I was tested a few months ago for LD and was really surprised at how much variation there is; could this be a case of "domain-specific" giftedness?

I really appreciate your time and thoughts. Thanks very much.


RIAS scores:
VIX: 102
NIX: 100
CIX: 101
CMX: 86

WJ-III NU scores:

Reading Fluency: 138, Very Superior, Above 18.0 grade equivalent

Writing Fluency: 130, Very Superior, Above 15.6 grade equivalent

Math Fluency: 101, Average, 13.0 grade equivalent

Math Calculation Skills: 103, Average, 13.0 grade equivalent

Academic Fluency: 129, Superior, Above 18.0 grade equivalent

I'm no expert in interpreting test results, nor do I know how good the RIAS test is, but assuming it's a good, valid test, I would assume, with those scores, that your base IQ is average, but that you got early exposure to reading/writing, and fell in love with it and spend a lot of time reading and writing. It's perfectly normal for someone of average to above-average intelligence to become incredibly talented and excel in a particular area due to their love and passion for it.

Now, having said that, I would assume their are sub-tests for each section they gave you scores for, and it would be very interesting to see if there is a lot of variation on the sub-tests... perhaps there is some particular thing that's dragging the scores down, preventing these scores from giving you the full picture.

I'm not a testing expert but I analyze a lot of data. It looks to me like you are not as good at math/non-verbal activities. You also mentioned a memory issue in one of the other emails. I don't know if there are subtest scores with the RIAS test or not but that might tell you more info. If you had problems on certain tasks that reflect memory, processing, non-verbal ability. A quick google of the RIAS shows only 4 subtests so if the non-verbal abilities are all mixed in it would make sense that all these tests are average. A more specific targeting test like the WISC or adult version might be helpful if it's important to figure out the breakout. Just looking at the discrepancy between verbal achievement and math, it does seem possible that you are verbally gifted with some type of memory/LD. Good Luck, I can't recall reasons for testing. If you are doing great in school, just keep going. Find something you like and excel. Effort/motivation is important not just test results.

The RIAS is designed to be a cheap and quick IQ assessment. It's a reliable guide to general IQ, but its results can be skewed on the low side by a number of factors... and an LD is at the top of the list. The RIAS scores suggest you have an overall intelligence that is average, but that CMX score of 86 does seem to indicate a memory deficit, which would affect all the other scores. More extensive testing and evaluation would be required.

The WJ-III is an achievement test, and achievement doesn't necessarily correlate to giftedness. Gifted individuals are often underachievers, and achievers are often not gifted. It could be, as was said before, that you simply love books, and work hard.

Or, it could be that your WJ-III non-math skills are the best indication of your true abilities, since that's the one part of the assessment that didn't lean on a memory deficit. Again, more testing required.

Thanks for your time!

Neither of my parents are readers, and I think I've always loved it BECAUSE it came naturally to me. I never had to work at it, and still don't.

Those are all the scores I got, unfortunately. The test wasn't very comprehensive.

I went for testing because I suspected dyscalculia, and the psych explained that away with the rather large discrepancy between my math and my reading.

Thanks!

I was diagnosed with a mild memory disorder, actually. The psych said that probably had a hand in my feeling like I had dyscalculia, along with my reading and writing scores.

I do love books, but I think I love them because reading has always just come to me; I've never had to work at it, and even when I was in the early grades, teachers would always say in reports that I was an extremely fluent reader. I was grades ahead where I should've been.

The freaky thing? My parents don't read. They hate it, and they never read for fun when I was growing up.

I really do think the memory thing has something to do with it. I'd have another assessment done, but I don't have the money, and this testing was done for free.

All I know is that the psychologist described me as gifted 3 times in his report, so I believed him.

Thanks so much for your time! I really appreciate it.

I think the WISC or another comprehensive IQ test would probably give you a much better picture of your strengths and weaknesses. You could try and have one administered when you get to college by someone in the psych dept. for very cheap.

Although the term isn't in wide general use, I like to refer to this sort of thing as a 'bottleneck.' Many people believe that a 'true' learning disability has to bring a person well below average in their abilities - therefore your difficulties with math wouldn't cross into the LD territory. Of course many other people think that that is nonsense, and of course a gifted person who is average in some area may be experiencing a true LD. I use the term bottleneck to describe weaknesses in a person that is otherwise functioning in a gifted range, even if those weaknesses are weak enough to qualify as a full fledged LD, and side-step the political argument.

