Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional You know you have a 2e child when....

I thought we could have a good laugh by adding fun stories to this thread. Here's mine:

You know you have a 2e child when they have a mime visit the classroom who assigns each child to "become" an object ("be a tree" so the child stands and "whooshes" his arms back and forth like a tree blowing in the wind) and your child is assigned to "be a cork" but becomes a "quark" instead...as in a neutron particle. And he's then proud because "nobody could guess what I was, Mom!"
missing the point of the activity entirely!

I don't know whether to laugh or *sigh*

You know you have a 2e child when he knows every dungeon, city, country, continent, and how they are connected by flight paths in the World of Warcraft game, yet sits silently for 30 seconds before answering what his own address is.

He can tell you the names, colors and sounds of the roads for 50 miles around, but doesn't know what color his teacher's hair is. (yes, roads have different colors...)

ds9 is getting dressed for cub scouts and dad asks "why aren't you buttoning your shirt"

ds "I can't"

dh "you go to a gifted school but you can't button your own shirt....."

I'd almost see that as a typical gifted thing maybe not just 2e or maybe I have weird gifted kids ! Dd#1 didn't learn to ride her bike until she was 10 -- the same year she was in 6th grade. Her concern that she was going to "fracture" her hip if she fell seemed to be a big hold up.

...your dd9 spends 2 hours almost scientifically figuring out how to write the fewest possible words to complete a reading comprehension assignment, when it would have taken 15 minutes, tops, to regurgitate what the teacher wanted her to say in the first place (you know, the type of assignment that goes, "Read the passage. Answer the questions about the passage. Use complete sentences. Q: Why was Timmy sad? A: Timmy was sad because...")

DD9 has ADHD and is probably borderline dysgraphic, but no official diagnosis there. She hates the physical act of handwriting and tries to minimize it whenever possible.

*groan*

This is my DS7.

I have one of those!

I love the quark thing!! What did he do - bounce around the room trying to latch on to other quarks to form bosons?

I'm betting also that he was a strange quark (literally - there are six types of quarks, one of them is called "strange").

My DD7 and homework..
Mom: "Go ahead into your room and work on your (ultra easy) homework assignment."
DD7: "OK"
30 minutes later, not a word on the page.
Mom:"Whats going on?"
DD7: "I am worrying about what will happen if i don't get my homework done."

Haha...Or my 5 year old telling me he doesn't want to play t-ball because he might trip and fall really hard on his head and crack his skull.

Oh I was thinking the exact same thing. Maybe I should reassess my kids as possibly being 2E or just weird! DS especially would prefer to recite a dissertation on why he can't or shouldn't try something new than jump in and do it. He hates button shirts and laced shoes. It's all elastic pants, velcro shoes, and pull over shirts for day to day use! He did learn to ride his bike 2 wheels at 6. After basically forcing him and hours of reassurance. He's just a kid that needs a kick in the pants. Once he actually tries, he's usually good to go. He totally loves biking now.

I have a niece in 6th grade who still refuses to try and ride her bike. She's might be the most GT of my kid's cousins.

My favorite example is a quote from my brother about my nephew years ago. He's not 2e, but he is gifted.

"He's the only kid I know who reads an entire Vietnam War reference book in the first grade but still doesn't know how to wipe his own butt!"

I'm glad to know we're not the only ones with an ultra cautious child. My ds6 is so reluctant to try new things, and he always assumes the worst is going to happen. He's afraid of trying new things, even ones that are not dangerous, because he can't stand failure and knows how frustrated he gets. He still doesn't know how to tie his shoes, button his shirts, or ride a bike. I feel like a terrible parent sometimes knowing my child can't do these things yet, but it's tough to always have to push him. He definitely needs the nudge, and he often does just fine once you force him to try something. If we waited for him to ask to try something new, he'd never get there. It's truly awesome and totally worth it though to witness his feeling of confidence and pride when he tries and succeeds.

...when he gets in trouble in school for asking a lot of great questions but never raising his hand.

I don't know how he did it...he chose to leave that up to my imagination. LOL

I agree that it IS good to know we're not alone in this uphill battle.

