Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Behavioral Quirks

DD8
* As above, demands context/clarification for every conversation she overhears. Seems to be able to hear everything except when being told to do something.
* Goes into a trance while reading books to the point she can't hear anything. Even her friends tease her about it.
* Innate ability to read people and sometimes quite humorously calls them out. I wrote one of these down last year when she was seven. Her grandpa had been rambling on during dinner about a special parking area he knew about in crowded downtown Laguna Beach, when she suddenly declared in a loud voice: "Poppa, I can't believe you can't remember when you got your dog or when it died, but you remember all about your secret parking spot."

Auuuughhh. Yes-- the 'reading four books at once' thing is just bizarre beyond words to me.

DS3 - people watcher

I am interested in the fact that this is so common. I must admit that I actually find this rather annoying. Where do we think it comes from? Just a need for information? I have perhaps incorrectly attributed it to DD's anxiety.

A newish acquaintance ran into this from DD recently (I was not present) and told me about it with great amusement. She actually found it charming, maybe because DD's questions were interesting? I don't know. I'm glad other people can see it that way! I'm always self-conscious when she does it with other adults; it seems pushy from my POV. I sometimes forget that other people (often extroverts with big personalities) can relate more to some of her larger-than-life traits than I can at times.

I always assumed it was to manage anxiety, too. Third-party conversations can move fast and cover a lot of ground. Maybe they just aren't able to turn off their need to gather and process what they overhear, so they demand it makes proper sense? The irony is this ability has given our DD more anxiety because she's constantly overhearing adults at school and gym, etc, discuss issues and topics that were not meant for a child's ears, but she cannot ask them for clarification.

My dad, DS3, and me are all like that.

My dad drives my mom crazy. I drive DH crazy. DS drives me crazy!

Yes. I think that fundamentally, it is probably a need for information, and that need to process things in a 'big picture' way. Things that my dd can't make sense of irk her the way that some kids will pick at a scab, I think. LOL.

Hmm. My DD is very quirky. I would not be surprised if she grows into an ASD diagnosis. But, for right now all her quirks seem to be sub-clinical. She is a really happy little kid that is doing great in all aspects of life. When I look at the DSM IV or V she is just not there at all, yet she has many aspy traits.

She hums while she eats.
She has a voiceless grunt that comes and goes.
She looks away when she is talking to you to think.
She is a picky eater.
She is hyper sensitive to smell.
She has a great aural memory.

In a good way, but really abnormally so--

She is one of the most imaginative kids I have ever heard of.
She can play all day by herself with a handful of simple toys and imagination.
She never tantrummed.
She does not cry like a typical 3yo. She cries like a much older child, silently.
She was always easy to reason with.
She has an amazing ability to defer gratification.

And some advanced quirks--

She has an affinity for poetry, recites lines when appropriate, speaks in rhythm and rhyme.
She can read words spelled out to her aurally.
She reads very fast in her head. I think she takes in whole sentences before actually reading them aloud. She is a strong whole language reader. But, this seems to mean she will sometimes paraphrase the text, replacing "a" with "the" and even saying things like "runned" for "ran."

We have not pushed her academically yet, so I am not sure how she will respond to say direct instruction or workbooks. I have a feeling she is very intrinsically motivated. Which is probably why I have not bothered trying too hard to extrinsically motivate her. If she does not want to learn it, I don't think she can be taught it! I feel like I just need to convince her she is able to do things, or she should want to learn something. Because, once she is convinced, she learns without being taught.

HelloBbya, since you are like this, maybe you can explain why you, at least, feel this need? Is it borne from mild anxiety or more curiosity/need to know?


Things that don't make sense to DD drive her nuts, so this is probably part of it. She needs to continue asking questions till the issue is settled to her satisfaction. I guess this part is certainly a clear giftie trait. (And it is why I have "The Question and Answer Book of Astronomy," which is NOT a childrens' book, on my shelf...)

Some of DS6's 'quirks' have changed over the years, some haven't.

-He has always been afraid of loud noises, certain frequency noises, and particularly the sound of flushing toilets.

-He went through a six month or so phase when he was around 3 to 4 where he narrated almost his entire life (i.e. "And then I will get my blankie and then I will get in the van and buckle my seat belt and you will drive to daycare but when we get to daycare I will put my blankie on my head so no one can see me and I will be shy.").

-He fidgets- A LOT!

-He loves to listen to the news on the radio and asks questions about EVERYTHING.

-He has huge anxiety about all kinds of day to day stuff but will sit and watch documentaries about 9/11 without any issues at all.

-He is very particular about temperatures of things like food and baths but will then put on a long sleeve turtleneck shirt with shorts on a 90 degree day.

-He is also a huge perfectionist that gets frustrated easily if something doesn't just 'come to him'.

Basically, he wears me out ;-)