5 year old genius in Colombia - parents seeking help - What would u do?

[Lanny]

This boy is here in Colombia.  Other than setting up a "Go Fund" me account, I have no ideas of where they can go for help for him. If someone had a child like that in the USA, where could/would they go for help?

 

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/10/parents-5-year-old-genius-from-colombia-seek-help.html

[regentrude]

Home educate.

Because school will be a terrible fit. 

If his IQ is really 160 (tests are not reliable at age 5), there would be such an exceedingly small number of children, I highly doubt there are any gifted schools that have enough critical mass.

 

Edited March 10, 2017 by regentrude

[Liz CA]

Yes to home educating. If parents don't feel equipped or have other reasons, hire top tutors.

If he is really in that IQ range, some research points to the possibility of a fairly difficult life in terms of friendships with peers and other adjustments as these kids are sometimes ready for college courses at a young age mentally but not emotionally.

Edited March 10, 2017 by Liz CA

[chiguirre]

The mom actually says there are schools he could attend, they just can't afford them. I think it's quite likely one will give him a scholarship. Dh had a full tuition scholarship in high school because he won the Venezuelan National Math Olympiad*. If they've been on Don Francisco he'll be famous enough for someone to take notice of him.

 

Regentrude's right about school not being a good fit but an academically focused and rigorous private school will probably be the best fit he can find. His parent's don't seem up for homeschooling or even to understanding many of his interests so he'll need to find other mentors.

 

 

*This is not really that big of a deal given the number of Venezuelan high school students. It's like being the champion of New Jersey, cool but not earthshattering. But, enough for a merit scholarship.

Edited March 10, 2017 by chiguirre

[Lanny]

I think it is more of a curse than a blessing, but hopefully he can grow up to be a "normal" person, whatever that term means. 

Edited March 10, 2017 by Lanny

[Anne in CA]

I think it is more of a curse than a blessing, but hopefully he can grow up to be a "normal" person, whatever that term means. 

I suspect you may be right. We have three people in my extended family with measured IQ's over 160 and two of them have had mediocre lives. One was a wildly successful business man (like The Prophet), but he died alone, because finding a mate smart enough for you is difficult. 

[FaithManor]

Homeschool would be optimal, but maybe they don't have the ability.

 

I cannot imagine that there are too many schools in Central and South America that could handle challenging him. And frankly, there aren't a lot here that could anyway. IQ and maturity don't go hand in hand so college is not an option yet. But maybe by the time he is 9 or 10 he could handle some university classes.

 

There is a LOT online right now so maybe some options like Coursera MOOC stuff, MIT online though the parents would have to do the instruction for that, etc. If they can get reliable internet, that would be a start.

 

They extrapolated my youngest child's above that number and predicted all kinds of doom and gloom for him. We didn't listen, homeschooled him, and he's been fine. I don't know if they were accurate or not. Kind of don't care. Dh and I are in the top .05% and never had any life issues because of it. So I wouldn't automatically assume this kid is ultimately disadvantaged and be miserable.

[MomatHWTK]

There are gifted programs that students can attend online. (As usual, I researched the information for an article.)

 

"One of the leading and most respected remote programs for gifted and talented students is Stanford University’s Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY). This program offers online courses and support for children in all grade levels. Northwestern University’s Gifted LearningLinks (GLL) is also a well-developed program that offers your student online access to accelerated courses for any grade level, K-12. The Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at Johns Hopkins offers online coursework for gifted and talented students for grades Pre-K through 12 to children in over 60 countries."

 

[Liz CA]

 So I wouldn't automatically assume this kid is ultimately disadvantaged and be miserable.

 

It's not a given he will have a difficult life. But he may encounter difficulties if they treat him like a fragile, rare specimen or they try to mainstream him with kids his age to whom he likely could not relate well.

[Catwoman]

If the parents are already trotting this poor 5 year-old out on television to tell the world how brilliant he is, that is more likely to make him miserable than if they treated him like they would treat any other 5yo child.

[mom2scouts]

I have a (now adult) child with a genius level IQ. It's very difficult to find educational resources that are appropriate and I made many mistakes. Homeschooling to allow him to work at his level and NOT making a huge issue about his IQ level would be my recommendation. Finding other children that understand or relate to him will be a bigger issue than anything.

Edited March 13, 2017 by mom2scouts

[ktgrok]

I suspect you may be right. We have three people in my extended family with measured IQ's over 160 and two of them have had mediocre lives. One was a wildly successful business man (like The Prophet), but he died alone, because finding a mate smart enough for you is difficult. 

 

I'm finding all this interesting. I'm sure IQ tests were different back then, but I was tested around the same age, with the same score he has. I'm just a fairly normal person. I mean, I know a lot about a lot of different things, and I'm constantly reading/researching/etc to keep my brain busy, but I'm not some super smart person who can't get along with others. I don't think?

