I have an almost 5 yr. old daughter whom I have considered having tested for giftedness over the last few years.
From the time she was 18 months I had a suspected that she was unique. She had no words, but I realized she knew her alphabet when I decided to ask her to point to the letters on a sign as we were walking. She was able to with ease, and then I checked her numbers 1-10 randomly and her answers were correct. She wasn't speaking anything but gibberish really till right at 2 and I had already had her assessed for speech therapy and she was found eligible. She had therapy for 10 months and by the time she was 2.5 she looked up at the ceiling at a friend's house, pointed, and said "octagon." She was in fact right...it was an 8 sided light. Before 3 she was able to read the months of the year randomly and was actively reading books at 3 (I would ask her to point out specific words on a page to ensure that it wasn't just memorization).
She has intense sensitivity to music...right before 3 yrs. of age we were at an outdoor concert, listening to an orchestra when they began a song from Schindler's List. You would have thought her whole world had fallen apart. She sobbed uncontrollably and all I could get out of her was..."music sad." I had to remove her and once inside she calmed down.
She also has sensitivity to noises though an OT evaluation did not indicate enough clinical significance for Sensory Integration Dysfunction, OT treatment.
She challenges authority at home and with teachers. At 3 her preschool teacher stated that she knew the curriculum and could sit her (the teacher) down and teach it. She called her current preschool teacher "a bad teacher" and when asked why she stated, "because she interrupted me."
She has already gone through Aspergers testing as well since teachers seem to want to label her with either that or the sensory. She has been tested 3 times...I'm done with testing those thigns. At this point...as I have thought all along, I am thinking she is gifted.
She can locate, in a county map book, her 2 favorite restaurants, her Grandmother's house as well as her own...these places are located in different cities and counties. She counted to 100 and backwards at 3. She is able to do simple addition in her head without thinking about it. She can remember after 1, maybe 2 visits where to turn at a particular location to get to her father's work, among other locations.
She knows some Spanish and can count to 10 in Korean. She is continually interested in watching shows that are in another language that include subtitles.
This all being said...there are some challenging behaviors as I mentioned earlier in that her behavior can get in the way of success. She is constantly telling me she is bored, she doesn't like to miss preschool but often gets into trouble with other students or the teachers in the class. She gravitates towards older children and adults and does very well behaviorally in those situations that don't include a specified authority figure.
I want to provide her with the best possible education...so she enjoys school and feels challenged and has a healthy self esteem and a healthy respect for authority. We can manage her at home but she can be very challenging and she is high maintenance.
I would like to find somewhere to have her tested in the Chicagoland area if possible...somewhere where it won't break our bank.
To end my description of her...she is also wonderful, gregarious, has a fantastic imagination and wonderful sense of humor. She can be extremely polite, kind, and nurturing. She is not a bad child...but she needs appropriate direction and redirection.
Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
