LOL, Isa! Yes, the parenting books and the milestones should probably have been a hint to us all that something was afoot, but so many of us (myself included) assumed the people who wrote those things were just nutty.
DS6 has been a chameleon kid for most of his life, so I didn't realize he was different except at a few select points in his life:
*When he internalized rules and followed them at around 8 months, before he could speak.
*When he was around 1yo and said "Bbb, Bbb" as he pointed at a "B" during a Kindermusik class. All the other moms (including the teacher!) jumped all over me--I felt really ganged up on!--for quietly (not bragging) saying to him privately, "Yes, that's a B." They insisted, "He didn't say that!" "That's ridiculous!" etc. This was just everyday behavior for DS6, so I certainly got the sense that this was really unusual behavior!
*When he spent the first few weeks of 1st grade making sure all the other kids did the right thing on their in-class assignments, but didn't get his own work done, was in trouble a lot, and was miserable in school, all of which was not at all like this rule-oriented kid.
*When I saw his achievement test scores, and realized they were not the scores of a kid who was MG, as I had assumed he was.
But he's always had interests that other kids could identify with--he just took them to another level--so he's always managed to fit in at least somewhat, to have a friend or two. He's also an introvert, so he's good at keeping himself entertained even in situations that are boring to him. That he acted out in 1st grade tells me just how incredibly bored he must have been. When I observed the class, I saw why...
Anyway, he talked about being the smartest kid in the class, which I hated to hear, obviously. Happily for us, when we pulled him out of public school to homeschool, that went away completely. I don't think he feels defensive and out of place anymore. We see lots of kids that he's probably smarter than, but he hasn't once made it an issue. I think that's a good thing and is a sign that he's in a better place emotionally because of HSing.