I wonder about the working memory disability though - have you ever been offered any ways to strengthen your WM? Biofeedback, Internet games, or the sorts of medication usually prescribed for ADHD. ADHD, particularly the inattentive sort, can be seen as a weakness in working memory, although I think that point is still quite controversial. So much depend on taking an honest look at how much the weakness is affecting you in daily life.

Smiles,
Grinity

IIRC, the RIAS has one section that is exclusively vocabulary. It seems odd to me that you would score so well on reading and writing fluency on the WJ and yet get a dead-average score there. Do you remember that aspect of the test?

The other verbal measure is analogies, which is a bit different. Your RIAS scores confuse me a little--they're reported rather differently than the RIAS scores I received for my DD. I don't know what those abbreviations mean other than VIX, which I believe is verbal. NIX I assume is nonverbal. But what are the other two?

ETA--never mind. You were given supplementary memory tests, which my DD was not.

As far as I recall, I didn't take the vocabulary test; I went through a free program for people with LD, and because I suspected dyscalculia, I think the psych pretty much honed in on that and did only the tests related to the areas he was interested in. In other words, it wasn't a full battery.

I do remember the analogy test, though!

CIX is Composite Intelligence Index, and the other one is for memory.

Thanks for your time!

I think that the thing to think about is why it is important to you to have that gifted label. I do know kids for whom reading came easily and early and who are not gifted per WISC IQ scores. I also know some whose IQ scores are erratic or which don't fully represent their intelligence due to learning disabilities. I would not really want to be one of the latter.

If you are seeing areas where you struggle in life (it sounds like you had a concern due to your presenting with the concern of dyscalculia), then it is worth considering what types of accommodations would help you overcome those weaknesses. I'm assuming that you are a recent high school grad given that you listed your age as 18 on another of your threads. If you are needing accommodations in college that you did not have in high school, it would be worth seeking out the help of the college's counseling services early on and seeing whether they see reason from your current test scores to give you accommodations such as extra time on tests.

That aside, it sounds like you have a need to explain your differences from your family and that "gifted" might be a way to do that in your mind. If it isn't giftedness, it doesn't mean that you don't have reason to feel alienated (it sounds like you might feel that way) or that you aren't a wonderful person in your own right even if your family hasn't accepted you.

I know I don’t have the gifted label for IQ, and I’m OK with that, but would the psych really say I was a gifted reader if I wasn’t?

I have a whole list of accommodations.

Thank you for your time!

I guess that depends on how s/he is defining "gifted reader." Is it in terms of achievement or verbal ability? I tend to define gifted as ability moreso than achievement, but I know that not all do. For instance, my local school system would most likely define you as gifted in reading as well b/c they define gifted in reading as high achievement coupled with something like teacher recommendation, parental recommendation, high grades, behavior such as sensitivity, or ability scores.

I think achievement, but I did tell him about my reading on a nearly 7th grade level in fourth so he probably took that into consideration, although I did not mention the pull-out reading program I was in during K, or the reading before K.

I think I’d be less likely to feel like giftedness explained it if my parents were more into reading. I mean, I don’t think I would’ve gotten into it so much if I didn’t have a knack for it, especially being in an environment that didn’t and still doesn’t encourage it.

All I know is that reading has always come naturally to me, so it must be a talent or a gift or something. I’ve never, ever had to work at it, and I’m grateful for that.

Wouldn’t ability scores only be on IQ tests? I thought IQ tests don’t have reading subtests.

I really appreciate your trying to answer all of my questions. It means a lot to me. Thank you.

I would give up worrying about giftedness. It just doesn't matter. Do your best in life and you'll go far. (And for what it's worth, I don't think that the notion of giftedness applies in a useful way to reading, which is just a skill that enables learning.)

Thanks for the advice! I agree I'm a little fixated, but can't you be talented at it just like sports or art?

True, IQ tests don't have reading components but they do have verbal components and people who are considered gifted in a Language Arts/Reading/Writing realm based on high ability usually fall into that category based on consideration of verbal ability (analogies, vocab, etc.). Ability scores are pretty much IQ scores but there are multiple choice "ability" tests as well such as the CogAT, OLSAT, etc. I'm not personally a huge fan of them b/c multiple choice has a lot of issues for some kids.

