Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Any Late Talking Gifted Kids?

My daughter didn�t talk much until 2.5 to 3 years, however, it was clear that she understood language well before that time.

Later, when she was 4.5 she stopped using any word that began or ended with �st�. Her young pediatrician informed me that she was must likely a perfectionist and probably practiced in private and would begin again when her speech sounded �correct� to her. He was absolutely right.

At the time of the delay I never even thought my DS was choosing not to talk. I really dk if this was still the case. But maybe a possibity. I remember at 2 the pediatrician asking if he said 50 works. I was like WHAT?? He doesn't even say ONE!

I had two good friends growing up who were both very gifted. One said he didn't talk until over age 3. This friend was pretty introverted and just did not talk unless he had a reason to. The other friend said she didn't talk until she was 4.6. This friend was very social and outgoing, talked constantly. Neither had any 2E issues that they were aware of.

Moi. I didn't talk until I was 3.

Our DS4 has not been officially identified as gifted but he didn't talk until just before 2. He said "in" and "out". We knew he knew his colors, letters, numbers and shapes at around 9-10 months old but we were still amazed when about a week after he turned 2, he read the freeway signs (just the letters and numbers at first) and cigarette and gas prices. About a couple months after that, not only was he talking in short sentences, he was also reading and writing. Even now, he speaks and asks questions appropriately especially with adults and has a huge vocabulary but sometimes he has a difficult time putting his thoughts into words especially the more complex thoughts.

My guess is that, for the most part, the late talkers described in the book tend to be VSLs (possibly with some left-brain weaknesses).

There is a whole yahoo group devoted to this subgroup of late talkers (as described in the book). The last time I was reading it (quite a long time ago) there seemed to be a lot of effort spent on getting a correct diagnosis, and fending off incorrect diagnoses (usually of a spectrum sort). http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalLateTalkers/ I have no idea what proportion of these kids turns out to be gifted. I think that recognizing the kids' VSL strengths might give these worried parents a little more confidence.

I have three late talkers so far, at least one of whom is gifted. I think one of the other ones, who had no words till 3 y.o., and is still in speech therapy at 6 y.o. for articulation issues, is likely to be the brightest of the three in the long run, but I guess only time will tell. Talk about a late bloomer...

My Ds is 3 and half and is just now starting to talk in sentences. The only way we knew he was advanced was he would point to stuff when we asked him. Sort of a fluke thing. Anyway, he had OT, ST and DT. His speech therapist could not get over the stuff he knew. We also have a librarian that we have become close to and she has 3 GT kids and said her Dh didn't talk until he was 3 and he was GT too.
Even though he is talking now we are still having trouble understanding him. I am trying to decide if we need to take him to ST again (he aged out of the state one).
I did read the Eistein syndrome book and I don't know if it can really apply to him. We don't have any really musical people in our family and he doesn't really seem musical yet.

Yep, us too. DS said a few words here and there, but didn't really take off until 2.5 or so. We used sign language with him from pretty early on - he picked it up quickly. We had DS evaluated by a ST to make sure there wasn't a problem and thought maybe the signing was hampering speech. Finally, it was as if one day, he decided he was ready to talk and just did - proper pronunciation and grammatically correct for the most part, too. I just figured that he wasn't ready, but when he was, he did. In hindsight, I can see that DS does everything in his own time and not a minute before.

this thread hits home. my DS7 was diagnosed with autism/PDD at 2 because he did not speak and had poor eye contact. The change has been remarkable over the years, however. Now at 7 he was just seen by a psychologist who tested him and found that he is gifted, does not meet criteria for autism at all, and since his IQ has risen about 51 points from two years ago (was 89 at 5, now GAI of 138 at 7), he may end up in profoundly gifted range by the time his brain is fully developed. Sorry i dont' have the source but i read that some PG kids brains actually continue developing much later than typicals. His speech didn't take off until he was 3 1/2. We also found that he is a visual-spatial lerner.

Whats funny is someone tried to give me a copy of the Einstein Syndrome when my son was two. I thought "ugh that would just be denial!!" and never picked it up..sigh.

irene

Well, I am not sure if she is GT yet but my DD 22mo just started really talking with any regularity. Even with that she does not have 50 words yet. The prospect of ASD's was a significant worry for me as DH's brother has Asperger's & MR. Still, DD is so affectionate & communicative (even without words). For what it is worth, she is also hugely musical. DD was dancing before she walked & whistling at 18mos.

I was glad to see that there are other kids more interested in writing than reading. That is how my DS5 is. He has no interest in reading at all but enjoys spelling. Really likes to IM daddy at work too. What gets him started on words is fine by me.