 

I did have some trouble with friends in elementary, but not more than a lot of other kids. And I did find friends, true most were in the gifted program with me. Heck, i'm still friends with most of them to this day!

 

I DID have issues with my parents wanting to push me, and thinking i was wasting myself on the things I chose to pursue. Meh. Just because someone has a high IQ doesn't mean they are competitive or ambitious or want to study 24/7 or win academic competitions, or whatever. 

[Carrie12345]

I can't even imagine.  My 1%'er has been challenge enough.  My 7yo niece is facing similar challenges now.  My ONE year old niece memorizes absolutely everything she sees and hears, and just schooled me on dwarf planets this weekend.  But none of those three (as far as can be guessed for the younger two) are 160-range brilliant!

 

I do think both of my nieces would bloom through homeschooling, but it's not an option for their families.

[Pawz4me]

DS18 is intellectually gifted. On his recent testing (normed to adults and so likely very accurate) he scored in the top 0.1 percent on some subtests.

 

We have not found his high IQ in and of itself to present any special challenges. Like everyone, he's the sum of all of his parts and IQ is just one small bit of what forms his whole. He's pretty darn easy to live with.

[Catwoman]

I'm finding all this interesting. I'm sure IQ tests were different back then, but I was tested around the same age, with the same score he has. I'm just a fairly normal person. I mean, I know a lot about a lot of different things, and I'm constantly reading/researching/etc to keep my brain busy, but I'm not some super smart person who can't get along with others. I don't think?

 

I did have some trouble with friends in elementary, but not more than a lot of other kids. And I did find friends, true most were in the gifted program with me. Heck, i'm still friends with most of them to this day!

 

I DID have issues with my parents wanting to push me, and thinking i was wasting myself on the things I chose to pursue. Meh. Just because someone has a high IQ doesn't mean they are competitive or ambitious or want to study 24/7 or win academic competitions, or whatever.

:iagree:

 

I was thinking the same thing. I supposedly have that level IQ, too, as does my ds17, and I don't understand the concept that people with so-called "genius" IQs are so incredibly different from other people. I'm wondering if part of the reason may be that their parents make them feel different because they treat them differently than they would treat another child and keep telling them how they're so smart and that they're not like other kids their age.

 

I think some parents worry that if they don't push their child academically at a ridiculous pace, that they will somehow be "wasting" all that intelligence. My ds was racing through his school grades when he was younger because the work was so easy for him, but my dh and I didn't want him to be in college at 10 years old because we believed that his emotional and social development were more important than bragging rights. We didn't want him to be more like the class pet than a classmate to the other college students. We slowed way down on the school time and emphasized letting ds explore his own interests and just be a kid. It has worked out very well.

 

We knew another family whose ds was at a similar IQ level -- well, at least according to his mom, who loved to brag -- and his parents pushed that poor kid so hard. I'm talking about studying both Japanese and Ancient Greek when he was four, and that was just the start. :rolleyes: His mom was all about the bragging rights and her son paid the price. She never let him be a normal little boy. Everything he did had to "feed his intellect." He was so isolated, and it wasn't his fault that he couldn't relate to other kids.

 

I felt a bit like this when I read about the boy in Colombia. It's great that he's so bright and that his parents want to get him a good education, but I'm not sure they had to put him on national television in order to do that. He's a child, not a trained seal. His intelligence is just one small part of who he is. Mostly, he's just a little 5yo boy who also happens to be very smart. He has his whole life to do brilliant things. He doesn't need to learn everything about everything right now. He doesn't have to be the next Doogie Howser. If his parents are worried about something, they should worry about whether or not he's happy.

[Catwoman]

DS18 is intellectually gifted. On his recent testing (normed to adults and so likely very accurate) he scored in the top 0.1 percent on some subtests.

 

We have not found his high IQ in and of itself to present any special challenges. Like everyone, he's the sum of all of his parts and IQ is just one small bit of what forms his whole. He's pretty darn easy to live with.

Exactly!!!

 

I don't understand the concept that a high IQ means a kid sits in a room and studies complex subjects all day long, and can't even talk to other people because he's just so gosh-darned smart that no one can understand a word he says.

 

That has not been our reality at all.

[LucyStoner]

Today's most commonly used IQ tests generallly have a much lower ceiling than the tests that many of us took as children. So, 155 on a test taken 25 years ago is likely not the same as a 155 on a test today. There are very few people who score above 152 on the WISC IV without the extended test.

 

That said this idea that "genius"=misery is such a crock. I do tire of it.

[Catwoman]

Today's most commonly used IQ tests generallly have a much lower ceiling than the tests that many of us took as children. So, 155 on a test taken 25 years ago is likely not the same as a 155 on a test today. There are very few people who score above 152 on the WISC IV without the extended test.

 

That said this idea that "genius"=misery is such a crock. I do tire of it.

