I have two kids with three skips (sort of) between them.
My daughter was happy about the skip up to the end of 5th grade, when she started noticing that the other kids in her class were "talking about things I don't understand yet." She would have been the youngest in her age-grade class, so her single skip was close to a double skip. She's in early high school now and is doing better, but is still aware of the age difference.
My eldest was double-skipped and entered a dual-enrollment program at 14. The kids in his class reacted to him like he was an oddity, and he didn't like that. He stayed in the program for an extra year. The one-year-ish difference from his classmates was much less of an issue. Now, he's finished a year of college and generally fits with the other students because his age is close enough to theirs that it's not a big deal. There's a student at the college who started at 15. He has to live at home and doesn't really fit in. IMO, college is about more than just studying, and taking initial steps on your own with peers is a big part of it.
In the early years, skips can be helpful. This is especially true when the kids are prepubescent and everyone is essentially the same in many ways. Things get different when kids get older.
This problem is very difficult, and it's complicated by lack of ability grouping in schools. Well, kids with learning problems are more likely (not guaranteed) to get work at an appropriate level via an IEP. Gifted kids tend to have more a challenge in that regard.
Overall, my advice is to be very cautious about more than a single skip. Your child will not die dead of moving a bit more slowly. Single-subject accelerations can help. When the child is older, s/he can look at dual enrollment programs and similar options, which let a very bright high-schooler stay with age peers while taking college classes. The program Tigerle mentioned also seems like a good option.
Last edited by Val; 05/02/18 11:03 AM.
