I have a daughter who turned 4 last month. Many friends and family members have been nagging me to 'see someone' or to 'have her tested' because they think that she is way above "normal" for her age in areas that include language, reading, cognitive ability, etc.

She has been reading since age 2, getting progressively better at it the older she gets. Much to her Dad's and my surprise, she could identify the letters of the alphabet and their corresonding phonetic sounds at about 16 months. She's freakishly good at puzzles, and regularly works very successfully on 500 pc sets. She is very outgoing and EXTREMELY talkative (almost to a fault!) Her vocabulary seems very advanced for her age.

She is an only child, so I have nothing to which I can compare her progress. I do know that none of my friends' children could do the these things at the ages at which my daughter could do them...hence my questions and worry that I'm not doing enough to help her!

She's in her second year of a private Montessori preschool. The teacher has told me she thinks my daughter may have a photographic memory, is reading on a 2nd-3rd grade level and is doing 5-6 year old math...however the teacher has not indicated that these abilities are significantly above average or should be investigated further with testing, etc.

I guess I'm asking for advice from parents who have more experience with this sort of thing than I do...should I take her to a psychologist and request that she be tested? Is 4 years old too young for this type of testing? Are these accomplishments the norm for this age and am I nuts to think that she may be above average and therefore require special educational needs from this early on?

I'd greatly appreciate any input offered. If I'm just a proud parent who has a smart little girl, I'm more than happy with that. But if she could be gifted and there is something I can do that will help to foster her talents and abilities, I want to get to it!

Thanks again for any information!

Hi kcd,
My guess is that yes your daughter is gifted, likely profoundly gifted. I would recommended having her tested, preferably by a psychologist who works with gifted children. I had my oldest daughter tested at four. I was like you and did not realize until my daughter started preschool just how advanced she was.

If you haven't already been there, I recommend that you visit Hoagies' Gifted Education Page. There is a wealth of information on this website, but you may find the pages on identification and testing particularly helpful.

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/

Summer

Summer,

Thank you so much for the response and for the information. I am so happy to have found this forum and I will be a regular visitor!

I'd reccomend Dr. Deb Ruf's book - Losing our Minds, because it give milestone for gifted kids of all levels. Plese keep track of all this stuff, because down the line you "may" meet other important adults who just can't concieve of the stuff you are talking about, so protect your family by documenting. If you have a camcorder, get her reading and talking on it. As long as you are in a school situation that is making her happy and comfortable, then you don't need testing for a few years, as long as you record the key milestones for future use.

Smiles -
Trinity

Thanks again for the great information. We had her 4-year old check-up yesterday...her pediatrician said that while her accomplishments are in no way typical, it's probably too soon to tell how "gifted" she is and whether or not the progress will continue. He said it was my decision whether or not to have her tested, either through the school system or through a private psychologist. Thank you for the advice about documenting and recording her milestones...I always think I'll remember things, but time goes by and it's easy to forget.
Again, a thousand thank-yous for the wonderful advice and support!

(( hugs - kcd))