I agree, and I think the whole "genius" thing (in general) is over-rated, as well. IQ test results probably don't do much to encourage a person who already knows he or she is bright, but it concerns me that a lower score might discourage a child -- or his parents -- from pursuing interests or a career path that may be considered too difficult or complex based on the IQ score. I don't think your IQ determines who you are and what you're capable of achieving. A motivated and hardworking person with an "average" IQ can definitely achieve more success than a lazy or unmotivated "genius," and I often wonder if having a higher IQ makes many people curious about so many things that it can be difficult to focus on one area of interest to the point where it leads to a successful career.

 

People are people and we're all different. Our IQ score doesn't determine our personalities or our potential for success in life.

[Arcadia]

Each child is unique regardless of IQ score. At least two local private schools requires IQ scores even for kindergarten entry. Too costly for us and might not be a good fit either.

 

There are gifted programs that students can attend online. (As usual, I researched the information for an article.)

 

"One of the leading and most respected remote programs for gifted and talented students is Stanford University’s Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY). This program offers online courses and support for children in all grade levels. Northwestern University’s Gifted LearningLinks (GLL) is also a well-developed program that offers your student online access to accelerated courses for any grade level, K-12. The Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at Johns Hopkins offers online coursework for gifted and talented students for grades Pre-K through 12 to children in over 60 countries."

EPGY was too slow for us. We gave up once on the old EPGY and once on the Gifted and Talented program which was what EPGY was renamed to after the privatization.

 

CTY JHU partially works but the price tag is a financial strain as we don't qualify for aid but we are lower middle class in terms of income. We have not tried Northwestern CTD's GLL but the same financial strain applies.

  

I'm wondering if part of the reason may be that their parents make them feel different because they treat them differently than they would treat another child and keep telling them how they're so smart and that they're not like other kids their age.

Unfortunately kids do know they are "out of sync" with age peers if they attend brick and mortar elementary schools. My oldest learned to not volunteer answers in kindergarten, but gossip has already spread among kids and parent volunteers. He was also infamous for the messiest desk in class. His public school teachers were great at accommodating though and it was free childcare when I needed it.

[Jean in Newcastle]

My aspie was not able to get an IQ score. He topped out the test on a number of areas - they ran out of test before they reached his top level. He is quirky. But he's 2E and all quirks can be explained just as well by his ASD and ADD diagnoses.

 

 

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[ktgrok]

 I often wonder if having a higher IQ makes many people curious about so many things that it can be difficult to focus on one area of interest to the point where it leads to a successful career.

 

 

I agree....I know for me there are SO many things I'm interested in, and always have been. Biology, medicine, literature, religion, history, anthropology....etc. 

 

I'm definitely the kind that tends to go more broad than deep, which probably helped in that it meant I wasn't racing ahead in one subject in school. Instead, I was finding school easy and using my free time to research all sorts of things. 

[LucyStoner]

My aspie was not able to get an IQ score. He topped out the test on a number of areas - they ran out of test before they reached his top level. He is quirky. But he's 2E and all quirks can be explained just as well by his ASD and ADD diagnoses.

 

 

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We are in the same boat. It bothers me that people link his intellectual apptitude with his ASD. There are plenty of people with ASD who do not have a high IQ and there are plenty of people with a high IQ who do not have ASD or ASD like behaviors.

[ktgrok]

He was also infamous for the messiest desk in class.

 

 

 

Ha! Me too. And later messiest locker. And also the kid that always forgot to bring  a pencil, paper, textbook, etc. Sigh. 

[LucyStoner]

I agree, and I think the whole "genius" thing (in general) is over-rated, as well. IQ test results probably don't do much to encourage a person who already knows he or she is bright, but it concerns me that a lower score might discourage a child -- or his parents -- from pursuing interests or a career path that may be considered too difficult or complex based on the IQ score. I don't think your IQ determines who you are and what you're capable of achieving. A motivated and hardworking person with an "average" IQ can definitely achieve more success than a lazy or unmotivated "genius," and I often wonder if having a higher IQ makes many people curious about so many things that it can be difficult to focus on one area of interest to the point where it leads to a successful career.

 

People are people and we're all different. Our IQ score doesn't determine our personalities or our potential for success in life.

I used to entirely dismiss IQ and then I had the challenges of meeting the educational needs of a child with a very high IQ and I had to challenge my assumptions and bias against it as a concept.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Between teaching at a private school for gifted kids (not all profoundly gifted) and my own kid, I have found that gifted kids often approach learning in a different way. This means that they don't always do well in a traditional classroom. My ds struggles to get good grades sometimes even though he actually understands the material in a deeper way than his professor. (Their description. ). So you can have the kid with the high IQ who doesn't seem to reach his potential. Ds beats himself up about that despite my trying to get him to let up on himself.

 

 

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