Before my son's SLD diagnoses of ADP and dysgraphia, etc, my husband used to be astounded that DS12 didn't know his own address...at least not without lots of thinking and prompting. Now, when Hubby gets frustrated at such things, I tell him, "the kid has a working memory in the one percentile!" to which he responds, "I'll buy that when he stops memorizing video game cheat codes!" Touche!

LOL
That's a great one!

Yes, my oldest is both ultra cautious and a drama queen at times. A few years ago, her sister smacked her in the head and dd#1 held her head and moaned, "my brain! It's damaged!"

When I dropped off my DS10 at school ths morning a boy in class said hello and DS didn't respond. I took him aside and asked why he didn't say hello back. DS said "I'm working up to it, I am just trying to decide what tone of voice to use when I say it". Of course, the boy who had said hello was now miles away and moved on to another conversation.

I have another one: all the rolls of tape, blank paper books, graph paper books, and mechanical pencils are in use or used up from Christmas, yet the hot wheels cars and action figures are still in their plastic or covered in dust....

Reading these sound so familiar and my mother would probably tell the story of when I was in middle school in a big city and rode the bus 30 minutes to school. I came home and asked her to drive me to a new friend's who'd invited me over. I didn't have my friend's phone number...or last name... or address. The directions to her house included things like "turn at the parked police car." I remember adamantly arguing that it WAS a legitimate way to find somebody's house.

Yeah, our ds9 is like that... is there a list of 'milestones' gt kids are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY behind on ? Does it make any sense at all to put yourself on this little metal thing that offer zero protection and hurtle yourself down a hill? Probably not, and I can't convince him otherwise, yet.

...when her first grade teacher gets so tired of hearing about Sonic the Hedgehog that she bans him from the classroom. And in response, your child writes and illustrates an elaborate story wherein Sonic is eaten by a hungry fox and ascends to Heaven, complete with seraphim and cherubim and mourners wearing black armbands.

How about your DS8 announces "Mom, you're a guiness" when you help him fix his "fuzzlodge".

Those are "genius" and "fuselage" for the rest of us.

Lol, so much of this thread goes for all gifties, not just those who are 2e, I think. My DS6 was talking about the einosphere, this morning - turned out he meant the ionosphere.

So many of these are making me LOL!!!

When he can figure out how to solve math problems in ways that the book doesn't show (with the least amount of writing of course) and picks up math concepts quickly but makes mistakes on easy things because the 2 he wrote was really supposed to be a 5 and he is having a "glitch day" and difficulty compensating for the motor dyspraxia/dysgraphia.

When he can express himself verbally better than a lot of adults but needs his mom (definitely not verbally gifted) to explain his disability because adults don't believe that he could be so smart and have the difficulties--that it has to be laziness and he is just making excuses.

His verbal giftedness makes him seem so mature that his adult sister forgets he is only 11 and that he might be extremely upset when she mentions that she can understand how some people commit suicide--and then doesn't answer the phone for hours. He had spent weeks trying to cheer her up after she broke up with her boyfriend and he felt so worried and helpless when she wouldn't answer the phone after making the comment that he cried and thought he might have said something wrong, but he was able to convey his feelings about the incident very well in the tongue lashing he gave her and he didn't let her just laugh it off. I heard him tell her several times, "It isn't funny!" and "No, you are not going back to sleep. I didn't get any sleep last night because I was worried about you." This went on for hours and afterwards, my daughter sheepishly said she couldn't believe she was in so much trouble with an 11 year old.

Talks like an adult but still can't drink grape juice without getting a purple moustache.

There's a comment in one of Terry Pratchett's books about his protagonist often mispronouncing words because she's learned them by reading, rather than hearing, them. My daughter felt an immediate kinship when she saw that.

Ohhh, we might have to "steal" this expression. A "glitch day." I like it!

Edit: Looking at another thread, is your girl older now... oh well, I'll leave it as-is

Is your little kid really a big Sonic fan? I go as far as writing informal guides to Sonic games and posting them on the net and I'm 27... Does she know that Sonic 4 is coming out soon?

Anyway, I am very talented with images, I created these two animations from scratch, your kid would like them:


http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt167/Angnix/Soniclittle.gif

http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt167/Angnix/creamani2.gif[


You know you are a 2e adult when...

