@Aed, thank you so much for your detailed and very helpful answer. I have to admit that it did make me feel a bit worried. Not only am I worried about what problems showing up later but, in the short term, I'm wondering if the school we are applying to will reject him because they will suspect a learning disability or future problem. The school seems like such a great fit for my son's skills, passions and personality and we haven't found any other place that seems so right for him.
I asked my son about the bug search "game" and he told me he had no idea that he should try to do it quickly. Maybe he was just trying to take his time and be careful? He's very conscientious and generally tries to do things well instead of quickly.
To answer your questions, my son's writing is getting better. This spring he mostly refused to write, couldn't hold a pencil correctly and showed no interest in drawing or coloring. He was, however, obsessed with making art and "contraptions" out of string, tape and wire so we just let him play around with those materials and he has now become more interested in drawing. He can now write his name but doesn't choose to write unless prompted by his teachers at preschool. He rarely draws anything representational. His drawings mostly consist of scribbles and they are accompanied by elaborate descriptions or stories. His fine motor skills are mostly fine with building Legos or even sewing buttons. Neither his pediatrician nor his teachers are concerned about his gross motor skills but I see that he doesn't do the same things that other kids his age do. He doesn't swim or ride a scooter. He's just now learning how to ride a balance bike. He didn't jump off of steps until recently. He's very tall (99.9% for height) and learned to walk a bit late (16 months, so within the normal but late range) so it's possible he's just growing into his body. He is also very cautious and safety-conscious so maybe it's just his personality?
My son participates in a social skills playgroup on the recommendation of his preschool teachers. The psychologist who runs the group assessed him (and did a classroom observation) and recommended sending him to a gifted school. The psychologist said my son had exceptional conceptual thinking skills. I'm not sure that his test results have shown that? She believes that he isn't connecting with kids at school because he lacks peers in the classroom. He's also an introvert. His eye contact isn't great but he does well with older kids, adults and with kids one-on-one. We have discussed it extensively and the psychologist does not believe that he has Asbergers.
I'm curious about whether there are there any activities that might help him to develop stronger fluid reasoning skills?
@MichelleC: Your descriptions of your son are very interesting. I feel like he is very much like mine. I especially found it interesting that your son has a similar profile and is gifted at math. My husband is a very gifted mathematician and I anticipate that my son may be strong in that area, too. My son has been mostly interested in science so we haven't explored math with him because we believe in following his lead -- so I don't know what we'll see once he does start really doing math. He did, however, spontaneously teach himself basic arithmetic right before he turned three. He also is interested in fairly complex math ideas and easily grasped fractions, exponential notation and factorials after brief explanations. I showed my husband this thread and he said he wouldn't be surprised if his own profile is similar to our son's. He said he has always had a hard time with reading comprehension. He scored above average in it, but it wasn't something that came easily to him. He got a perfect SAT score so he can't be so bad at it but it's interesting, nonetheless. In case you are wondering how he turned out, I'd say pretty well. He has a PhD in math, many patents and continues to do research that wins awards in his field. He is also socially awkward and not so good with eye contact. My mother in law, who was also highly gifted and taught math, is similar. Her eye contact is better but she's terrible at reading social cues.
Like you, I would have expected tests to show that our son grasps complex concepts easily. As I said above, the psychologist even noted this. Like your son, he's interested in hard sciences (electricity, magnetism, elements, particles, black holes, engineering). Like your son, he is very creative but it's more focused on problem solving and inventing than on the kind of imaginary play I see in other kids or with his younger brother. For example, at two he showed no interest in figurines or normal toys. He loved to go to the thrift store and dig through boxes of e waste and buy them so we could build contraptions out of them (at three he was trying to build an oscilloscope). He loves to tell elaborate stories about things he wants to invent. Like your son, he has a great sense of humor and is very empathic and affectionate.
