Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school gifted identification of a 15 month old

Thanks so very much!

It is so true about schools! A school four streets over used to be lauded as the best around. In the past few years, it has rapidly declined. Even my public high school, which offered five languages, psychology, ethics, philosophy, microbiology, astronomy, etc., is a pale representation of its former self. Meanwhile, a school not far from here that was once considered a loss cause is now a Blue Ribbon School. That's why we think we are going to stick with the private school. The ratio is 8:1, and they use many Montessori techniques. He will start going a couple of hours a week at 2, then half time at 3, and full time at 4.

We are an incredibly active family. We go to museums, the park, the playground, swimming, and just enjoy life. In fact, we just got back from the zoo, where he fell in love with the llamas. He kept talking about them while we were there. I asked him if he had fun, and he said, "I had a nice day." : )

And music as been central in his life from day one. His father plays classical guitar, and I am a former professional singer. He has seven instruments, and we spend lots of time jamming together.

I understand where you are coming from islandofappples. My son was incredibly alert from the moment he was born. People commented on how "there" he seemed to be. By the time he was six months old, he could say, five words, and would say "hi" and "bye" to everyone. He is about average with motor skills at this point.

I feel so much better after coming here. It sounds like I am doing all that I can for now, and the rest is up to him.

I think the hardest part of having an advanced little one is the lack of peer interaction. Both my children have had a hard time when they were little figuring out how to socialize. I wish that there was a way to do some kind of identification and get the little ones together. I wonder when I am older and the kids grown about starting pre-school weekends or camps and kids from all over could meet each other. (I doubt I will care by then, and I am way to busy now....so its just thoughts) My DD14 has struggled with finding peers all the way through. She attended CTY this summer and felt what it meant to have friends for the first time. Hence she is depressed now...but anyways I think the little ones do need a CTY or Davidson. I think for myself it is the isolation that kind of pushes one to want to obtain testing...somehow a way to reach out and connect. Good Luck.

That really is the story of my life! I grew up very poor. The majority of kids in the gifted program in my county were from middle to upper middle class families. There were so many issues with identification and just finding a way to fit in. The other gifted kids were difficult to relate to. Also, I was the creative one (my PhD is in writing), which made it even harder to connect. I do wish there was a way for my son to find other kids his age with advanced skills. He tries to play with his neighbor, who is a month behind him, but he gets so bored with everything, like water tables, etc. And the other boy is not speaking yet.

Plus, I feel incredibly isolated, like it seems most parents of gifted kids feel, because I cannot really talk about his skills without them getting upset.

I understand where you are coming from. It is a wonderful and exhausting adventure that is a bit lonely. My DS is only 22 months. Same early milestones as others here... walking and first words by 6 months. Now he knows and loves letters, counting, colors, etc. He has taught himself some sight words.

My only advice is to follow his lead, teaching what he wants to learn, and providing opportunities to stretch a bit. Ignore some of the age limits on toys but keep a close eye on safety issues. These forums are great for toy and book suggestions. A kid's piano has been great for us also.

It is nice to find age ranged activities. I second Music Together if you find a good teacher. Kindermusik with its small age bracket did not go well for us. Sigh. Toddler gymnastics has been fantastic.

A word of warning. I am not much further along in this parenting journey but I have been really surprised by other parents. There is definitely negativity from some that you must be doing something horrible to your child if they can count/speak well/read so early ... "Why can't you let him be a kid?" No amount of talking will convince them that your child just loves learning. My child will chase me around the house with a book, saying "Read please!" ... just follow your child and ignore the unsupportive strangers.

I obsess over future planning, preschools, schools, etc because it makes me feel like I may find a good place for all of us. We will probably do a playbased preschool next fall (lol at the how early this seems).

Lately I am focused on trying to find some nice playgroups for the near term. Having a hard time because the kids his age aren't interested in playing with others yet and the older kids aren't nice to him.

Sorry if I made this more about us than you. Just wanted to let you know you are not alone. If you are in Michigan, we'd love to play some time!

Sorry for the rambling post from my phone.

I have already gotten the "lectures" from parents about "making" him learn. As if! He looooves learning all the time. He is a non-stop learning machine. LOL.

We are an incredibly musical household. He has had a full-size keyboard in the living room (secured to a large table) since birth. He also has several guitars (two full-size), a tambourine, drums, xylyphone, etc. He really loves music. His father is a classical guitar player, and I am a singer.

I haven't really found a good group for him yet. I can tell that he is starting to become social, but he is far more interested in the big kids, and like you say, SAHM, they don't know how to deal with him.

So, how do we find other kids like our LOs? People have said to me that he needs to be mainstreamed as much as possible, but I am not sure I agree with that. What do you think? (I am from West Virginia, btw. I wish we lived closer.)

Yeah. (sigh). That used to make me CRAZY... but now I'm kind of numb to it. They simply have no way of understanding so it's not worth our stress...

Finding peers can definitely be difficult. We have had more successful platdates with age peers who have an older sibling (go when they are at home) and with slightly older kids. Try different groups (eg play groups, music, language etc) - especially ones with a larger age bracket. Be prepared though that you may not find anyone like your child or even if you do your child might not like to play with them! I think when they are young we get more hung up about kids needing "friends". DS is not overly fussed and is just as happy at home with the dog. He has this year developed a fairly intense friendship with a boy at kindy. I think being able to relate to a variety of ages/types of people is a great start.
Enjoy the journey as much as possible. It can be isolating. Difficult for people to understand that we are not pushy parents, we are pushed parents! Wouldn't have it any other way (most of the time!)

Yes! Gosh. I feel like I am being pushed. I love it! He is still so young. No tantrums yet.

Tantrums didn't start in our household until DS was 4. Often they occur with tiredness or hunger (preventable) or because he thinks he is an equal with adults. Teenage years are going to interesting...

I was wondering when they might begin. I think I've been lucky here compared to his peers in my Mom's group. He is easy going and can communicate well.

Tonight, another said, after hearing DS talk that he's not gifted, he just happens to like talking like her daughter likes tumbling. Um....