bears have belly buttons - and no one knows.

* when ur 3 year old's favourite cartoon is magic school bus and her favourite book is her uncles medical reference book.

* when your 2 year old has her v. techical halloween costume chosen in may - but whew!!! changes her mind a few days before halloween because her bf is going as a carebear.

* when your extremely social 2 year old changes her game idea to suit the rest of the children because they could not get her pretend game - so they can all play together.

* when ur 3 year old walks into a used book store and devours a grade 2 geography book with mommy reading instead of choosing any of the childrens books.

* when your almost 4 year old teaches grandpa how to use the mouse and how to open and close programs.

* when your 3 year old's fav. band is the beatles and she can not only sing every single song of seargent peppers but also tell you a fairly good biography of all the members.

* when your 3 year old groans when she sees you just started your period. mommy when ARE you going to find a new daddy and stop bleeding so you can have my bro and sis growing in ur tummy.

* when your 3 year old giggles at your shocked expression and says 'awww mommy. i was just kidding.'

[teachma]

When your 7 week old, in the carseat holding a soft toy, repeatedly drops it and then coughs loudly to communicate that she's dropped it. When you turn around to pick it up, she plays with it for a few seconds, drops it again and begins to cough until you retreive it once more.

When your 3.5 year old falls from the swingset, cries hysterically, and responds to mom's sympathetic, "What happened?" with a tearful, "I descended on my finger."

And all the other borderline Gifted/OCD issues that we face every day...like his fear (at three years old) that a dim outdoor solar light must be the result of the sun's losing power, the concern that since wood is biodegradable, all of our furniture will eventually decompose...the list goes on.

[PeacefulSeams]

Gifted is :
--when your 7mos old says thank you after changing his diaper
--your 1 year old can tell you the name of every 3 dimensional shape and how to draw them
--your 2 year old can identify the name of the planets and you are unaware where they learned them
--your 3 year old is doing 1st grade math
--your 3 year old says to you that is the most ASININE thing I have ever heard
--your 3 year old tells you they need more momentum on the swings

[A&A]

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