Originally Posted by passthepotatoes
To me extreme precocious spontaneous academic development is a solid sign a child is gifted. If a preschool child has had structured academic activities and they are responding a couple of years ahead of age norms, I think it can be harder to tell. That's not at all to suggest that kids who are taught aren't gifted, just that it can be harder to tell.
I have seen many examples of kids who had a lot of structured academics as preschoolers who were indeed gifted and their rate of development continued at a fast pace. I've also seen quite a few kids who over time did "even out" with other kids. I think it is okay to be honest about that, isn't it?
I wanted to thank you PTP for this gently worded post. Your consideration you show for others always comes through in your writing.

Youth lives by personality, age lives by calculation. -- Aristotle on a calendar