This is not meant to be offensive

[muckemom]

What make ya'll think that your kids are gifted?????

I mean, what signs were displayed? I know that this sounds mean because darn it, it's hard to read a tone in a typed message, but it truly is just a question.

[~member~]

I was involved with CPS and part of the investigation was to have my dd tested. The tests given showed she was 'gifted'.

[~member~]

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=497387 this thread talks about the definition of being gifted. It might help you understand.

[lckrause]

This will vary from kid to kid. With my kids, giftedness was obvious at a very young age because of their intensity/drive and certain things they did extremely early. However, some kids may display their giftedness in less obvious ways and not be identified until later. Or, they may not be the "display" type at all, which muddles things. Also, some kids are visual-spatial, others are more traditionally academic in their learning, others do things still another way. These will manifest in different ways.

[Shenjall]

I was wondering the same thing. So, theres an actual test?

My dd will be 4 in october and she's able to write a couple letters; count to 20; do some simple add/sub (under 5); and recognise some words. Dh and I are having a hard time remembering when our other kids starting doing these things, but were sure not this early.

So, does one go to your dr to get diagnosis?

[lckrause]

So, does one go to your dr to get diagnosis?

The clinical definition of giftedness is an IQ of 130 or above. So you'd have to have your kid tested by a psychologist using one of the standardized IQ tests (WISC-IV, SB-V, etc) if you wanted a real "diagnosis." Family doctors don't diagnose giftedness. But I don't think it's worth getting tested unless you're trying to get your kid into a program or something. It's also darned expensive.

[teachma]

I was wondering the same thing. So, theres an actual test?

My dd will be 4 in october and she's able to write a couple letters; count to 20; do some simple add/sub (under 5); and recognise some words. Dh and I are having a hard time remembering when our other kids starting doing these things, but were sure not this early.

So, does one go to your dr to get diagnosis?

Sorry to go with this tangent, but...why would you feel the need to get a "diagnosis" for you daughter? Based on the fact that she may be advanced in some areas? In most cases of which I am aware, a parent pursues a "diagnosis" of giftedness when the child is struggling to get along in school/the world (this is an over-simplification of the many issues with which gifted children deal, but I am short on energy right now). If your daughter is experiencing some of these hardships due to possible giftedness, I would consider that a valid reason to go to a doctor. With my son, we were dealing with disabling perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive tendencies and severe anxiety resulting from a discrepancy between what he could understand about the world and that which he was emotionally capable (at age 4) of processing and handling. So we did see a doctor.

[lckrause]

Yes, teachma is right. If your daughter's doing just fine socially and emotionally, I wouldn't worry about chasing a diagnosis. :)

[LeftField]

Like Lckrause said, it presents differently and there are different types. There are lots of different things that jumped out at me like attention span, determination, focus, passion for unusual subjects at what seemed like an early age, creativity, mechanical ability, early love of books...stuff like that.

But since I'm feeling a weird combination of bold and insecure right now and since you asked, some things that stood out to me were:
1. one of my kids spontaneously wrote legible capital letters at 24 months with no coaching, modeling or electronic toy help. he learned to write his first name at 27 months, after I dictated the last 3 letters a handful of times. Edit: Sorry, I happened to be rereading something in my journal and I got the age wrong. He wrote pseudo-letters at 24 months, spontaneously wrote legible capital letters at 27 months and wrote his name at 28 months. My mistake!
2. one of my kids did 100 piece puzzles right before he turned 3. the other one started trying to solve a 100 piece puzzle at 27 months, but could only do sections by himself.
3. one kid knew all the letter sounds (capital only) at around 19 months and would spend long periods of time searching adult books for his favorite letters (B and H) at that age. he learned lowercase when he got alphabet magnets for his 2nd birthday; it took him about a week.
4. one kid told me he found trapezoids in our ceiling at 27 months (only saying the word and excitedly pointing). He knew trapezoids from a Melissa and Doug shapes puzzle he had. He was always pointing out shapes inside other things.
5. my oldest drew very detailed pictures with perspective and multiple baselines at age 3. he went through a stage of drawing mechanical things (like our ceiling fan) as though they were taken apart. the drawings looked like something a 7 year old might draw.
6. both of them knew shapes, colors, and could (more or less) count to 20 before age 2. My little one still doesn't have the teen sequence down past 15. He skips a few numbers between 15 and 20. I'm not sure how they learned some of it. It's just something they picked up.
7. one of my kids could quickly add/subtract sums to 10 in his head at age 3.

