Some families maintain a literature-rich household, my house is evidently mathematically rich. He self teaches, he absorbs from the ether, he quizzes us, he checks out math story books from the library, but he also asks to be taught. He showed subtracting with borrowing on the computation part of the test much to my dismay. Turns out my husband had been playing with him on a white board while waiting with him for something else the week before the testing. He said it was maybe 5-10 minutes and two examples. Same thing with fractions - the knowledge he showed on the test was something that we'd read about in a story book.
I love the way you put this. I'd suspect, based on this description, particularly that part where he heard about fractions in a story book and was able to apply them on the test, that he is unusally gifted in Math. He may be quite ordinary in every other respect - or his disability may be much greater than anyone has suspected and his gifts in other areas plus his disabilities are 'cancelling each other out' as far as observers can detect - but not as far as he experiences the world.
Lots to think about, yes?
Grinity
Honestly, I think that his verbal skill are also quite extraordinary, but that there's been a bottle neck in the reading development, somehow amplified or exacerbated by his speech development issues. However, at this point, I can't hand over the KTEA scores as proof of ability in that area (the state says can be used for both cognitive and achievement?!?)
His expressions, turns of phase, vocabulary, and things he chooses to talk about are highly unusual.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if kindergarten is useless after October when whatever remaining phonological piece falls into place. However, it's possible that it never will, and he'll continue to memorize his way through books and reading levels until he gets to a brick wall. I started down this path because I suspected he'd completely snow the teachers by memorizing his way through school all the way up to the point when he can't anymore.
Thanks, much appreciated.
I'm still curious if anyone reading along at home has a clue as to how the translate those lower scores to grade level equivalents.
