Hell no! When my son has asked what his IQ testing was all about (at 6 years old), I told him that we were going to see a doctor (Ph.D) who specializes in understanding how children learn. That went into a full discussion of a Ph.D. vs. M.D. and that was pretty much the end of it. He loved the testing and of course never asked for any results or anything.

When we went back for achievement and 2E testing he had some more questions about the testing. I told him that she just needed some more information so that she could give us a better sense of the best way for him to learn. I also added, since he refuses to go to school on a regular basis, that she was going to help us figure out how to make learning more interesting for him - either at school or home.

I HAVE however mentioned to my son that he thinks and learns in a different way than other children. He actually has never heard us use the word 'gifted'. I told him about his learning differences when he was so very frustrated about school and the pace at which they go. After a few days of anger and tears on his part (refusing school, refusing assignments, wondering why the other kids are not angry about the repetitive nature of the work), it dawned on me that it might be very beneficial for him to understand HOW he is different than the other children with regard to learning. I just told him that some children can run really fast in gym class and they don't even have to practice. And some children can learn really fast in math class and don't have to practice. And some children have such a strong desire to learn that if they don't, it's like they can't breathe or eat. That's just the way his brain works. It was very, very helpful to have this discussion, for him. He stopped thinking that something was "wrong" with him.

FWIW - my mother told me my IQ "range" when I was about 9. IMO - not a good move. I spent so much time thinking about what it really meant, how I compared to other children, and (later) how much I was underachieving. She could have told me when I was much older. But I was quite pushy.

Last edited by somewhereonearth; 10/21/13 06:47 PM.