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    Joined: Feb 2016
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    DS6 will be tested in May and I'm really so curious as to what the results will be.

    I definitely feel like an imposter on here for the time being because I really doubt whether or not he is gifted (I have already posted about that a few times so yes, I'm repeating myself). In any case, there doesn't seem to be anything that unusual with his development (no early reading, not exceptional at math, never interested in puzzles) except maybe his large vocabulary. The only big hint is that he appears to have several of the overexcitabilities, which is actually how I fell upon the possibility that he might actually be gifted.

    Still, there has always been something I can't quite pinpoint that makes me question his cognitive abilities. He started asking the most amazing question when he was about 3, showing an interest in the solar system, how the earth was formed, human biology, evolution, googolplex, animal behaviour (echolocation, predation), electricity, water cycle, natural phenomena (tornadoes, volcanoes, etc.), tides, gravity, etc. And he also makes pretty amazing connections (at age 4, learned about hypotheses in one context and accurately identified that a friend had made a "hypothesis" in a different setting) and has some neat theories (asked whether a half-deflated balloon makes less noise when it pops because there is less air in it to make sound waves), but that sort of thing doesn't happen very often at all.

    Thing is, will any of that be captured by the tests? It doesn't seem to me like it would.

    And on a more philosophical level, why do I even care? It's not like he's bored at school or anything, and it's not like I feel the need for him to progress any faster. As for his interests, we are able to satisfy his curiosity for the time being. And yet, I feel driven to know. Maybe to validate my own thoughts about him? I feel so absorbed by this lately. Has anyone else had that feeling?

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    The things that you point out about your child would most likely be measured when you look at language skills, abstract reasoning, and fluid reasoning. So yes, the skills that you are trying to assess would be measured by IQ tests. I would try not to think about it. You will get the results soon enough and regardless of what they say you still have the same healthy, happy little boy:).

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    Thanks, sallymom. Actually, I've been giving it some thought and I may have figured out why it feels so important to me. DS6 can be so. much. work. His intensity can be absolutely exhausting for me, maybe because I'm also intense and I get really affected by his feelings and reactions. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore him for who he is and I cherish him (and DS4!) every day. But I think deep down, I'd like to know that there's a positive flipside to the drama, that there's a logical explanation for it, and that it has its upsides.

    Make sense to anyone?

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    In answer to your first question, will any of that be captured by the tests? I can't say it would be true for every kid but I can say that I think with my DS it was. The main clue with DS at the time was his constant questioning and odd interests.

    For your second post - I totally get it. Optometrists, dentists, hair cuts, tags on clothes, food, etc are all particularly fun with my kids and generally involve other adult's glares and occasionally comments and 'helpful' advice. In those moments I've been known to fantasize about the potential upsides to all of this - future greatness (degrees, awards, careers, etc) as I take a deep breath and try to get through. Outside of that I'm pretty laid back and about as non-tiger as you can get but in those moments I have big dreams for them. Then the crisis passes and I go back to normal. So yeah, you're not alone.

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    My DS always seemed bright but not like the kids some people have on this forum.

    Turns out his processing is average, but his understanding is really really really good.

    But he's more like a tank than a corvette. He might take longer to process something, but he will still be able to understand things others might not be able to understand. He's not as showy as the corvettes, but he still gets the job done smile When I originally had him tested in third grade, it was because he was having anxiety. Now in 5th grade, I really really see what he's able to do. I didn't see it in third grade. In fact, my first post on these boards was kind of similar- except that I was trying to understand how their scores on the tests could be so high when I didn't see much of the giftedness (other than sensory and behavior issues) in real life.

    I call my DD my "sleeper" because I only tested her at the same time I tested my DS because I didn't want to shortchange her. Turns out her scores were higher than his.

    Neither of my kids read early, neither are exceptional at math, DS is amazing at science and art, loves to read, and DD is over sensitive and hates reading but also likes art.

    But I look back at the fact that I didn't see it with DS at her age, so I am giving her time.