LOL Angnix!!! Love it

You're so proud of your DS7 because he got himself ready to go 'on time' with coat on and zipped and his shoes are on and tied, only to find out the shoes are on the wrong feet. LOL

Your ds9 tells you he's different than the other kids, even most of the gifted kids;he wonders about how it can be that when there' something important to hear, he doesn't hear it, but when he's doing homework and there are minor distractions to be ignored, he hears 'EVERYTHING!'

He says he loves math "even though I'm not as good as some of the other kids, but I really like thinking about big questions!"

Yes! This sounds exactly like DS12!!!
I wish there was a message board (or some other easy communication) where these kids could chat with each other!

What a great attitude, though!

No kidding! The 'budding theoretical physicist board'! Lol!

Nicely done, Ang!

My daughter's twelve now, and has moved on to different anime (Death Note and Bleach). She's very visual. Her dad taught her perspective in about five minutes for a math project; she's far better at it than a lot of adults I've met (and I guess I've spent too much time around parents of typical kids because I feel obliged to insert here that she still can't tie her shoes, to balance out my "braggy" tone).

Is anyone here a "Bones" fan? Because if y'all's kids are the Squint Squad, I definitely gave birth to a cross between Daisy and Angela.

hey, I hadn't even heard of Bones, but will now have to check it out!

Yes! I'm a big fan of "Bones". I could be Temperance's long-lost twin sister! My DS9 with AS is definitely the Squint, but he is more like Sheldon from "The Big Bang Theory". And My DH(another Aspie) is Gregory House from "House MD". Yes, we are very eccentric family.

Sounds like you'd make a great TV show though, Botchan.

Yes, Kriston. With these colorful casts, there's always some kind of drama is going on in our neuro-diverse household!

Going back to the original topic.....
My DS9 who talks about Number theory or some math theory for hours in an articulate manner somehow has very hard time making phone calls. He gets very nervous talking on the phone, and if no one picks up, he leaves no message except for heavy breathing......(from anxiety) When he called home for the first time, I thought it was from some pervert!

Ha! I love the show BONES.
I love the characters, but I thought that was because I am, as my husband calls me, a "geek groupie."
I'm not a "geek," but all my chosen friends are self-proclaimed geeks, as well as my husband and son.
I'm more of an "Angela," from BONES, except with the compulsive up-tightness of Temperance.
Hubby is a Leonard from BIG BANG THEORY. I have yet to see Son on TV. He seems to be one of a kind.

You know you have a 2e grandchild (gs5) when he qualifies for Mensa and wets his pants all at the same time.

You know you have a 2E kid when they are 9 and can play Beethoven but still can't tie their own shoes..button their own pants and have no clue what to do with a belt.
...
Another prime but sad example..moving from an GIEP to an IEP and the teachers have no clue how to fill out the paperwork. Apparently, they have never had a gifted kid with issues before in our school.

More likely, they have, but they just didn't know it!

...when at 4 he gets dysregulated at the store because there is a crying baby nearby and as he's freaking out because he can't handle loud noises i ask him if he is going to be ok and he responds in spelling, "n-o....i am d-o-n-e." ....and no one ever taught him how to spell that word.

I know this is an old thread, but I am new and this is hysterical!

.... when your 4 can sit still for hours studying his human body books but has to stand next to the table to eat because he is "...putting energy in, and needs to get energy out..."

.... his SPED teacher says she is going to need to brush up on her science skills over the summer during a meeting to discuss his IEP for next year.

.... you are fairly certain your child will still have training wheels at the age of ten because when asked if he would like to learn to go without this summer he responds, "I don't think that would be a very good idea, I could crack my skull and damage my brain and lose all my knowledge. We should probably wait until I am at least five or maybe six."

.... you are fairly certain your child will still have training wheels at the age of ten because when asked if he would like to learn to go without this summer he responds, "I don't think that would be a very good idea, I could crack my skull and damage my brain and lose all my knowledge. We should probably wait until I am at least five or maybe six." [/quote]

That is funny Mamabird! We ran into similar problems with my now 9DD. She still is not comfortable riding but no longer has training wheels. The reason? She couldn't stand the kiddie decorations on the bikes with training wheels. We still have to push and prod her to ride her bike..her response, "What do you WANT me to get hurt?"

