He sounds very much like my DS when he was 2, except he was totally into numbers to start with. But he also never held a book upside down, which I found fascinating.
A couple of ideas come to me in reading all of this and the replies, so forgive me if it seems random.
First, I would not at all discount the idea of giving him a tablet. My DS loved his PowerTouch (if you can still find one of those, they're great -- not so much the LeapPad, which has to use the pen and is annoying) and would have adored a tablet if they'd existed back then. It's no less "real" than a book, and it will certainly cut down on the frustration he feels from not being able to manipulate things like he wants to. When your brain is so far ahead of your body, it can create a lot of anger -- DS used to pound his head on the floor because he just couldn't do the things his brain said he could do.
Second, I would not discount the idea that he might be on the Autism spectrum -- specifically Asperger's. He sounds so much like my DS that it seems possible, if not likely. It doesn't hurt to know, if you're dealing with that, especially when he gets to school and that diagnosis can help with services.
I would guess that he doesn't care for being read to because he processes everything visually -- he has to see the words for them to really register. I'm that way, and so is my son. He may have a photographic memory, which my DS did at that age. When he was 2 1/2, he wanted to know what the grocery list said, and I told him the words while he read them. Several weeks later, I opened a cabinet and he looked at the crackers and read "Ritz" on the box, which had been the first item on that list. That triggered him, and he proceeded to recite the entire list from memory. You might try working with him on memory, if you think that is the case, because we didn't, and DS doesn't seem to have a photographic memory anymore (he's 9).
I don't think I would worry about them learning both languages at the same time. Languages have a way of sorting themselves out in the brain, and it's great to get as many in as you can while the brain is still making those pathways.
Anyway, sounds like you're in for a ride -- good luck with that, and stick around here! It's the right place to be.
your comment has really hit home! He has been getting quite frustrated ... just as you said, his brain is well ahead of his body and it drives him crazy sometimes! When he started doing puzzles, he would get really mad because he knew where the pieces should go but he couldn't get them in! He's been having a lot of problems being around other kids the last two months. He doesn't do it to his 4 year old brother (unless he takes away his toy or something) but when there are other kids in his say 6ft radius, he just charges after them ... grabbing their arm, hair or just pushing away. It's like he feels threatened thinking they will interrupt whatever he's doing and he just doesn't want anyone around. He's fine when there's no more than 5 kids total. Anything more than that really bothers him.
As for Asperger's ... it has been a concern. We are really concerned about our older one having Asperger's or another form of high functioning Autism and he will be evaluated in a month or two, but with my younger one, we are on a 6 months waiting list and still have about 5 months of waiting to do
(because of insurance we have to go through Children's hospital). There are days when I'm worried but then there are days when I think it's really just his brain working too hard on something else and he doesn't want to be bothered.
As for the memory, you are probably right too! My husband loves audiobooks ... when I hear an audiobook, I'm lost after first 5 words. Absolutely cannot keep my focus on it. I am very much a visual learner. When I was a kid or even teenager and college student, I'd just run through the chapters, read whatever was bold and when the test came or when I needed the info that was in the book, I hit a "recall" button in my head and went back to whatever data I needed from it. At school, most kids wanted to sit in the back and I always wanted to be right in the front. Back then I didn't understand why, I just knew I worked better that way. Now I know that in the front, I could SEE all the teachers were doing and writing, from the back I would only hear and see some info and would lose focus.
Anyways, seems like my little guy is very much like I was. He sees it, he remembers it ... he DOES remember auditory info too, he just doesn't process it and use it right away. I noticed when we tell him something or when the speech therapist does, he doesn't even react to it. It's like he's completely ignoring us ... and then days or week later he just uses it. Today his therapist asked me if I noticed he was telling her things she tried to teach him last week and he wouldn't repeat them at all. Today he pretty much told her all the new words from last week the minute she walked into the house. It's like a game for him!
It's just something new with him everyday. I'm using the trial and error method ... I through it at him and what sticks ... sticks, what doesn't ... doesn't
