Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Gifted (differently)

Hello,

I'm new here. And but for me and my wife's recent experience regarding my daughter's first day of pre-k(3), I doubt I'd be visiting this forum (so in a sense I'm "happy" the incident occurred). Briefly, we believe our daughter is gifted. Around the age of two my daughter started reciting the alphabet backwards. She currently spells about 10-15 words (e.g. "Momma", "auntie", "numbers", "letters"), can count up to 200 (and back to 0), and knows her +1 addition table up to 1 + 10 (possibly beyond--I haven't questioned her). She can count by 2s, 3s and 10s up to any number within her knowledge, but more impressively, she's a quick learn regarding any number interval. But her limitations are as impressive. Her speech and vocabulary skills are below average; she doesn't play with dolls or engage in much imaginative play; and with the exception of the four children she's known all her life, she doesn't play with children--which brings me to this forum (courtesy of her pre-k(3) instructor's actions).

Last week, during Zoi's first day of pre-k (solely daddy daycare up to that point), while playing on the slide, the instructor claimed she tried to jump off the top of the slide. After restricting her from all play, Zoi threw a tantrum. Based on the tantrum, the fact that the instructor was unable to redirect her attention, that Zoi did not engage in eye contact with the instructor, and that Zoi spent the remainder of her time in class "counting", she seemed to suggest Zoi may need "testing" (no specific testing was suggested). We plan to have a pediatrician who specializes in developmental issues see her, but we'd also like to have a gifted determination made as soon as possible.

Whew!

So my question: at (just turned in June) three years, what avenues are available to us insofar as gifted testing is concerned? Apologies for the long message.

Welcome!

If that is your DC's real name, you may wish to edit, as this is a public forum. If it is a pseudonym, never mind!

It sounds like your daycare provider is suggesting that she may have both a developmental delay and giftedness, which is why she suggested nonspecific testing. The most straightforward approach to assessing both areas at once would be to contact your local public school district, and request a special education evaluation, which will include testing for both cognitive and academic strengths (giftedness) and language and social deficits (possible disability, such as a communication delay or autistic-like developmental delay). A school district evaluation would probably not begin until September, since schools are not in session now. It would be at no additional cost to you (beyond your taxes), and would most likely connect you to school-based interventions and therapies, in the event that an actual delay/disability is identified.

A private/pediatrician-mediated evaluation would most likely include the same major areas of assessment, but may or may not be covered by your health insurance (if not, cost begins at roughly $2000 and goes up from there). Outside of cost, there are pros and cons to both assessment avenues, mostly having to do with the principal aims (special education eligibility determination/child find vs the family's expressed referral question), and also differences in professional orientation between schools and clinics.

In either case, you should be aware that cognitive testing at this young age generally is considered fairly unstable (both higher and lower than subsequent testing), and is compounded by the kind of communication and developmental delays suspected in this case, which often render children less consistently and accurately testable than otherwise. IOW, whether she tests as GT or not, that score may or may not hold up in future school-age or adult testing.

As you clearly indicate, the more important reason for pursuing evaluation is to investigate the possible disabilities/delays, and intervene, if necessary. Any info on giftedness should probably be considered a bonus, at this point.

Hmmm… I am just another parent here - I am not an expert on gifted testing and did not have my kids tested until they were older, but there are others on this board who I am sure can give you good advice on testing. One thing they are likely to say is that it is hard for a variety of reasons to get reliable test results for giftedness for a kid so young.

What strikes me as surprising about your story is that the teacher would recommend testing *on the first day*. From what you described, it sounds like it might be worth giving adjustment to school a bit more time, unless you have concerns as well. In some cases, testing leads to early interventions that can be very beneficial.

One of my two kids was pretty sensitive (prickly?) at that age, and the adjustment from daddy day care to being comfortable at preschool took a long time. There were certain triggers in our case - dd would lose it if any of the preschool staff would touch her, for example. Also, dd did not speak at preschool for almost the whole first year. The teachers didn't come out and suggest ASD testing, but they dropped heavy hints.

We discussed it with our pediatrician, and based on her input and our gut feeling did not pursue the testing. DD is now 16yo, still a bit prickly and unconventional in many ways, but also wicked smart. I wouldn't have her any other way.

Follow your gut and give your precious child lots of love.

Does she understand the concept of imaginative play? I would give that some consideration. My DD (now 10) understood the concept but was not interested. When I tried to play with her, she'd just laugh at me like I was some sort of idiot. She was ultimately diagnosed with ADHD--not sure if that had something to do with it. Other than that, she never had any indication of delays or a disorder like autism. She has played with dolls on and off but not in much of a role playing way. Mostly what she has done is rip their heads off.

If you have concerns I think it would be good to start with a developmental pediatrician or neuropsychologist. If you want services like speech through the school district they will need to do an eval, but if you can afford it it's a good idea to get a private eval first and take the results back to the school. (we have had school evals that were very poor to put it mildly, and then those results are stuck in the records and a lot of schools are biased and do not want to provide services unless they have to--I can't tell you how many times we've had the people with the schools say "everything's great" when that obviously wasn't the case.)

Edited to add, I wanted to point out the twice exceptional forum on this site--lots of good info.

I can't begin to thank each of you enough for your guidance, and sharing your stories. In a word we feel "empowered". Go with gut it is. Thanks again everyone.

The below average language skills, lack of imaginative/social play, rigidity, and repetitiveness may point to autism spectrum disorder. Of course, there's an emphasis on MAY--many, many children and adults have symptoms of ASD to varying degrees without actually having ASD, as we all have our unique quirks. But based solely on what you've said, I'd keep in mind seeking out an ASD evaluation. If she does meet criteria, then she can immediately begin receiving services to help her be the best she and all her unique self can be. If she doesn't, then that, too, is great.

Like amylou, I am just another parent and so please feel free to disregard my random thoughts. For what they're worth:

- While testing her for giftedness will become more relevant at a later time, testing her now to determine whether there is a disability or delay would likely be more important at this point. If you can eliminate the possibility, terrific. If there is a disability or delay, best to address it earlier than later and start whatever therapy or accommodation she might need to flourish to her full potential.

- That said, you might want to read up on misdiagnosis and gifted children and make sure you question any specialist who diagnoses her too quickly. It may be that her reaction was due to overexcitabilities (if you are not familiar with these, you might want to read up), rather than a sign of a disability.

- What do your own instincts tell you? Has she ever had that sort of reaction with you? Does she normally show affection? Does she generally look people in the eye? Does she engage in repetitive behaviour around you? Is she rigid in her behaviour? Your post only describes the instructor's observations of that sort of behaviour.

- By the way, our non-ASD 6 year old can't make eye contact with anyone while he's in the middle of a meltdown. It's not because he's autistic but because he's in emotional overload.

- As for the speech and vocabulary delay, you might want to read The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late as another example of gifted children who can be misdiagnosed.

I guess overall, my reaction is "follow your instincts, but rule out the other stuff".

As for the instructor, you might want to ask her to give your daughter some time to adapt. The first day? Really?

I think RRD is pretty spot on. My daughter is younger than yours, but she exhibits an inability to make eye contact when upset. and I was a gifted child with some OEs (over excitabilities) and to this day have a hard time maintaining eye contact during times of emotional strain.

I think, while there may be some delays that would be beneficial to know about and keep an eye on, she likely needs more time to adjust. Most daycares or preschools have transition periods for kids that are already enrolled in full time care... seems crazy to me that they would expect compliance from her so soon.