Yes. My DD tends to 'shut down' when she's in a grossly inappropriate environment. Sometimes that isn't pretty.
What is really true in those situations isn't a relative LACK of maturity compared to agemates-- it's a lack of maturity relative to ADULT expectations, actually. We wouldn't expect a middle schooler to behave him/herself particularly well at a nuclear physics conference during a long afternoon session... nor that same middle schooler to remain pleasant and attentive to, say, basic phonemic awareness training or tracing letter worksheets. Any of those things, most rational people would expect trouble from that young adolescent.
Somehow there IS an expectation that a 5yo who has algebra readiness to put up with being taught number sense and not throw tantrums. An adult might be capable of that kind of self-restraint and patience, but few children are.
