For background, my DD7 is not DYS-level gifted, she's MG (~135). I'd been invited to join Mensa based on my old high school SAT scores, but otherwise, neither myself nor my wife knew anything about giftedness until DD encountered school issues in K, and the school started using the term. I had no experience with children under 3, so I had no basis for comparison. My wife, on the other hand, had extensive experience with young children, though most of it was with family members, and it has become apparent to us over time that her reference data set is skewed.
And yet, despite our child not being quite as far outside the norm as many here, and despite our relative ignorance about normal development, we managed to identify some early markers that indicated she was very different.
- At around 4mos, she quit letting anyone dress her in clothes she didn't like. We had to let her pick her own outfits. In order to quit wasting money, that meant we had to involve her in shopping for them... which she was all too eager to do.
- We had decided to work out some baby signs at 6mos so she could ask for the basics... but when the time arrived, she already had a verbal "word" for nearly everything she needed.
- At around 6-8mos, she was consistently showing the ability to focus on an entire 20-minute cartoon designed for much older children, and react appropriately to the content. I have a photo at 9mos with her and her 6yo cousin watching Spongebob together, wearing identical expressions.
The bit with the early verbal development, we were constantly talking at/with her, so we could explain that away. The other two had no explanations.
Last edited by Dude; 08/31/12 09:27 AM.
