This summer we had some evaluations done for my DS (age 6) after a recommendation by his kindergarten teacher and because of concerns my husband and I had. Mostly these concerns were around social issues(having trouble engaging groups), emotionally sensitivity as well as fine/gross motor difficulties. His teacher also suggested we have him tested for giftedness as she felt some of the behaviors and difficulties he was having could be related to this. Since getting the results I have been reading this forum trying to make sense of this new world I feel we are entering. I'm hoping for some wise words from those of you who have been where I am now...

When we received the results of the WISC-IV testing, we were shocked. His GAI puts him at PG. Even though he reached the ceiling on three of the subtests, the neuropsychologist did not use extended norms. Also he commented that his fine motor difficulties significantly impacted some of the subtests. My husband and I (as well as others who talk to him for any period of time) have always thought he is very bright, but I never expected he was THIS gifted. Since his testing, I have read a stack of gifted books, and it is like I am reading books written ABOUT my DS. So many of the personality and behavioral traits fit him to a "T." However he is also a child who hit most milestones late. He isn't a child who was adding at age 2; he didn't read early; he spoke late and was on the verge of having speech therapy.

I know that he is still young, and a lot will be waiting and seeing how he develops. However I also want to be prepared with what I can be looking out for and how best to support/advocate for him. One of my top goals is to make sure he is challenged appropriately so that when the more challenging material comes along when he gets older, that he doesn't get discouraged and not try because he thinks it all should just be easy. I have read many posts about this.

A few questions...
1. How do I know if he is being challenged at the right level at school? We are lucky that his first grade teacher this year "gets" him, and she has said that she will differentiate the work. She is known to have a good track record for working with gifted children as well as children with fine/gross motor difficulties (which my DS has). However, my son isn't like others on this forum saying he is bored, that he isn't learning anything or that he wants to grade skip. I'm realizing that he has probably never been challenged academically, and he may not know what it means to be challenged. His mind is constantly working, and he just amuses himself dreaming up all kinds of fantastic worlds, stories or inventions. He is very happy at school. However I know that the material they are presenting to the rest of the class he can easily master in a very short time if it isn't something he already knows.

2. He doesn't seem to fit a lot of what I have read about other HG+ children in terms of academically what he can do. Is he at some point just going to take off? He is a very quick learner with an incredible memory for anything, extensive vocabulary and makes connections I am amazed by. I can explain something to him once or twice, and he just gets it. After seeing my 4th grade daughter's math homework, he asked what it was. I explained it, and he got it no problem. However at the same time, he still is learning to memorize all his addition facts. A year ago exactly he wasn't reading, and now at the beginning of first grade he is reading at a level where they are expected to be at the end of first grade or into second grade and each month he seems to jump in his reading level. Are there some HG+ children who don't learn early on their own, but they just learn it much more quickly than other children?

3. In some of the research I have done, I have found opinions that IQ can change when children are young. Any opinions?

4. Any other wise words?

Thanks so much in advance. Finding this forum is the best resource I have found as we are trying to navigate this journey. I know it is going to be fun and take a TON of energy and work!

First... he is not highly gifted... at >99.9 he is profoundly gifted according to many LOG scales. Second, what you have is working which is phenomenal, though that may not always be the case. Our experience is that the teacher can make or break the experience at any school.

You are doing great with researching and learning! Enjoy the peaceful time and study up to be ready when you hit a bump along the way.

I think a lot of us have settled on HG+ as a "above a certain point" label as categories get so fuzzy and tests are so varied.

Definitely a wide variety of learning styles, not all are academically bent, but rate seems to be a telltale sign.

IQ drift is a bit more mythology as it is measuring across kids an age and putting them on a curve. If one kid's IQ goes down, another kid's must go up in principle.

I think you are at the right school if the teacher gets him, but each year can be a fresh start.

Welcome! It's brilliant that you're starting this thought process while your DS is happy and with a teacher who seems to get him. You're right, I think, to focus on the importance of challenging him. You've probably read some of the threads here about skipping or not - this might be something to consider in future but if I were you I'd leave well alone for now, and keep in close touch with this teacher, express your wish for your DS to have things to work at that he finds hard, ask her opinion on how to get what he needs from the school beyond this year.

There's a wide variation in when HG+ children learn to read - there's definitely a tendency for it to be early, but not in all cases. In general it's worth looking out for any sign that there might be dyslexia or a sight problem or something interfering, but as your DS is now making fast progress, it doesn't sound likely in his case. Equally I wouldn't worry about the maths facts - keep encouraging him to learn them (and you might want to make an early start on times tables - I recommend Timez Attack!) but don't hold him back from more advanced conceptual maths.

He may well just take off (in conventional academics, I think you mean?) some time soon - reading fluency is a great enabler and it sounds as though he may be catching the maths bug! - but he already sounds a great kid. Enjoy him :-)

6 is a reasonable age for IQ testing, and those scores are pretty even; no reason why these numbers shouldn't be reliable. But the kid is a better guide than the numbers.

You might want to consider applying for DYS, in case their advice is useful later. You have qualifying IQ scores and him doing his sister's maths homework makes a nice start to a portfolio, if you didn't want to do achievement testing.