Absolutely and that's part of the reason I don't love the whole term "gifted and talented." Those are two different things to me. Gifted, whether it be in sports, art, or academic pursuits refers to an innate difference. Talented refers to achievement in the pursuit which may occur even in one without an innate difference in wiring, ability, etc.

Of course, this is all my personal opinion . I'd suspect that, b/c this board tends to draw more families of highly gifted kids (those with IQ scores around the 99th percentile or so), I may not be way out of the norm here, but perhaps that is fodder for a new thread!

One other question that comes to mind: you've mentioned a few times your parents' dislike/lack of interest in reading. Intelligence is generally considered fairly heritable. I may be misreading here, but can we assume that you are indicating that you don't believe your parents to be gifted? I am wondering if you have anyone else in your extended family who would be considered gifted or highly intelligent. There can be some hit and miss aspects to intelligence when there are variations within the family.

I don't think they're gifted readers, obviously, and when my results came back, they weren't surprised by my gifted scores, but I don't think they really knew what to do with me anymore than they did before. (They buy me books and then leave me to my own devices.)

I mean, I don't want to say my family isn't smart or anything...I'm just talking about reading here!

I really appreciate all the help and time you've given me.

OK. I didn't have any multiple choice testing, but I did get the analogy one.

Which one do you think better applies here? I mean, I want to believe the psych since he's the one that did the testing and sat down with me, plus, he hit the memory thing right on the nose which no one ever caught before...

Should I believe him?

Sigh. This is really complicated.

I would suggest taking a 'the jury is still out' approach. Everyone has both aeas of raw potential and areas of challenge. One of my parents favorite expressions is; You play the hand you're dealt!

So if I'm trying to figure if a 2e issue is involved I look at the person's daily function....are they developing their potential and learning stratigies to overcome the challenges? IQ and achievement test sometimes offer hint to illuminate a person's potential but ittt isn't a sure thing because the challenge areas can block a persons demonstration of that potential. The same thing can happen in reverse but when it doesn't the challenges like your working memory can at least be seen.

I always see test as representing the bottom edge of possible for a persons potential although there are a few instances where a score from under the age of 5 does turn out to be an overestimate. I never see them as saying to give up on someones potential. Mostly tests are a good way to organize our observations on a very complicated topic.

Hope this helps
Grinity

I may have complicated things more & sorry if I did! I just meant to address your prior question about "ability" testing only being IQ tests. There are non-IQ tests that still use the term "ability" in their wording (and then go on to specify that they aren't intelligence tests to make it more confusing!). What you were given was an IQ test, so the multiple choice, group ability test thing does not apply in your instance.

It is just a less familiar IQ test for most of us and it is shorter than many IQ tests. It does seems reasonable to assume from the combo of what you see in real life and those test scores, that short term memory is a personal weakness.

As to whether to believe what the psych wrote, I see no reason not to. I also believe that it is possible that s/he is defining gifted differently than I usually do (high IQ). IQ tests are imperfect, though. I hate to make them the be all end all. I just see them as the best measure we have at this point and less subject to false positives than other measures such as achievement and behavioral scales.

I also absolutely believe that IQ scores can be depressed by learning disabilities and that they can be off for a variety of other reasons. It is possible that either applies in your situation. However, with just the little info you were given, I don't see anything specific that is saying that appears to be extremely likely. I'd expect to see more than a low memory score in a 2e person, but it sounds like you are saying that the subtest scores were figured without having been given all of the tests within those subtests. That really should not have been done if that was the case.

Now you've got me motivated so I went a grabbed my dd's very old RIAS results. So, my understanding here is that, if you have wild variation w/in subtests of the RIAS, the publisher's instructions say that you cannot figure a composite score for the subtest. You, consequently, won't be able to figure a composite intelligence score. That would be the type of thing I'd expect to see when dealing with an invalid IQ score that was thrown by a LD or ADD, for instance. If your tester figured composite scores despite significant scatter, that could make the scores much more suspect.

The VIX (verbal index) should have had two subtests: Guess What and Verbal Reasoning.

The NIX (nonverbal index) should include Odd-item out and What's missing.

