Originally Posted by Kriston
He sounds like a nice kid in a nice family, and I'm glad they're finding solutions that work for him. Good for them! smile

I must admit, however, that I have some mixed feelings about his parents saying "he's just an average kid" and Cavalin saying that "other kids can achieve his success if they study hard and stay focused on their work."

While I understand and appreciate the humility intended, I don't think either of those statements are strictly true. "Average" 10yos can't go to college, no matter how hard they study or how focused on work they are.

I realize I'm being a little nit-picky, but I always worry when the differences between GT kids and ND kids aren't acknowledged. We already run into enough people who think our kids are HG+ strictly because we hothouse them. Statements like these make it sound like that's what this family did, even though I'm pretty sure that's not what happened.

I kind of see the brain as being compartmentalized. So, for example, my 8 year old is learning algebra and has strong views about certain philosophical ideas that would normally be way beyond his years. His chess teacher thinks he should start playing competitively (we don't know how he'll do, but we also don't really care as long as he enjoys it). Yet at the same time, he likes to goof around, watch cartoons, dig in the dirt, play soccer, and collect trading cards. So many ways, he *is* a typical, normal kid. This may be what the parents of the boy in LA were talking about?

Val