When did you know?

[LisaKinVA]

Hmmm... they were all "noticeably different" from a young age, however I've only had one who was extraordinarily verbal. He was also the only one to be walking at 9mos (could easilly have been 6 mos, but would only walk if he was holding my pinky finger... if I withdrew my "support" he'd sit down.:glare:)

 

I didn't think there was anything special about my second. She cried from 3 mos until she was 18 mos. At which time, she got her 1 year molars and stopped and became an incredibly happy baby. I learned she was not a good teether. At two, she was drawing recognizable people and animals... with both hands, coloring in the lines, etc.

 

My third... we knew we were in trouble. He was a STINKER. Over-developed sense of humor. "got jokes" and nuance at a young age. There was no safety lock he could not best (except the hidden magnet ones). Still surprises me.

 

My fourth...she's like all of the others in one way or another. Unfortunately, she practices her writing on the walls and doors. Our front door says, "hello! Hi!" in yellow highlighter.

 

My 5th... midwife and assistant said she was special from birth. I think it had something to do with her picking up her head very steadilly, and turning to look at them. :D Me? Something about her ability to climb baby gates, and navigate out of car-seat, stroller and high chair belts tell me I'm in for it. She doesn't talk in many understandable words yet -- but I have no doubt she knows what she wants, and what I want. Thankfully, she hasn't felt it necessary to tell me "NO. mama" yet.

[Gratia271]

Ds came out a wise soul. I don't know how else to explain it. I knew around the time he was two that words would be his 'thing.'

 

This is my son!!! I have never heard anyone else articulate this. I am glad to know there is someone else out there. :001_smile:

[asta]

I don't know, I just did.

 

My mom says that she can look at babies and tell whether or not they are smart - that she can see it in their eyes. She's old, I don't question her.

 

I have found some old home videos from 3 and under that blow my mind.

 

 

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[catz]

Interesting reading all these posts on this topic!

 

My oldest came out a wise old soul, he was very alert. Laid in his crib at a few months old calling out "Ma ma ma ma ma" until I would show up. Extremely verbal at a young age. We'd often get comments about him when he'd speak. But honestly I thought that was just polite conversation! :)Neither my DH or I were ever IDed as gifted and really didn't know anything about it. My DS was not an early reader really either. He had very high conceptual math ability before kindergarten and regularly would analyze pipes, gutters, plumbing. He had profound questions about death as a preschooler.

 

We sent him to kindergarten where he jumped 5 grade levels in reading over the course of 9 months and then proceeded to hit the ceiling of the GT screener the school gave all the kindergartners. School quickly became miserable for him. Looking back at DH's and my school/college experiences we were obviously in that realm too. Both of us hated elementary school and thought it mindless. And we went on to find our place in the world getting multiple higher technical degrees.

 

My daughter was and is very similar. Both my kids are extroverted and are happy to blend into the masses and not show their stuff. They regularly need a push to try something new and then assimilate it almost instantly. Neither were particularly early readers. My daughter would read a little at 3 1/2 to 4. But once we sat down with early readers and said it was time to read they leaped in level by the day.

[Dmmetler]

When she started reading signs and asking questions about them at 15 months, I started to have an inkling-and then her toddler teacher mentioned the possibility of autism and I panicked. At a little over 2, she was identified as being "Highly asynchronous, almost certainly high-end gifted"-and at that point, I knew. And even then, when she was identified as hitting the top of the tests at age 4, I had a hard time accepting that she was THAT gifted. I still have days where I doubt the "PG" distinction.

 

The funny thing is that everyone else's response was "well, duh!"-apparently, DD just is easily identifiable as gifted to everyone but her parents!

[cjbeach]

My oldest guy is 2E but has this funny thing with reading. When he stopped speaking at 17 mos he started reading, apparently??? At Xmas that year (he was 2 mos shy of his 2nd bday) the older cousins all gave him a remote and told "Ok put on NOggin" or "Put on channel 125." And he would change channels quickly with the remote to the appropriate channel. It never seemed off to me until that night. Then at 24 months-ish he sat on the floor reading words for his Child Find therapist. (My dh and bil are both individuals with crazy high IQs so we knew the possibility of having that dwindle down into our children was a possibility so we were prepared.)

 

My dd is bright acadmeically - early reader, etc etc etc but it's her other gifts that are amazing to me. She has social giftedness that I just admire oh so much. She is so kind and so intuitive. She just "gets" people in a way I never will (and I'm social). She has always been incredibly passionate in what she does and believes and is the most empathetic and compassionate 7yo I have ever met. When she was 4yo I had other schools moms speak to me about these qualities they witnessed in her.

[elfinbaby]

I was a real dumb dumb about it. I was a young, first time mom and thought it was normal for a child to know his abc's at 12 mos. He started pointing at letters around 9 months on his own just after we started reading him abc books. Even though he was talking before 12 mos., walking at 7 mos., taught himself to read before 2 yrs., we just went with it. Then he started writing his letters in coloring books and sight reading around 20 mos. and I freaked out. It was frustrating when he was younger. When we finally did get it, all the "experts" thought we were pushy parents and pretty much told us we were damaging him:glare:

[DandelionMom]

When we finally did get it, all the "experts" thought we were pushy parents and pretty much told us we were damaging him:glare:

 

Yes we experienced this as well, and still do at times. I don't think these people fully understand that children can crave information and learning without the parents pushing them. When "experts" respond to you or your child like that, it can be difficult to know how to respond to it without sounding defensive.