    So absolutely these assessments can give you a good picture of what you've got. And I'm so glad I got my son tested, and worked to get a good fit for him at school and outside of school, even though at the time I wasn't sure if I even needed to. Looking back now it has made a ton of difference. Knowledge is power smile

    Last edited by LAF; 05/03/16 09:56 AM.
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    Also, regarding the work part. Yes yes and yes, I get it. Again, my first clue to getting them tested was that being a parent seemed so much harder for me than for other people… I used to read about the lives of pioneer women to make myself feel better. wink

    And you will get better at dealing with the intensities, and they will get better at dealing with them too. Hang in there.

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    Originally Posted by RRD
    I definitely feel like an imposter on here for the time being because I really doubt whether or not he is gifted (I have already posted about that a few times so yes, I'm repeating myself). In any case, there doesn't seem to be anything that unusual with his development (no early reading, not exceptional at math, never interested in puzzles) except maybe his large vocabulary.
    Although there is no one globally accepted definition of giftedness, I'm pretty certain that unusual development isn't a requirement. wink And you're discounting "large vocabulary" for some reason, when in fact this is generally considered to be a very strong indicator of giftedness. There are many facets of intelligence that contribute to developing vocabularly as a child, so having a large vocabulary usually speaks volumes about some of the exceptional abilities that produced it.

    Originally Posted by RRD
    He started asking the most amazing question when he was about 3, showing an interest in the solar system, how the earth was formed, human biology, evolution, googolplex, animal behaviour (echolocation, predation), electricity, water cycle, natural phenomena (tornadoes, volcanoes, etc.), tides, gravity, etc. And he also makes pretty amazing connections (at age 4, learned about hypotheses in one context and accurately identified that a friend had made a "hypothesis" in a different setting) and has some neat theories (asked whether a half-deflated balloon makes less noise when it pops because there is less air in it to make sound waves), but that sort of thing doesn't happen very often at all.
    This sounds very much like my DS7, who is HG+.

    Originally Posted by RRD
    Thing is, will any of that be captured by the tests? It doesn't seem to me like it would.
    It should be, actually, if you have a tester that knows what they are looking for. That's why individual tests are so much more accurate than group tests, for the quality of the answers your child gives play a really important role, and that information can often get lost in a group test.

    Originally Posted by RRD
    And on a more philosophical level, why do I even care?...I feel driven to know. Maybe to validate my own thoughts about him? I feel so absorbed by this lately. Has anyone else had that feeling?
    Probably almost all of us that have gone through the process of having our kid tested have had that feeling. It's really not pleasant, is it? The good news is that you won't always be feeling like that, that once he is through the test you will have some answers.

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    Thank you so much, Chay, LAF and George C! It feels so great to know that I'm not alone in having those feelings.

    LAF, I used to wonder why parenting DS6 was so hard. From when he was 2 until about 5, I kept saying "It shouldn't be this hard!". This was usually before I would burst into tears from the exhaustion. He's getting better, but it's still tough.

    Originally Posted by chay
    Optometrists, dentists, hair cuts, tags on clothes, food, etc are all particularly fun with my kids and generally involve other adult's glares and occasionally comments and 'helpful' advice. In those moments I've been known to fantasize about the potential upsides to all of this - future greatness (degrees, awards, careers, etc) as I take a deep breath and try to get through. Outside of that I'm pretty laid back and about as non-tiger as you can get but in those moments I have big dreams for them. Then the crisis passes and I go back to normal. So yeah, you're not alone.
    Exactly! Mostly, all I want for him is to be happy and well-balanced, and to achieve his own version of success. But when we're going through a rough time (like the day he cried and cried and cried and cried because the weed he had transplanted from the school yard to our front garden didn't survive), I want to know that there are some serious upsides to this.

    I've even caught myself paying close attention to him to see if he'll make some quirky comment, so I can use it to cheer myself up. Like this morning, when I explained that Santa doesn't bring expensive gifts like iPads (he "sort of" still believes in Santa), he responded with "That's ok. I'll ask Santa for gold instead. That way, he can just go underground and mine it and it won't cost him anything." smile


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