Sometimes hard to talk about.

[outnumbered]

I am so glad I have found this this site again. :wave:
As a fellow Mum who thinks that her DS who is 4 1/2 yr MAY be gifted I sometimes find it hard talk to other Mums's about it. I feel sometimes that they think I might be bragging but I like them are constantly seeking reassurance that my boys are doing ok.

My DS 6 yr old is in Grade 1 and started reading prior to prep and he is now being extended by given the grade 1 sight words to spell as he and anther boy in his class already know at least 1000 sight words. His spelling si great and his computer knowledge and ability is crazy. No sure if he is gifted or bright. His teacher approached me first though about maybe testing for it.

I then have my younger DS who is in his second year of C and K kindy and is due for prep next year. He is a July baby and missed the cut off by 3 weeks. I am now so glad he did because I do not think he would have been emotionally ready for school as he is still a little boy. Sometimes is is easy to forget when they come out with some interesting concepts.

He was reading at least 100 words by 2 yr 4 months self taught, He is currently obsessed with the solar system and when he reads books about it he notices differences in the facts, such as this book says the Planet ?? has x moons but it has y moons.. Everything he talks about relates back to a number, word, shape or measurement.. And, his kindy teacher has said that she has not seen anything like it except from children she has taught who are on the spectrum.
At the moment he is happy and not showing any need for me to extend him further so I am not streesing too much.

Anyway sorry to go on a bit but it is nice to find somewhere to talk about it.

I would be interested to hear if others find the same with friends and how you bring it up???

[jaq]

Yes! It's actually one reason I asked if BH could create this section ... often, honest questions and genuine concerns DO come across as bragging if a person hasn't experienced a similar situation.

I've been told repeatedly that I'm silly worrying about my 5.5yo daughter being able to read adult books. "It's not as if she'd understand what they are talking about!" Um, of course she can ... advanced understanding is a part of the package!

I found it became quite a bit easier once I had official confirmation of giftedness. It seemed easier for other Mums to accept that she was different, and that their precious children didn't HAVE to compete with her. I was also able to explain to the student teacher exactly why there was no point DD1 sitting in on the "write an a on your blackboard" circle ... given she was an independent reader who could write stories.

It is very hard to know the difference between a child who is gifted and one who is bright - DD1 is actually both. Her IQ is one point below the generally accepted cutoff for giftedness (130) but spikes over that with her linguistic scores. Basically, she is a smart kid who is linguistically gifted. She is spikes even higher in an area we wouldn't have had a clue about if we hadn't had her tested, so it can really be worth it. (Particularly if they run into problems in school later on - a lot of bright kids can have issues with persistence, perfectionism, or just plain learning to get on with the rest of the world!)

Good luck with your boys, and welcome back!

[CeeLH]

I just (today!) posted the very same question on another site. So I have no answers but wanted to say I also find it difficult to speak about my daughter and our challenges without committing social suicide.

My daughter is nearly 4.5years and is gifted, 99.5th percentile. Due to start Kindy this year she has skipped ahead and started PrePrimary instead. She is very happy, coping wonderfully and I am confident we have done the right thing accelerating her. The school has been great and children in the class are oblivious that my DD is younger it is other parents, family and friends that are not been as accepting as I had hoped.

How do we teach our children that it is OK they are normal, even if not typical, when according to society it is not OK?

[the girls mum]

I like this section too, it is a good place to post without worrying about being seen as a bragger etc.

My dd is 2.5 years old and although I dont 'think' she is gifted compared to some other children I have read about here and other places she is definitely 'bright'.

Her thing is memory I believe.

She can hear something a few times and then sing it back to you. She knows more nursery rhymes then I can remember. She remembers names straight away. She remembers shops we go into ONCE and when you drive past will say 'oh look thats where daddy got me a freddo frog'.

She is also very good at talking - you can have a conversation with her - a full conversation - although that could be normal for a 2.5 y/o I am not sure.

Ie - hey baby how was your day?
Great mummy, how was work, did you do good?
Yes baby what did you do at school (Daycare)?
Oh I did blah blah blah and blah blah blah with blah blah. Is daddy at home?
Yes baby he is.
Oh he doesnt have gym today?
No baby.
Is he cooking my dinner, whats he cooking?

etc etc.

I have to be very careful what I say around her as she just absorbs everything.

However with other things she is probably behind ie she has only just learnt how to jump, etc. Physically she is probably not as good as some under 2s.

I do think having a gifted child would be very challenging and quite hard tbh, my hat is off to you mums - xoxoxo

[jaq]

How do we teach our children that it is OK they are normal, even if not typical, when according to society it is not OK?

Welcome to BH ... its always nice when new people come join us :goodvibes:

One thing I love about Montessori is that everyone is treated as an individual. No matter who you are, you pick your own work, and the teachers are as thrilled when you rake the garden perfectly as when you finish the last of the graded readers. Every accomplishment is equal, and everyone has gifts. Its a HUGELY helpful approach to the problem you've outlined. When everyone is different, no one stands out as being particularly different.

Another approach is by making sure you value EVERYTHING your child does, and most especially, the things they try hard on. This may not be the things they are good at ... accepting that some kids are good at kicking a ball, and others are good at long division, helps.

Also, silly as it sounds, ask HER what she is good at. I was flabbergasted when DD1 told me she was best at art. It was big news to me. (And to her art teacher, I think.) But in her mind, she loved art the most, and that's what she was best at. And she was quite happy that some other people were better at art than she was.



I
I do think having a gifted child would be very challenging and quite hard tbh, my hat is off to you mums - xoxoxo

Whether or not Munch turns out to be gifted (and it often doesn't really become apparent until that year between 3 and 4) the fact that she has advanced language skills AND a good memory is going to put her streets ahead, both in school and life. Being able to express yourself manages to circumvent so many tantrums, and opens up a world of learning earlier than they have access to otherwise.

And thank you. :hugs: The way I figure it, why should someone else have to find out the hard way when a few of us have made all the mistakes already :p

[outnumbered]

Jaq and CeeLH I am interested in how you went about getting your little ones tested.

I am not sure if it is something I should explore. :confused:

Have you found it beneficial and where do I start???

[CeeLH]

DD was tested by Fiona Smith from Gifted Minds in NSW using the SB5. Appointment was organised via the Gifted and Talented Assoc in WA who organise for Fiona to come to WA a few times per year. I believe Fiona travels to other states also. Testing was not cheap, $860:eek:, included travel costs and a follow up appointment after we got report. Report was 20+ pages and included recommendations for education. Fiona was upbeat, passionate and very well respected. DD had a great time during the test.

We are very glad we had DD tested. Education was the most immediate concern as it was beginning of year and DD was due to start Kindy. I felt strongly that Kindy would be boring for DD but even so, she proved to be more 'gifted' than we expected and therefore we needed to provide more than we were planning. Without testing we would never have been able to have her grade accelerate. But Fiona also assessed DD was socially and emotionally ready.

Testing also given me the confidence to advocate for her much more assertively. An unexpected outcome has been that I trust my instincts more when it come to letting her try/hear/see/talk about things that other 4 years old are not ready for but I think she is ready for.

We will have our younger DD tested with Fiona when she is old enough.