Yes, exactly! That is precisely the same statement that we've heard from the gifted specialists. (Though my DD's weaker skills include written communication, at least unless she's having an 'on' day.)
The obvious problem outside the context of this situation is that DD still isn't challenged to that ideal '80%' level even among this peer group-- thus the interpretation that she's "about average" and that apparently everyone else doesn't work all that hard at academics, either, combined with rampant task-avoidant perfectionism and procrastination as a motivational tool-- but this is about as far as we're comfortable pushing things on the social front. We definitely don't want her to become the class mascot, as she's very sensitive to feeling like a circus freak. She desperately wants to "pass" in her peer groups, and mostly does.
We're all hoping that the boyfriend just sort of goes away after school starts at the end of next week. DH and I because of these concerns, and DD because he's kind of not taking "no" for an answer regarding unwelcome physical advances (which she's given him factually valid reasons for, and hard boundaries about), and he's super clingy-- almost obsessively interested in her. He's way needy, constantly texting-texting-texting her and bugging her to "see" her daily. Well, good heavens, she is BUSY. She's really just not that into him, and less so as he continues that behavior. He's now employed the typical junior-high technique of calling in his "posse" for backup, which... well, let's just say that this has seriously failed to impress DD.
