Hello, my name is Cheri and my daughter, Rory, turned 2 five days ago. At her check-up yesterday her peditrician said "these abilities are not normal for a two year, they are not normal for a four year old." I am having a lot of trouble accepting his words, nothing she does seems that exceptional (keeping in mind I have no experience with toddlers). I checked out several books from our local library which all have conflicting information. Now I am left wondering if these are early signs of giftedness or just a bright child with a lot of attention. I would welcome any input you have.
Rory is "homeschooled" with a kindergarden curriculum. She begs everyday for "tuelle". I do not doubt that she has an exceptional memory. She knows and can say every letter, knows the phonics as well. Can count to five and can recognize letters 1-20. Knows every shape I've ever shown her (pentagon, cresent, etc). She knows all her colors and enjoys distinguishing between teal and blue, black and grey etc. Rory can identify hundreds of pictures in books or on flashcards (maybe 300-400, I'm not sure). She can read and spell small words- she is not reading sentances yet. She can identify about ten large countries on the map as well as about five states. She makes up songs (her biggest "hit" is Hot Noodle). She has been role-playing for about a year. She seems a little advanced in art but then again she began painting since 6 months. She shows extreme concentration while painting. She has been potty-trained since 15 months. She understands the vast majority of what I say and can follow complex instruction.
Here is the thing, despite these abilities she is not advanced with spoken language. Although she was using a few words by 9 months she communicated mostly in sign language until fairly recently. Her vocabulary consists of about 100 spoken words which she can combine into 5 word sentances, add to this 200 ASL signs. Much of what she say is unintelligible to strangers.
Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated. I want to do what is right for her but I don't want to jump to conclusions.
Thank you!
Cheri