Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment late blooming gifted, common or not?

I've been trying to find a study (I read online some time back) which showed siblings IQs don't correlate so well at age 4, but they do correlate very well at age 12 and 18. I find it interesting because only one of my three sons appeared extremely gifted at age 4. My oldest has a significant disability (autism) and my youngest just seemed to me more average (not disabled but not unusually bright either). Now that youngest is 8 he has "taken off like a rocket" and we now know he is very, very bright too. My oldest (who was thought to have mild MR as late as age 5) now beats me at chess (all the time), and may turn out to be the most gifted of the three. He writes and his writing has been picked up by international political groups (they have no idea the author is an autistic teenager).

One significant issue my kids had which somewhat delayed reading competence was a lag in development of their visual tracking. Intparent, your kids might have had something similar. When the tracking ability reaches the needed level, reading takes off.

On a related topic, I know there is ongoing discussion and debate about how early development of motor skill in early childhood does (or does not) predict giftedness. I have a friend whose father was a famous athlete (baseball). His grandsons acquired the ability to zip up their jackets (joining disconnected ends easily) and other similar fine motor skills amazingly early. My friend also noted that her nephews at at age 2 could hit balls pitched in their direction, and while my sons STILL have trouble hitting a ball with a bat, these kids really could do it easily at two. There ARE different gifts, and not all are interchangeable IMO.

Wow Lulu - that is an amazing story and one that does give a person pause. We are not necessarily defined by who we are and what we are doing at age 2 or 3, are we?

Both my kids are late bloomers by the standards set on this board. They both made huge leaps their kindergarten year catching up to most of the early readers. But both had an intensity, creativity, and questioning nature that was there all long looking back. I thought my son wildly visual spatial, but he's a strong speller and has other things that indicate he's more balanced than I would have thought originally.

In our community of highly involved parents and very academic preschools, it's really not at all unusual for kindergarteners to read. Honestly, sending my DS to kindergarten after seeing the other kids, I though he might be a remedial student. But now that these kids that are my son's age have rearranged a bit as 3rd and 4th graders. Some stick out as clearly gifted, and some are very comfortable and happy at grade level. And I know a few late bloomers too that have really blossomed.

Thank you for your comments

My son has definitely been bullied a bit, but has been able to deflect some of it by being a bit of a clown. He has been calling himself smart this year, but believes this to be a negative thing (despite what I tell him) because he believes this makes a person unlikable.

The other parents haven't bullied me, but I do think they may have enjoyed having the smarter kids before and now that we are 'competition' for them they are not being nearly as friendly. I am comparatively young, non-white and uneducated and maybe they didn't think that I would be the one to have the academic children. They always did treat me with a bit of condescension. They still like to remind me of how early their kids did everything, but at this point it seems so irrelevant. I know this sounds terrible, but I am skeptical of their children's giftedness in part because of the parents' apparent inability to think independently.

As far as hothousing, I don't think any of these parents that I know believe that they are hothousing. It is always somebody else that is doing the hothousing if you know what I mean. They believe that their kids have the natural gifts (even if they admit to you they used hooked on phonics) and it is the other ones who are pushing and pressuring.

I'm still don't know if my son is gifted or just bright, but I don't want him to give up when it seems like he is just beginning to take off. I want him to have the guidance and support to take advantage of what this country has to offer. I don't want him to 'try' to be average because that's what people in this neighborhood expect him to be.

I agree, it sounds as though that's a real danger, particularly if the school can't find a way to put him in the gifted programme where at least he'd have more time with other gifted children. I also wonder whether your DS's teacher really realises how bright he is - if he's clowning to fit in, it may be that, even though she's realised he's gifted, he's above the level she thinks he is at. I'm not from the US and am not familiar with the systems, but if you are it might be worth thinking about IQ testing - AIUI, in some states, schools are obliged to arrange and pay for this if parents request it (see link How gifted-friendly is my state over on the left). At the very least, sounds like an in-depth talk with the teacher about the bullying, about how he seems to be hiding his abilities to fit in, and about possible plans for challenging him in the classroom, would be in order. Good luck!

I think some children, especially boys, can be "late bloomers" simply because they are too disorganized to present their best work. When I was a boy in 1st or 2nd grade, I got a bad grade in math because I did my test and then forgot to turn it in, putting it in my desk instead. A teacher said at a parent-teacher conference that "if his head weren't attached, he'd lose that too". Although I scored as exceptionally gifted on an IQ test in early elementary school (according to the definitions at http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/highly_profoundly.htm ), I only started to get my act together in 7th grade, nudged by my parents, who informed me it was time to get serious after I brought home a report card of only 2 A's and 5 B's. They knew I could do better, and I did.

My 6yo 2nd-grade son often forgets to turn his homework assignments and has a collection of about 1/2 dozen lunch boxes somewhere in school that he has not brought home. I do encourage him to do his best in school and turn his homework, but I think excessive nagging at home would distract him from his reading and other intellectual interests. I hope he will mature by late elementary school. My wife is stricter and worries that early bad habits will persist in later grades. Who is right?

If grades in high school are "high-stakes", those in elementary school are "low-stakes" -- the child will be advanced to the next grade almost regardless of performance. Gifted kids already know much of the material. Maybe they are being rational in not taking school too seriously.

My son was not an early reader like so many here - he knew a few simple words before K, but wasn't reading as such. In K, he totally took off with the reading - he is now in 1st (for a couple more weeks - where DID the year go ??) - his reading/comprehension are at least a 5th grade level. Funny thing is - through this school year, his main failing was his comprehension, even on grade level stuff. Until we told him he was supposed to actually take note of what he was reading - since then, he's doing fine. He's in the process of being tested to see if he's gifted or not - it'll be interesting to see how he did

Bostonian, unfortunately some "late bloomers" in organization have more going on than just bad habits. While D (now in high school) has tremendous verbal skills (and test scores), it has become pretty clear this year that she has some issues with executive functions that are not getting better over time. Your S may mature in this area during middle school, but not everyone does or can. Even gifted kids...

I wonder if the "late blooming" in her skills is evidence of some other 2E issue that is also showing up with the executive function issues. Maybe she is compensating with her verbal skills for a big gap on the non-verbal side or in some area that just doesn't show up in testing.

this is what bothers me about most schools though. Let's say by chance your son doesn't score in what the school considers "gifted" but his reading is that far ahead. (probably will be gifted but there are those that read well beyond and are not for example.)
how will they accomadate these learners. Will he still be sitting through two more years of reading "instruction" far below were he is at.
This is why too many kids turn off to school, drives me crazy!

I think he'll be OK - despite not being tested yet, he has been going to the gifted program within the school, since Spring conferences. He has also been going to 2nd grade for math, and to math enrichment with the gifted teacher, since last fall. I know how lucky he has been - and the school have said this will continue, whatever the results of the testing !