Tagging this onto the the end of this thread. My story is a bit different, as I wasn't accelerated in school - well not *exactly*. The option for multiple grade skips was presented twice during my years in elementary school. An offer from 1st straight to 4th was declined by my mother and another offer during 3rd grade to 7th was, also, declined. Both times my mother reasoned that she did not want me to be around older boys. I remember pleading during the 1st grade meeting and leaving in tears. I managed, over the next two years, to remain fairly optimistic about school. Then came the 3rd grade meeting, I had been aching for. Again, my hopes were dashed. I distinctly remember this audible click inside my head and I officially gave up on school and became the classic under-achiever - still received mostly "A" grades.
During the summer after my 6th grade year I became very ill and had to be hospitalized for about a year. Despite this, I completed all of 7th grade work via independent study within my first 4 months in the hospital; so they sent me 8th grade work.
Fast forward to when I was healthy enough to return to school. I was surprised to be on the middle school campus, as I fully expected to be starting high school. I was in a wheel chair and with the claim that I needed special accomodations the school placed me in 7th grade special education "classes". By classes I meant I spent all the time in the library and didn't get any actual assignments - there were none to give me, as I'd already completed middle school - or even see a teacher much of the time. I'm an avid reader, but much of what was in the small library I had already read and we spec. ed. students were required to stay in a specific area of the library. There must have been an invisible trigger for a silent alarm, because the moment one of us left our designated area a librarian was there to admonish us and send us back where we belonged. All that to say, I was in effect held back and in spec. ed. classes for two years.
At the end of 8th grade, I decided on two things a) I was going to walk again - no matter what, and b)I was done with school. So by the time the first day of 9th grade came about I was, indeed, walking without assistance. Then I approached my mother. I made my demands quite clear, either she sign the papers to let me start taking college courses or I take her to court and start emancipation proceedings. She signed the papers and by the time I was 15 I had two Associates degrees, started two different business that were fairly successful. (I made enough to purchases two houses by the time I was 19 years old and pay off all the student loans I had incurred.)
I must admit, I still haven't finished my Bachelor's degree. I actually, have enough credits, minus a small handful of courses, to graduate with degrees in, at least, two majors. I joke that I should have multiple doctrates and my husband agrees and always says that it would "be so easy for you". It simply isn't my focus right now, and that's okay.
Anyway, that's my accelerated adult story.
