Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Gifted? Does anyone feel doubts?

We're horrible, but this is actually a joke in our family (as in, when the kids push a "PULL" door, we may say, "Okay, gifted children, try again.")

Note that the kids both go to a "gifted" school that is specifically named as such, so the "g" word is completely out of the closet here.

Yes, like those times where DS4 will roll around on the bed snorting like a warthog, laughing uncontrollably, and repeating over and over, "You mean butt butt?" while attempting to head butt me.

Or when he mouths the bathroom counter (?!?!) after having just told me in great detail about natural killer cells fighting pathogens. Arrrrgh! Sometimes knowing and doing are two entirely different animals.

Or the sample group music class we attended, where DS sullenly refused to participate, loudly announced that he was "bored out of his mind" 5 minutes in, and only spoke to correct the teachers when they mis-named dinosaurs. Oy.

Or another lack of filter example: sitting down to lunch at some friends' house for lunch, and DS glares icily at their 2 year old son eating with his mouth open. DS mutters under his breath, "what a revolting child."

As you can see, frustration tolerance, using a mental filter, and sensory seeking are extra tidbits we're working on.

Short answer yes.

DS was tested a couple years ago and we slowly came to terms with his gifted label. He's 2e and highly asynchronous so there are definitely times that he doesn't seem it. He wasn't an early reader (although when it did eventually click he went from behind to above level in no time) and he isn't particularly interested in performing at school.

We had to retest him this year to confirm the LD stuff. I have PMs that can prove that I was secretly nervous that his first scores would be shown to be incorrect. Well I guess in a way that did happen - his earlier scores weren't completely accurate, just in the opposite direction than what I had feared. The psych gave me a quick summary of his WISC scores before starting the second day and I quickly emailed them to DH. DH's response - so >99.9, so he's average? He completely missed the line stating that everything was percentiles (that's how they report them up here).... Yup. Just a bit above average.

Sure..

My DS looked very gifted as a preschooler. What made it stand out even more was DS is 4.5 years younger than his sister and she has LD's. Therefore the fact that he was reading & 3 and talked like a much older kid was astonishing when I was struggling with getting a grip on DD's LD's in early elementary. I still see a huge gap in what he can do and what she is capable of and they are 16 & 20. So I've always wondered if I just 'thought' DS was so amazing because he wasn't his sister.

But as he has progressed over the years his obvious 'giftedness' has faltered. The extremely motivated students have been able to overtake him in terms of grades & honors. We finally had him tested last summer at 15 and he is now labeled 2E. He really has a much higher GAI than FSIQ. The low processing & working memory scores really do translate into it taking a lot longer for him to do homework and causes him a lot of anxiety. At this time it's hard to see his giftedness because he doesn't really stand out any more. Parents who knew him in early education will stop me and wonder how he is doing and I honestly don't know what to say because he is no longer in classes with the kids from his gifted program in elementary.

I'm OK with where he is at right now and understand that trying to push him to keep up with all the highly motivated kids isn't the right path for him. But I do question that he is really gifted at times these days.

MichelleC, your description creates a picture that I share and I am happy to see that it is not so isolated. I share with you the "since the day he was born", yes literally. Mine had a stare that was unbelievable, and a little unsettling!. That intensity never wanes. It is so helpful to hear that it can still be a struggle. I have to figure out how to educate her. Drill remedial stuff in which she is behind, or just give it a cursory nod while we pursue more interesting and exciting things... Still so many questions, but thank you everyone who chimed in to offer perspective. We're going it alone besides Davidson/Hogies.