Memory subtests are Verbal and Nonverbal memory.

My dd's NIX scores were about two standard deviations from one another, so the NIX could not be figured. The CIX also could not be figured as a result.

I don't know what any of these subtests look like. I don't know if the names of the subtests are enough for you to know if you were given them all.

It’s okay, really! I just appreciate your time. (I know I keep saying that, but I really do!)

I mean, during the memory test I knew something was wrong, especially when he kept asking me if I remembered anything else and I couldn’t recall anything. That was when I knew I wasn’t imagining things.

Honestly, I think the test wasn’t as comprehensive because it was free and the focus was only on LD. If I could’ve afforded it, I would’ve had a whole battery done with a million different subtests. I was just happy to get any testing, period.

OK; I'll believe him. So it's safe to say I'm a gifted reader then? (I actually called the woman who was handling my case to make sure I understood everything, and she said the report was pretty self-explanatory: I was clearly gifted in reading/writing.)

I understand the high IQ thing for things like memory and verbal ability, but, say, if someone was gifted in math (I wish!), their giftedness wouldn’t necessarily show up on an IQ test, right? It would show up on the achievement testing, correct? I’m kind of thinking maybe that’s what’s going on with me: reading ability isn’t measured by an IQ test.

I was also reading that achievement scores don’t correlate exactly to IQ, and my 138 reading score would be more likely to be found in someone with around a 148 IQ. Does that sound about right to you?

I actually did take those subtests, along with the Bender-Gestalt test (it was an LD/psych eval); they’re in my report, but they’re all either average or below average (I have some below average TMT scores, too). None of them are as high as my reading and writing scores. I didn’t think they were worth posting. Sorry! Would you like them?

Oh, and just in case you’re interested, this is one of the first articles I ever read about gifted readers a few years back: http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/levande.htm

Reading fluency is a speed drill test. We can say you are a fast reader, but to describe the reading, we need more depth and indication of deep thinking. The reading fluency test doesn't have any depth to speak of, it's all about answering very simple questions as quickly as possible.

I guess you can have high ability in anything. To me, personally, the word "gifted" entails some sort of thought with a potential output, not just information intake. I guess that reading over the Hoagies link you posted, though, I can see where you're coming from. If your reading-- and thoughts about it-- have driven advanced achievement, are coupled with high ability in expressive language use, etc. I might call you gifted but not a gifted reader. I might prefer "gifted in language arts" or something similar.

I know; I've done boatloads of research.

Honestly, all I know is that my parents don't read and I've never been in an environment that encouraged it, yet I was reading before K and reading on nearly a 7th grade level in 4th with full comprehension.

If the psych says I'm gifted in reading and writing, shouldn't I trust his professional opinion?

Thanks for your time!

I've never, before this thread, ever heard anyone referred to as a gifted reader. If your tester was a gifted expert, and/or you simply want to feel good about someone referring to you as gifted, then I'd go right ahead. It doesn't really matter, does it?

I still think you are focusing too much on the gifted label. You are the same person whether or not someone has referred to you as gifted, unless that matters for acceptance to a program. Merely feeling more confident that your tester had some basis for the "gifted" label doesn't really help you to understand yourself better, or change your life in any way.

Personally, if someone were advanced a bit in reading but showed no other signs of giftedness, I would not tend to call them gifted, but rather a "strong reader".

I've been unable to find anything about it here either, but if you Google it, they are quite a few articles. From what I've read, they're actually a "subset of gifted learners." There's also a pretty good book about them: http://www.amazon.com/Some-Best-Friends-Are-Books/dp/0910707960

I don't believe my tester was a "gifted expert," but he had over 30 years experience, and especially seeing as everything else he said in the report is right on the money, I see no reason not to take his word for it.

You're right; it doesn't help me understand myself better, but I do feel like it explains my situation and the things I've gone through.

Honestly, I just came on this forum to get thoughts on my diagnosis. That's it. I'm not trying to be argumentative or stubborn or anything; I appreciate everyone's time a lot and I'm grateful for the advice.

Thanks!

Oh, and in the report, he also called reading a talent of mine, in addition to the "gifted reader" thing. Maybe that helps? As in, maybe I scored in the gifted range because of my talent?

