Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion I was almost skipped 4 grades as a child??

Hello all.

I don't really know what I'm trying to accomplish with this post other than to be able to talk about this with other people who won't judge me or look at me sideways (talking about gifted issues is highly taboo in my experience). I discovered recently that as a young child, in first grade specifically, I was nearly skipped 4 grades (from the first half of grade 1 into the second half of grade 5).

I am beyond shocked. I have always known I was smart, and I remember participating in an assessment with a psychologist when I was 16 and being told I was "highly gifted", but even at that point she told me I was not "a supergenius" just "very verbally advanced" with a verbal iq of 147. Which I understand is quite intelligent but I didn't equate that number to "could graduate high school at age 12". I don't have access to that assessment, which is part of the problem.

After discussing my assessments with my parents (I also found out I was assessed in the first grade, but my mom does not know what kind of assessment I was given only that the school was confident I was "extremely advanced" after giving it to me) I am thinking I may try to get some of these files through my local school board. I feel like these issues continue to affect me.

I'm studying at university and even there I am bored. I'm majoring in psychology and my therapist has told me as far as she can tell I'm already at the graduate student level in many areas. I have come to view my undergraduate studies as necessary tedium, and wait for the day I can focus on my interests at the graduate level.

I feel so cheated out of not having this grade skip. I developed depression at a young age just from sheer boredom at school and I have continued to struggle with my mental health to this day. Is this common for someone in my situation?

I don't know if I was simply precocious or if I'm still that smart, according to my parents I spoke in full grammatically correct sentences by 1 and could read and do math by age 3. I read Shakespeare in grade 2. The signs are there, however I know that IQ isn't really stable until adolescence so perhaps I was just very ahead and leveled out over time.

I am simply lost. I would appreciate the input and advice of anyone who reads this.

Hi and welcome @Blah!

I have also dealt with mental health issues that were linked to boredom, or lack of intellectual challenge/stimulation. There is an array of resources on mental health and giftedness here that were recommended to me on that forum, and have been helpful to me: https://www.davidsongifted.org/resource-library/gifted-resources-guides/mental-health/

I wouldn't say it is necessarily "common" or "uncommon" to encounter this type of problem. Any individual is unique in his/her reactions to the environment. As you go through these resources, you will see that some characteristics of giftedness might have been involved in the etiological process.

In my own path, I came to understand that mental health issues are complex phenomena with a wide array of causes and contributing factors; importantly, not all need to be related to giftedness. So I would personally encourage you to try and understand, as best as possible, which those factors are in your specific case. Personally, I went about this trying to disentangle what was linked to giftedness and what not; making this distinction was quite helpful to me in the process.

Concerning the "tedium" of undergraduate studying that you mention, I will throw in a few ideas:
1. Get involved as a research assistant. If you are proactive about it, you might soon enough be involved in intellectually more challenging projects
2. Create your own challenges. Universities are also a place of self-directed learning; if you have topics in which you want to dive deeper, go ahead and do it! If you have (at least) decent educators at your university, having more (or different) input than usual from a presentation, or an essay, will be appreciated. Furthermore: maybe you can do a double degree? At least add some more classes? Complete the degree in less time than imparted? I believe, you have more freedom at a university, than in high school
3. Look deeper into yourself and try to understand why you are doing the degree; for example, if you believe you are interested in research, then yes; unfortunately you need the undergraduate degree in order to do a PhD (as far as I know - my knowledge of US education is limited, I am in Europe). A short-term struggle can be necessary in order to reach a long-term goal.

Concerning your assessment, and descriptions of the level of abilities as a child, I honestly do not know - I believe others on the forum are more versed in these questions than I am.

Wish you all the best!

I’d like to echo Raphael’s welcome and his suggestions that you look around for current opportunities to do some research, extend yourself or explore your interests. It may seem like cheap advice, but from personal experiences, dwelling on missed opportunities (particularly when the choice wasn’t presented to you) and passively going through the motions of today, whilst waiting for future opportunities, are both likely to compound feelings of wasted opportunity.

You are at an age when so many possibilities are still open, in possession of intellectual gifts that warranted consideration of a four grade skip, so now and the next few years are likely to be the best time to seek or create opportunities to engage in activities you enjoy, or that will help you grow, realise your goals, or perhaps benefit others.

I don't think that a four grade skip would necessarily have ensured that you wouldn't be experiencing your current problems. In fact, it very likely would have been a source of problems even if it alleviated others.

Since we can't change the past, you might want to consider that psychology majors are in the middle(ish) of the pack IQ wise. You may want to think about adding a second major that is more intellectually rigorous.

Lucky you. You had someone who thought you had potential, but, then again, psychology is an easy major so no wonder you're breezing through college.

Btw, I am also graduating in psychology; for what it's worth, I also haven't experienced it as a challenging major. I believe it is a shame, as the subject can become challenging at the research level. I spent a whole lot of the time during my studies getting an overview on current theories in the field (through the Internet). If I understood correctly, you mention that you have interests that you'd like to focus on once you are at the graduate level. If it is of any help, you can give a quick overview on these interests (PM/or here!). I might be able to provide some input accordingly (articles, existing research projects, online learning resources...)

I really wished even back then that I had the option of skipping grades, but unfortunately that never happened. Actually, you weren't even considered a grade skip. Quit imagining!

Hey Blah...

In case it may be of interest, here is a roundup of threads discussing grade-skipping or acceleration... both PROs and CONs (http://giftedissues.davidsongifted....ration_Roundup_grade_ski.html#Post248163). The purpose of sharing a link to this thread is to underscore what another member posted upthread... acceleration may alleviate some problems and give rise to others.

For all persons, of any intellect, developing resilience may be key. Resilience and the ability to bounce back and/or direct our growth in new directions is important because all people will experience setbacks of one form or another.

Blah, some very excellent advice above, especially from raphael, who, I think, has a particularly personal understanding of your situation.

FWIW, psychology is my profession, so I do understand how you are experiencing your undergraduate training as being a bit underchallenging (my undergrad degrees are not in psychology; I filled in everything I needed to get up to speed in graduate school during the first semester, while taking the expected first-year courses). But college and graduate school are very much what you make of them. You can look for ways to challenge yourself through independent studies (on or off the transcript), research with faculty, and developing other aspects of yourself (academic or otherwise).

And as someone with intimate knowledge of radical acceleration from multiple sources, I can say that skipping four grades at that age might have been appropriate for you...but perhaps not. Academic ability is not the only factor in successful radical accelerations and we don't know what other factors were under consideration at the time. It may be that not being skipped was detrimental to you, but being skipped could have turned out worse, too.

There is some research that those who are radically accelerated have better outcomes than ability-matched persons who aren't, but we don't truly know what would have been the optimum situation for you...and it's obviously past worrying about. From here on out, what's more important is that you still have many choices that can make your present and future healthy and vibrant in ways that are true to who you are, and positive forces in your community.

Very much agree with the above post. And somewhat disappointed in the earlier posts regarding psychology and by extension choice of majors, etc. Anyway, I really came to emphasize AEH’s comment-



I think this cannot be emphasized enough. There is a point where one can shift from what is offered to seeking out challenge and self-education. Be curious and act on that curiosity to direct and move you forward in understanding and learning. Obviously this doesn’t happen for all, and can be dependent on age, maturity, etc. And I understand the frustration of being in an undergrad program having to fulfill requirements and play the game, so to speak. But those requirements are the minimum, the foundation of everything else you build upon it, and that’s up to you. That is a valuable life lesson, and for many of us, a template for our whole lives. It’s work, but can also translate into a way of seeing and interacting with the world.