Hi Annette,
The Davidson database has a few articles on radical acceleration. They advocate one skip at a time, and doing it as early as possible. I know that each child is different, and the one skip at a time may not be possible, given how advanced he is. But the research has been quite positive on radical acceleration in general, particularly on the child's social development and view of self-worth. One article in particular compares one year skip to multiple skips in terms of the happiness of the child. This can be useful when approaching schools about multiple grade skips.
My son, DS11, has had two grade accelerations. He is in 8th grade and bored silly. He sounds much like your son at age three. I remember him teaching himself multiplication at age 3 by watching a Schoolhouse Rock video once. Sigh. I'll point out a few things that I have learned along the way. They may or may not help you, since each child is so different.
Much talk is given to grade acceleration. But you can also subject de-accelerate, when needed if you want him to be with age peers. My son fits in socially best with kids that are 3 years older than him. (He has a summer birthday, and was by far the youngest even before the skips). The one class I would consider de-acceleration to be important is gym. Having a young kid, who has yet to hit puberty, in with older kids can be hard. It really depends on the older kids, and how they handle it. But it can be a source of bullying and teasing. You can also put them in younger grades for art, music, etc. But honestly, my son prefers to be with older kids, even for gym.
Puberty is just not fun. It is hard to have an 11 year old boy in a class where the kids are completely obsessed with sex. They talk about it constantly. They think about it constant. They share words, definitions, and web sites with your kid that you really wish they wouldn't . But hey, that is just the one downside to having appropriate education. Ask me again when he is a high school senior and still can't drive if it was the right move to make. I'm pretty sure I'll still say yes.
The other thing is that for PG kids, the rate of learning is radically different than for normal kids. You can skip all the grades you want, but the pace of the new class/grade can still be maddeningly slow. So even radical acceleration doesn't really solve the problem, if your son is in a regular school like mine is. Unfortunately, not all areas have HG+ schools. My son spent most of the last month drawing Sci-Fi cartoons and inventing computer codes and expansions for his Mindcraft world in his head when the teacher is talking. He can do the lesson and the homework in the time it takes the teacher to explain the lesson to the class. He currently enjoys the company of his classmates, so we are trying to settle in and keep this grade. I honestly don't know if further acceleration is in our future or not. Sometime subject acceleration, on top of multiple grade acceleration, helps keep them with their friends, but allowing their mind to be challenged in at least one area.
And teachers are the make-or-break needle on the balance. A teacher who gets your child can make all of the difference. Unfortunately, this means that each year is like Russian roulette. Some years are great, while other years are dismal. And this is within the very same school. It makes any form of planning just useless.
And lastly, from my limited experience, what seems to be important is the temperament of the PG child in determining how he/she fits into school. Some kids are intense and have trouble with the slowness of school. Other kids are mellower and can handle the boredom if they enjoy the social fit. It just depends on the personality of the child. Our second child, DD2.5, is completely different from DS11 in personality and temperament. We will likely have to learn everything about gifted kids and accommodations all over again in order to help her.
You are going to have a wild ride in store for you. The best I can say is that you already have a leg up on the situation, since you are investigation education options and you have read about levels of giftedness. This board is wonderful for both the friendship and the resources.
Cheers!