...when the gifted teacher tells you to start thinking about middle school now (your child is in third grade) because she's pretty sure there's nothing in your major metropolitan area that is appropriate for your child. (And she's right.)

...when you spend part of the day discussing the junior college with your 12 year old daughter, and another part reminding her to put her (neatly-lined-up) stuffed animals away.

...when the same child is excited about taking human anatomy and physiology as her science this year, and is just fine with dissection, but wants to skip "the gross parts", a.k.a. human reproduction.

...when your other 12yo's weird behavior is nothing pathological, just his adaptation to life with the rest of the family.

When your ds9 spells 'preposterously' correctly, but puts an extra k into 'picky'!

When one day you are reading about literature/Shakespeare/psychology/other advanced things, and the next you can't remember what you did with your DS/shoes/shiny thing. Also, when you are having an emotional outburst because you can't decipher Shakesperian sonnets (trust me, I've done that before).

That is funny Mamabird! We ran into similar problems with my now 9DD. She still is not comfortable riding but no longer has training wheels. The reason? She couldn't stand the kiddie decorations on the bikes with training wheels. We still have to push and prod her to ride her bike..her response, "What do you WANT me to get hurt?" [/quote]

Yeah, that's me.

@ age 3 he goes from eating books to reading books in a matter of months.

@ 4 1/2 he is reading a 2nd grade book- Flat Stanley- and he can both decode and understand it....but half way through starts panicking and crying out of fear i might try to put him (ds) in an envelope and mail him.

I have a funny one from yesterday!

When she notices a grammatical error in Microsoft Word, but goes along with Microsoft anyway.

When she complains of not understanding anything, but the next thing you know, she's reading a book online about Indo-European literature and how some either view their culture as antagonistic, and how some view our culture antagonistic. Two minutes later, she wants to make a play about how removing authenticity from one's culture can be fatal.

When she, after a few minutes of Super Mario Galaxy 2, "discovers" that Mario defeats a couple types of enemies using the oxidation and body temperature when he spins.

When she can identify how people died on Dr.G Medical Examiner just from looking, but can't remember what she said a few minutes ago.





And yes, all of these happened yesterday.

your kid can to complex origami but can't tie his shoe.

When he notices and laments the fact that physical abilities are more highly valued by most kids his age, judging by the responses he receives to his facebook posts. At a recent cast party at a swimming pool, most of the kids were at the diving board showing off all kinds of flips and and a few flops while my son watched in the shallow end because he still doesn't swim well and doesn't want to be forced underwater by some of the other boys.

On Facebook, the actor kids were talking about how talented some of them were because they could do all kinds of cool diving moves and they are. Most of the acting kids do seem what I would call physically gifted. My son, who has a mild disability, is not gifted in this way except for his ability to do improv imitations of people with typical things they might say, accents, mannerisms, etc.

It is usually just the high school age and college age kids that really get his witty remarks so that is who he invites to his parties now. It really is okay to have older friends. Some of the kids his age made comments on Facebook like "you make my brain hurt" except for one girl who asked him if he was going to the cast party. She laughs at his jokes and tells him he is really funny. She is smart, cute and has a beautiful voice and she talks to him even though he is at the shallow end of the pool.

that is interesting.....my son is 4 1/2 and has been taking swimming lessons (some private, some small group) for a YEAR....and he still looks like he started yesterday. today at the pool i said, "of course....he can read a 3rd grade book without any reading instruction whatsoever....but after a year of swimming lessons he'd still drown if he fell in a pool."

Your child sits to play D&D and instead of interacting with the story, keeps figuring out how many fantastical monsters his druid can turn into. (Aspie with an animal focus)

Your child can point out misspellings, inconsistencies, and poor logic in stories and manuals...yet does not notice when his shirt is on inside out and backwards and his socks are mis-matched. Or even worse...he has a giant hole (I'm talking 6 inches) in the seat of his pants. He's SO observant about some things, and completely oblivious of others.