Hi everyone. First, as this is my first, post, kind thanks to those who maintain this board.
I'll try to be brief... I have a question at the end....
My son, Nicholas, is 3 1/2 years old. He has reached every milestone well before his peers.. he knew alphabet before 1.5 years, spoke in sentences about that time as well. He can count very well, simple addition, subtraction, etc. His vocabulary and early reading (knows the "it" and "at" family very well for instance) is very good.
As of now we have not had him tested. My wife and I are both teachers (she teaches kindergarten, while I teach third and fourth grade). We both have fairly high iq's, whether that means anything or not, I'm uncertain. I even hold a MSEd with Spec in Literacy. So here's the problem...
Our son is in a preschool program at our school. The program is "Montessori". It affords for a lot of freedom to explore. BUT, Nicholas is uninterested in staying focused to work on tasks, instead is interested in bouncing around, peer to peer, and having discussions and physical interactions with his classmates. They don't feel the same desire to have those conversations with him. He has never hit or done anything to harm anyone, but seems not to take those cues from his peers that they want their space and to be left alone. One boy even bit him out of frustration. That needs to stop.
So, with that in mind:
1. Is his behaviour in line with socialization issues amongst the "gifted"? Or are we looking at something else?
2. He is highly interested in puzzles, Lego, etc, and "touching" and exploring things. He is very interested in computers. I'm wondering what I can suggest to the teacher that might interest him because she is at a loss for why he is not more engaged.
I am not looking for anyone to diagnose at this point, because I feel we already understand at the very least he is highly intelligent. What I'm looking for is for him to interact more positively with his peers. At this point they are looking at him as being a troublemaker because he is not fitting in socially. I don't want him labeled as such. I want this little guy (actually, he is VERY tall for his age...towers above his peers - he looks the size of a 4 1/2 or 5 year old) to have a more positive experience.
I really am so thankful for any replies.
Thanks,
Michael Kovacs