[texasmama]

I have known about one child being truly gifted since toddlerhood. This one added up rows of single digit numbers in his head and got the correct answer at the age of 5 with no math instruction from me at all. At that time, we didn't homeschool and he was in preschool. Even before that, I had a gut feeling about him. He is able to apply an astounding level of logic to situations. For instance, when we were playing a card game, he deduced that if you played a certain number of cards and had a certain number left, you could only have X number of pairs among what you had left. He was 7 at the time. It was a huge strain on my brain to even follow his logic. Dh just gave up trying.:tongue_smilie:

[Guest melissak]

If you don't mind my asking, when and how did you know that your children are very bright?

 

When the kindergarten teacher told me! How's the for being clueless!

[Brindee]

My middle daughter, who is not gifted academically, but who I consider to be gifted in a social way - was always the most liked girl in her preschool and Sunday School. She has a magical way about her to make others feel good. I think her "giftedness' will prove to be an assest if she goes into sales.

This is interesting that you say this. There was always something special about dd from the time she was tiny. She did baby sign language, but once she got to 10 months old, she wouldn't do a new sign until she could say the word first! So she spoke quite young. I was a greeter at church, and by 15 months she was greeting people by name. She was such a short little munchkin that it surprised people! :001_smile: But what you say about the social giftedness is so true, I just never thought of it before. People and kids always loved her! There were some older couples in our church when she was 2ish, that said one of the main reasons they made the effort to come to church now was to see my dd! They said she was the one that made the most effort to talk with them, and make sure they were okay. She'd come climb on their laps and smile and chat. She also loved to sing, and would sing "Jesus Love Me" or one of her other little songs to them. It just made them feel good. One lady even "bequeathed" all her Beany Babies to dd when she knew she wasn't going to live much longer. We still have that bin of Beany Babies! :001_smile: Other people told me all the time how special she was, and would ask if she could PLEASE sit with them during church, or invite us over, so they could spend more time with her!:001_huh::lol:

 

I just never thought of it as a "giftedness", but I can see it now! Thanks for your post!

[pianoplayer]

When ds pointed out to his daddy that "that man" on the Metro bus was disobeying (the sign at the front said "Don't talk to the driver"). When same ds spelled out "comma" because he didn't know how to draw one. When ds's grandma spelled something out to us that she didn't want ds to know and ds immediately asked her about it.

[lionfamily1999]

Sorry to bring back an old old thread, but it's occurred to me that my youngest might be a little further ahead than I thought.

 

Could someone help me out?

 

If you went by milestones, how many years ahead would you use the label gifted (ie, dc is 2, but three years ahead of milestone), how many years for "profoundly" gifted? What's the difference between the two?

 

And, before I go all crazy here.................. what do you do with it? It being the gift, not the child ;)

 

Julie ~ who is now suffering from heart burn.

[elfinbaby]

It's okay... relax:D I know exactly how you feel though. When I REALLY figured it out, I kind of freaked. I had so many questions and no one would listen - they thought I was lying and/or a pushy parent. The best advice I got was to 1) let the child lead 2) supply lots of open ended activities. No biggie.

 

If your dc is ahead, great! I'm in the camp that you don't have to DO anything. The child really will lead you and, sometimes, it's tough to keep up.

 

As far as how far ahead - I can't really say. He did everything ahead of schedule - walking (7 mos.), talking (before 1 yr. - can't remember), sentences and holding a conversations (18 mos. or so - maybe sooner - can't remember). I don't think that timetable necessarily provides any useful information. Plus, kids are gifted in different areas. One may not walk until 18 mos. but can compose a little diddy on a piano at 12 mos., yk?

 

There's no need for evals/tests imo. Sometimes I want to just because I'm so used to ds being ds, I don't always see his giftedness and, thereby, don't make enough of an effort to meet his needs. I hope that makes sense. It hit me not too long ago when ds and I had a 5 hr. car ride alone. I came home and felt like I'd just been visiting with an adult:tongue_smilie:

 

:grouphug:

[kmacnchs]

If you went by milestones, how many years ahead would you use the label gifted (ie, dc is 2, but three years ahead of milestone), how many years for "profoundly" gifted? What's the difference between the two?

 

Mine fluctuate - does that mean they are not gifted?

 

Right now, dd1 is 6 years ahead in reading and 3 years ahead in math. My father dotes on her b/c of how "smart" she is. I tell him dd2 is smart too! But he doesn't see it - she is *only* 3 years ahead in reading and 3 years ahead in math. What he doesn't remember and refuses to believe is that dd1 was *only* that far ahead when she was her sister's age too - once she got her long vowels down, she really leaped ahead. I have a feeling dd2 will do the same. Doesn't help w/your question - really I am asking my own question...sorry for hijacking :001_smile:

[lionfamily1999]

Elfinbaby, my older dc are both "gifted," but I'm starting to be concerned (ykwIm) about my youngest. People tell me he's "so smart" all the time, but I finally sat down and looked at the typical milestones, then looked into ds's and dd's scrapbooks and was shocked. I was ready for the older two (dh and I were both "gifted"), but for this.............................

 

That's why I was asking about milestones. I feel like I should do something and I just don't know what.

 

You're right, though, I just need to calm down and do the same thing I did with my older two.