I have b/c it is one of the domains for a gifted id in my local schools. There are truck loads of kids with a "gifted in reading" id. Their ids usually come from a combo of 95th percentile SRI lexile or NCLB or MAPs reading scores coupled with behavioral rating scales or As in reading or a CogAT reading subtest in the 95th percentile.

Point being, it isn't an unheard of area in which to be called gifted. I, personally, tend more to agree with you that gifted isn't about production or strong reading skills but rather differences in the way the brain processes information.

So the psych's diagnosis is legit?

i would say some of the psychs diagnosis is correct.

you are clearly an articulate and thoughtful girl. thus i do not think he is right about your IQ. it is not an accurate measure of your abilities. most 18 year olds i know with IQs of 100 cannot string together a sentence and are not reading books for fun.

but i cannot stop asking myself why you care so much. why is your identity so wrapped up in what some professional using clearly inadequate instruments thinks of your intellect? or why you care so much about the opinion of strangers on the internet? It leads me to think either 1) you are a troll just messing with us. or 2) you are seeking something you are not finding in your current environment. and the dissonence you feel is causing you to try to grasp at things to try to force them together to make sense.
perhaps you are one of the different ones, not fitting where you were planted and not yet knowing how to find a place to fit.

I would encourage you to continue to seek something more. it may lead you on an exciting journey. you may never find where you belong. but the journey just might be extraodinery.
you say you are 18. are you done with high school? will you be able to go to college. are you feeling like you want to go on to more education but cant go on to college because of the expense. do your parents not value education? or think you arent suitable for college?
you are not your parents image for you. you are not the limits of some experts assessments. you are whatever you can grow to be. and you have a lifetime to do it in.
keep reading, keep dreaming. but in the meantime figure out how to get to the next place you want to be..........

Let me start by saying I’m definitely not a troll; I’m not trying to mess with anyone. I really am having these issues, and my scores really are as I’ve posted. I’m not making any of it up. I really am confused and conflicted and worrying like crazy over this.

To be honest, I was really surprised when the results came back and my IQ was average. Reading so much as I have about early reading and giftedness, I thought for sure my IQ would at least be in the 120s. I certainly wasn’t expecting some genius score or anything like that, though. I think part of the problem is that, because I couldn’t afford private testing, the free testing was concerned only about addressing my LD issues and nothing else, so it wasn’t as comprehensive and was more focused that a full assessment would’ve been.

I think the reason I seem so wrapped up in this is because after years of research and believing I was a gifted reader and that it explained everything (reading before K and on a nearly 7th grade level in 4th with full comprehension despite parents who don’t read), I was finally tested and proved correct, and then I come on here and everyone’s telling me I’m not a gifted reader and I feel absolutely crushed.

I wish I could just trust the psych’s judgment.

I got my GED last year. I can’t afford college, but am pursuing a career as an author/aikido instructor.

Thanks for your time.

I don't think that any of us could say yes or no to that b/c there is no consensus as to what defines gifted even among experts in the field. Apparently the psych who tested you defines gifted in such a way as to include you under that umbrella. Others might do the same, others might not. Heck, others might exclude kids who fit my definition of gifted as well.

Point being, like I and others have said, why does the label matter? If it is to figure out what makes you different and where you fit, define yourself however you want and, if you find your people among those who define themselves the same way, then you are good whether people on the internet agree with the term you are using or not.

You and I were posting at the same time. This is a tricky one and I have just a few things I'll try to put together concisely. I can see as how having your self image questioned (average IQ, feeling that others are telling you that you are wrong) could be crushing.

I do know children and younger teens who read at a level similar to what you describe (started early, read around 7th-8th grade level by 4th grade) and who have had IQ testing done more than once on full measures (WISC, SB) and who have smack dab 50th percentile IQ scores. Knowing some of these kids, I honestly don't doubt that the IQ measures are accurate. They are good kids, great students, great readers, but not high IQ kids.

I don't think that it is out of the realm of possibility to say that someone with an average IQ can be a very advanced reader or very advanced in some other academic area. That isn't what I personally define as gifted, but as I said in my last post, there are so many different ways of defining gifted now a days that it is totally cool for you or the psych who tested you or any expert who defines gifted as high achievement in a domain to call you gifted.

The second thing is that you are posting on a forum where a lot of people have highly to profoundly gifted children by IQ measures. Our opinions are skewed as a result. We are probably looking for something more extreme as a result. Don't let us crush your self concept.

