Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Spontaneous acquisition of new language?

I may have used "fluent" in the wrong context because it isn't as if there are many Russian-speaking people in this area. But, he does have entire conversations in this language and he can translate it for me. I am not that great at spelling in Russian, but the translations seem to be accurate.

My son is taught at home. I know that the public school system would just fail him in so many ways. He has been "kicked out" of many pre-schools in the past few years because the teachers cannot handle him. He's a good, sweet boy, but he just demands so much stimulation mentally. And he gets excited easily. And he is easily distracted by the smallest of things.

I fear so much the day that I can no longer teach him because he is smarter than me (he already is in a lot of things). Then what do I do? The current school district we're in doesn't even provide classes for high achieving students. My daughter is above-average intelligence, but not gifted, and she makes straight 100s in first grade.

I took offense to the thing about it being a joke because often times people on forums do not believe what I say my son is capable of. I don't know if it is because they are jealous or what (not that I'm saying anyone here is). I just am so used to jumping on the defensive.

I will look at the links everyone suggested and I will get in contact with my son's neurologist at Texas Children's to see if they've ever heard of anything like this.

It's hard to accept his accomplishments sometimes and be happy about them because I worry whether or not he is getting worse, rather than better. I don't want him to have to bear the burden of being extra-special. I just want him to be happy and have normal relationships in childhood.

I hope you find the links and information on this forum relevant to your situation. There is a lot of wisdom and experience here. And it is a safe place to talk about your children and your concerns for them. Heck-there is even a brag thread.

Has your daughter been tested for giftednesd?

My daughter was tested at the school she previously attended, but just tested as a high achiever, which is what I expected. I've never taken her for outside testing because she gets along with other kids her age and seems to respond appropriately to things. She is very highly motivated to learn and catches onto things very quickly.

I originally sought help for my son because I suspected he was on the spectrum. He was having random horrible tantrums and would scream if another kid even looked at him. He also wanted only me all the time. He wouldn't even look at his father or grandparents. And he has always spoken very well, but there was a point where he only spoke a made-up language for about 3 months straight. I knew he was very intelligent and probably quite gifted, but I didn't realize just how gifted he is.

I read about the whole indigo children thing and it seems fairly accurate for him. My son seems to be able to do things and just knows things and I have no clue how or where he learned them. He also seems to not be motivated at all to prove his intelligence, for the most part. He had me convinced for about a year that he was color blind until he slipped one day and told me the right color when I asked him. He really tries to manipulate me and everyone around him.

If I've ever heard of a fine candidate for unschooling I would call it this story you've just told me. �Anything else seems unreasonable and counter-productive if he's that exceptional. �Eh. �He's on a path of his own. �The alternative is to let people less intelligent than him spend his whole childhood trying to "fix" him. �Leaving the option open for outside help as far as they're actually helpful only.
http://eomega.org/
That's a college in the catskills in NY that offers interesting classes. �They had a remote viewing course available one summer. �Seems like you could call and ask someone there and be taken seriously. �I have a good friend that went there to become an artist and I considered going there to become a yoga teacher (before kids...Groan.)

If he's trying to manipulate you, well, kids learn what they live. See Jaime H's post above. It's odd I'm telling you this because it's not how I'm raising my kids, but it seems like it might help you do what you need to do to find out what your family needs. hth

Also, have you been reading some of the other stories and threads on here? It gives a mamma peace and understanding.

Uh. It's not because they're jealous it's because your story's a bit bizarre, but not unheard of. It's not what most people mean when they say gifted either, even though he can "do" gifted on a test. Like herenow I too hoPe you find what you need. What I've found here goes beyond Diversity in that not only is there Tolerance for differences also people try to help you do what you're trying to do for your family, not just what they think you should do for your family. Even though everyone will Gladly tell you what we each think you should do.

I agree with La Texican - I would really look into unschooling. He seems like a great candidate for it. He is totally going to be on his own path in life.

Interesting to hear you mention that he has no desire to show off his intelligence. I'm beginning to wonder if my son (17 months old) is color blind - lol - just because ignores me when I ask him to get the red item. But several months ago he pointed at my cranberry juice in a cup and said "red," so I'm sure he's just fine.

He's like that with everything. Who knows what he's picked up that we don't know about yet. Though I doubt he'll be picking up Russian at any point.

Your little guy is very special. Don't let the schools try to "fix" him.

My daughter has been very selective is who she feel comfortable with ever since she turned 18 months. It showed up suddenly and she only wanted to be around me and no longer wanted to be around her mom.

There is something known as Selective Mutism where children will only speak in front of certain people. Now I believe in my daughter's case, it affected more than just speech. She would often freeze up and in some cases try and drag me away from these people. If I would not go, she would sometimes start kicking me. What I feel happens is certain people cause her to feel a great deal of anxiety. I am fairly certain this anxiety causes her to be unable to understand what I am saying and perform certain actions she can do normally.

About a year later, I visited a town where some of my closest friends live. In every case, she was almost instantly comfortable with these people. This was the first time in since she was 18 months where she was ok around other people. When I went home, she instantly went back to not wanting to be around anyone but me. At this time though, I was not typically able to be around my favorite people in the area I lived in. Once I did finally get a chance, she turned out to be comfortable with them as well.

I cannot put my finger on what it is that attracts me to the people I like the best. I don't make my choices based on having common interests. My daughter seems to have the same taste in people, I just don't know what it is based on.

She has improved greatly in the last 5 years. However, she is still the shy child in the class. Usually it takes her about 15 minutes to warm up and then has almost no problem interacting with her class. She still appears to be selective, but is more comfortable with a wider range of people. Signs are good she is heading in a positive direction fairly quickly. Only time will tell if this will continue.

Nbuddy,
Have you figured out a way to deal with the tantrums? Do they continue to trouble your son?

My son really clung tight to me for the first 5 years - as if he needed me to be his interpreter to the world. It was hard on my DH. I had no idea that there are levels of giftedness, and that giftedness could be more than a 'nice bonus.'


Good for you for homeschooling your son!
Love and more love,
Grinity

My son is more open to other people now. He will occasionally hug his grandmother. He finally says "I love you" to people. He didn't even say it to me until the past 6 months or so.

He is very close to his step-father now, maybe even more so than he is to me. They have similar problems - my husband suffers from synesthesia, so he can relate in a way.

As far as the tantrums go, they have gotten so much better. He may have one a month now. Before, it was several each day. He would hit, kick, bite, headbutt, scream, etc. The only thing that calmed him was holding him tightly in a dark, quiet room. His step-father has taught him ways to calm himself since we've all been living together (about 9 months now). He is able to stop his hand "flapping" by himself now. When he gets overly excited, he stops himself and twiddles his thumbs. He's learning coping mechanisms pretty quickly. He still has trouble relating to other kids his age or even older though. I imagine that will continue.

My son has been different from birth. But, he really started to change around age 2. One of his major sensory issues was with food. He ate only bread or bread products for years. Now, he eats a large variety of foods and asks for more!

I'm going to try and read more around these forums this weekend when I've got the time. I really appreciate everyone's responses.

That's great news NB -
sounds like your son has come such a very long way already.

Let us know if we can be helpful....
Grinity