Neither of my kids were early talkers or walkers and neither can read, btw. My oldest has always been very academically inclined. My youngest is a happy-go-lucky little guy who seems to fit in anywhere. My oldest was really into creating mechanical things from age 2 on. My youngest is not passionate about the mechanical stuff right now, but he seems very imaginative. He has an invisible baby dragon right now. So many variables...

But I feel pretty confident that they are some degree of gifted. I don't care either way, but I feel comfortable guessing that they are.

I'm not bragging. You asked and since I'm feeling, as I say, a bit bold and a bit insecure at the same time right now, I thought I would honestly answer your question.

[Shenjall]

I guess I should have clarified. We have no interest in persueing a diagnosis whatsoever. She's happy, we're happy. Its just something we noticed, but not a big deal to us either, just glad she's healthy. I dont think she's truly gifted, just a chance she's maybe a little advanced. Or maybe not. I dont think too far ahead. :)

I was merely curious as to how people got a diagnosis, like the op.

For those of you with gifted children, I only wish you peace and happiness and all the best. From browsing this forum, I see that it can be a struggle. :)

[teachma]

4. one kid told me he found trapezoids in our ceiling at 27 months (only saying the word and excitedly pointing). He knew trapezoids from a Melissa and Doug shapes puzzle he had. He was always pointing out shapes inside other things.

Two months ago, my dd, then 27 months, went through a HUGE trapezoid phase! What a funny coincidence. And, on a family vacation during that time, she also commanded me, "Draw a parallelogram!" To the shock of my in-laws, when I quickly drew one for her, she said, "No Mommy, that's not a parallelogram. This side is too pointy. Try again." Melissa and Doug pattern blocks (belonging to my older ds) can be credited for her learning the parallelogram. The trapezoid...can't remember where that came from.

[danellsar]

Dd had an intense interest in language at a very early age. She was a very early talker (using complete and correct sentences before 18 mos). She DEMANDED to learn the letters and sounds, and when she knew all the capitals she insisted that she needed to know the lower cases, too (this was at about 2.5). She could read at age 3.5 and was reading chapter books in preschool (read the entire Little House series before she was 5.5). Wanted to learn, learn, learn, at no urging from me, just wanted to do it. Now, at age 11, she reads on a college level and understands what she's reading. She has been tested through her school as being 99%ile in all language areas, and 95%ile in logic/reasoning/math.

The testing was done through the school. They use a combination of standardized tests and COGAT, which tests logic and reasoning ability.

[witt]

our son was always different, i knew in my heart something wasn't right. All i could see was his social skills were really not great, and he didn't play like other kids.

kindergarten suggested he had aspergers! We got him tested turns out he was gifted, operating about three-four years ahead of his peers.

to be honest, it was a relief to have a label and an explanation:thumb

[Alenushka]

Because I am, my Dh and my brother are all gifted are exceted kids to be too. So, when each of them demonstarte amazing fine motor skills, early reading, adult vocabulary etc I was not surpsied. I was suprised when I got them both tested becuase I did not expect that woul be that giftend in math/non verbal area logicla resonsin.
They were nota nti-sical kids in any way. I realyl detes that idea that giftend euals socailyl inept weired kid. BU my kids were alway curirous, gogin 100 kmiles mintues , obseess with wahtever projectsthey started untill itwas finished,a dn alway thnking about a solution out of the box.
They are easy kids by any means. It is had to have mind of a 18 yo in body of a 10 yo sometime.
But they are mine and I love thema nd I know they wll grow inot their brain soon enought. Just like my rbother and I did

[Alenushka]

it is gift, not better not worse and varies for each person. There is nothing to treat, just accep and parent in approriate way.
SENG has many good artilce

[zenenlightened]

My son started talking at 6 months. By 12 months he was using sentences. At 16 months he knew all colors and the alphabet. By age 2 he could count to 50 and knew all the shapes and the 3d ones as well. He is 3 and is doing simple addition, reading books and writing simple words. He can count past 100. He is constantly wanting to learn new things. I show him something 1 time and he knows it. He has a thirst for knowledge. The preschool that he used to go to tests all the children that go there just to make sure they are up to speed. At age 18 months, he was way above the normal. They labeled him as gifted and moved him into the older age group which only went to age 3.