What brought you here in the first place if you were already inclined to view yourself as a gifted reader and the psych agreed? What left you asking if his report was right in the first place?

"I was finally tested and proved correct, and then I come on here and everyone’s telling me I’m not a gifted reader and I feel absolutely crushed. "

so stop listening.
you do not need external validation to be a person of worth.
not from your parents and not from folks on a web site you never met.
you have great drive if you got your GED and are still striving to learn more. why did you pick Aikido? what draws you to this?
begin to think about the positives in your live and moving forward. not the negatives and "might have beens"
a test is just one momnet in time. if you are from people who are not educated ( like my family)perhaps you have that awe or innate respect for professionals like they have some power to see more. well guess what? they dont. they have tools they learn how to use. and they use them. just like aikido.
do not assign more weight to an IQ test than it is worth. it doesnt make you or label you. unless you let it.
Likewise the high scores dont label or make you either. they are just measurements made on one day by one guy using an imperfect yardstick.
plus you are not average. if you were you wouldn't be on this board seeking answers. you would be in nail school or cosmetology school or sweeping up in a shop thinking about school or looking for a guy to take care of you.
Though there are some people on this board who came from poverty and were able to get educated over time, most people on this board come from pretty priveledged backgrounds and cannot relate to your values or reasons for your angst.
I was lucky and got scholarships eventually. It is really hard for kids now because college is so expensive and taking on a debt is not something that should be done lightly.
but you can find free classes about writing and reading online and even at local libraries and community centers. Our library has a writers group that meets regularly and they take turns reading and commenting on one anothers work. there are also writiers workshops that have scholarships for promising young authors. there are more ways to learn for someone as bright as you without college. or without college just yet.
You can always go later if the opportunity presents itself and you still want to.
dont look for external validation. trust what you know to be true. and follow your dreams. they will be what you will write about later.

I do want to apologize if I am one of the ones who is making you feel crushed. I struggle between being honest with what my personal beliefs and definitions are and being kind to someone who is young and who may have, for all we know, incorrect measures for her.

For what its worth, I do not come from privilege although I cannot claim to come from poverty either just somewhere in between. I have been living on my own since I was 16 and moved out of my parents' home, though, and did put myself through college. I do understand feeling alienated and misunderstood and I do have to admit that having the understanding of myself as gifted once I realized that was what was going on with my children has been healing for me. I would not want to deny someone else the same and my definition of gifted may be as incorrect as the next person's.

I'm seriously not trying to crush your ego. My wish for you is that you liberate yourself from these feelings.

You know that you'll never be the most gifted person out there in any particular area, right? Someone will always be a more gifted reader by your definition-- reading earlier, more ahead by the fourth grade, or whatever. This will hopefully come as a sort of relief; no matter how hard you try, you're never going to be at the top of the measures you are a bit fixated upon.

When you think about this, maybe you should consider why it is important to you that you see yourself as better than the great majority of the people out there that are average. Is it to give yourself courage, by thinking that even though you are just a GED holder you can achieve more in life than many with better credentials? (For what it's worth, I dropped out of high school at age 13 and later got my GED. Now I woudn't call myself a very high achiever or anything; I spent a decade in software engineering, where I certainly was at the top of my particular area of the game, and made some good money, but never achieved real fame and fortune. Later I went to law school and did well, but wasn't top in my class, partly because I have a tendency to focus very deeply on topics that interest me. But fairly often I've humiliated ultra-high-on-paper achievers in court, people from Harvard Law, people with vastly more experience, etc.)

You know that giftedness doesn't directly determine success in life, right? Quit stressing about this; it's a losing game. You will wind up either feeling like you're not living up to your potential, resting on your laurels ("I've achieved so much despite such humble beginnings, all due to my ability"), feeling bad because you don't stack up to others higher up the rankings, or something else that doesn't wind up helping you succeed.

It really doesn't matter how gifted (whatever that means) you are at this stage in your life; it matters what you do. Set yourself some goals and work toward them as hard as you can. If you really try as hard as humanly possible-- and I mean try so hard that you nearly break yourself-- you will almost certainly get somewhere that's good to be, even if you don't live up to your original self-concept in one way or another. Personally, I think it's more likely that you would exceed whatever you think yourself capable of by fixating on a couple of facets of your psychologist's report.

