DD has never really NOT known, as far as I can tell. She's always known that she was different, and she has always been able to identify that difference as one of being MORE able than agemates-- and sometimes even than those many years older than herself.
It's garnered her comments/attention since she was quite small. We don't really use the term "gifted" since it strikes us as a euphemistic and rather artificial construct. There's no magic "yes/no" point on the cognitive ability continuum.
We have discussed developmental arcs, normal distributions, and approximately what percentile she (and other family members, if we know) seem to be at, and let her ask questions on that basis.
This has been helpful, since it is all too easy to interpret being "ahead" of agemates as meaning that they will eventually reach where DD is
now, and that's not true in holistic terms-- they may acquire SKILLS that she possesses now, certainly, but that isn't the same thing as the sum of how she learns and processes information in the world around her.
Shared experience has been the best and most healthy means of supporting DD. It's lovely to have one's home be a GT safehouse.