[boongirl]

I just wanted to add my two cents. Usually, we think of diagnosis as being medical. di·ag·no·sis Dictionary.com defines diagnosis as "The act or process of identifying or determining the nature and cause of a disease or injury through evaluation of patient history, examination, and review of laboratory data." As such, being gifted is not something you diagnose. It is not a medical condition, as in having the flu or an autoimmune disease. It is rather a function of having greater than average mental capabilities. It could also mean having a gift in another area, say in music or sports, but those are also often referred to as talents.

I would think of my child as gifted if he or she were very far ahead of peers in any area of development and needed greater stimulation to meet his/her specific development. I would search the internet or this forum for parameters of giftedness and try to find a way to meet his/her needs on my own until school age was reached. At that time, if my child was not being given work appropriate for his or her level, I would contact the school about finding a way to do so. If the school needed to test him or her in order to do this, so be it. If that resulted in the label "gifted," then so be that as well. If the school did not want to test my child and I still wanted some changes to the school programming, I would contact an educational psychologist myself to have him/her tested and then approach the distrct about changing classes.

But, I would not think of this as a diagnosis as my child is not ill.

[lckrause]

Maybe "identification" is a better term than "diagnosis."

[mom2ponygirl]

Well, when she would happily play by herself with books, blocks and puzzles for hours before she was 1, taught herself to read by 3, simple addition and subtraction at 3, multi-digit multiplication and read The Hobbit by her Kindergarten year - I thought maybe she's a bit different. Of course, the host of imaginary friends - including one that died and had to be mourned for weeks when she was 3 or 4, the made up language of unicorn spanish at 3, and the months of existential crisis at 5 were eye opening also.

It's never boring!

[A&A]

My dd was reading Harry Potter before she went into Kindergarten (as well as a host of other books...Charlotte's Web, Little House on the Prairie series, etc.) She's 9 now, and she sat down and read the latest Harry Potter in ten straight hours--it's what....600 pages or so? She's a gifted reader, as well as a dedicated one.

[teachma]

It's never boring!

Or easy. (At least, in our case.)

[mata]

For me, it's intuition. The way she has always assessed situations, the complicated emotions she feels and her grasp on them, her level of maturity, how quickly she absorbs and processes information, how focused she is, her level of sensitivity, her social skills, and how vulnerable/fragile she can be at times.

[LeftField]

Two months ago, my dd, then 27 months, went through a HUGE trapezoid phase! What a funny coincidence.

I think it must be partly due to the word sounding so interesting...trapezoid...it sounds like a great word, so maybe that partly explains the interest. My 5 year old loves quarks right now...we read a book about atoms and atomic particles and he's just particularly taken with the quarks. Quark, like trapezoid, is one of those words that is just fun to say, don't you think? :-)

[teachma]

I think it must be partly due to the word sounding so interesting...trapezoid...it sounds like a great word, so maybe that partly explains the interest. My 5 year old loves quarks right now...we read a book about atoms and atomic particles and he's just particularly taken with the quarks. Quark, like trapezoid, is one of those words that is just fun to say, don't you think? :-)

I'll bet you're totally right! Both my kids LOVE words for the way they sound as much as for the power they give them...When ds was very little (under 18 months) one of his most frequently repeated phrases was, "Say that again," simply because he loved the sound of certain words I used. Maybe that's why they'd both rather use multi-syllabic words than short, simple ones.

[eilonwy]

Everyone does love a Zamboni! :D Rutabegas, too. :p

What makes me think my kidlets are gifted? Lots of things, but I must say that I was looking for it, sort of expecting it. I'd be much more surprised if my kids weren't gifted. :o :shrug

[teachma]

Everyone does love a Zamboni! :D Rutabegas, too. :p



YES on the rutabegas! It was through Laurie Berkner's Victor Vito that my children first became acquainted with this fine sample of vocabulary. And they thought it was hysterical the first 50 times!!

[lckrause]

My mom and I have had a running joke since I was a child about rutabagas. Must be some freaky smart person thing. :lol