Let it go. Let the psychologist's determination that you're a gifted reader be a happy little nugget of self-confidence that no one can take away from you, and go on with your life. Don't doubt yourself because of your history, your parents' reading ability, or anything else. Just get on with becoming whatever you will become.

OK.

I think I'm just looking for an answer to everything, as to why I'm different, why I'm bored a lot. That kind of thing.

So, basically, I can trust what my psych said as long as I understand that my scores/diagnosis are going to mean different things to different people/professionals?

Can I ask why there's even a gifted label to start with? Isn't "advanced" a good enough term? Excuse me if I'm being REALLY naive here!

Sounds good to me !

I don't think that's naive at all in that it is something that is frequently discussed among experts in the field and parents alike. I think that, initially, the term gifted was in place to distinguish high IQ from other things, but then it morphed to mean a lot of different things. The term itself is not well loved b/c it implies that those who don't fall under that umbrella are lacking gifts.

eta: I've always liked this essay b/c it defines gifted more as a qualitative difference, which is what I see it as as well: http://www.georgeparkyncentre.org/documents/high-achievers-pdf.pdf

For me, that's the reason "advanced" isn't enough b/c it isn't just about academic advancement.

Oops! Sorry about that.

OK.

Now that you mentioned it, I have noticed a lot of HG and PG stuff, but honestly, I had no idea where else to go about this. I've tried asking around online in other places and have basically been told to get therapy(!) and that gifted people don't get GEDs, and that it was stupid for me to feel uncomfortable about reading in front of my parents.

I think what brought me here the most was that I was wondering how I could possibly score in the gifted range, even if only on an achievement test, and still have an average IQ.

No, no, no! You've been one of the most helpful; you keep answering my neurotic questions! I appreciate it tons, believe me.

I definitely want you to be honest. I think I just have to remember that giftedness is measured/defined differently by different people, and the best thing I can do is just trust the psych and do what makes me happy without caring what other people think of me or my abilities, regardless of how hard that might be.

Wow. It sounds like you've achieved a lot and been through a lot; good for you!

I think the understanding that hit me when I opened the psych's report has absolutely made a difference in my life similar to yours. It made me feel so good to just sit there and read over it. It made me feel like I wasn't weird or a freak; I had proof of my abilities. When I started researching giftedness, I realized there were a lot of people like me, and although when I'm around my book-hating parents I tend to feel very alone and an alien, I'm not really an alien at all.

I think it's the confirmation, the validation, actually having that "g" word on an official psych report. It made me feel loads better, about everything.

Thank you for your time and advice! Honestly, I almost cried. No joke.

I will definitely do as you say. I'm going to trust myself, do what I enjoy, and not let anybody get in my way/get me down.

I've always been interested in the martial arts, but aikido appealed to me because strength actually made you weaker, women are generally better at it than men because of their lack of upper body strength, and because you can practice it for a lifetime because it is easy on the body.

Thanks so much!

I know, and I appreciate your time and advice.

I need to be grateful for what I have and who I am, and work hard to be as good as I can be, because that's what matters.

I don't think I'm so much trying to see myself as better than a lot of other people, as I am trying to validate/explain my abilities/talents/gifts. But it's not exactly like I can change myself anyway...

I love that "happy little nugget" comment...can I quote you on that?

Thanks!

Yay!

Thanks for the essay. Am going to read.

Thanks for everything!

I can't offer advise as great what's already been given, but I just wanted to give you one other tiny bit of food for thought... the most important factor in a person's life - whether they are happy/fulfilled, is the CHOICES they make. You don't have much control over anything else in life, beyond the choices that you make. How you choose to respond to the things in your life will determine your path. Continue making good choices, and investing time in things that make you happy and fulfill you, and no one can ever make you regret your life.

My older sister was one of those kids who was so completely obviously gifted... but where is she today? After a lifetime of terrible choices and never taking responsibility for anything, she's jobless, married to a man who's constantly either working minimum wage or getting fired, has 3 kids she can't take care of, and spent most of last year in a homeless shelter! A high IQ and a 'gifted' label don't mean squat if you don't make good choices in your life!

Thanks, epoh! I'm definitely going to continue to work hard and do my best always.