I've been curious for a while and have wondered if my 3 year old son has gifted abilities. I spoke with his pediatrician about it this afternoon, but she didn't seem interested at all in what I had to say so I'm not sure what to think.
My son is pretty average to a typical three year old except for one thing. He can read at a very advanced level for his age and this is something he learned to do on his own without any adult instruction. He began reading at the age of one. Ever since the age of one he has been mesmerized and obsessed with letters. At the age of one he would sit for long periods of time staring at alphabet videos on my iPad. One day out of the blue when he was about 14 months he surprised me and his dad by naming all the letters and sounds of the alphabet. I know that parents teach the alphabet to their kids this young, but this surprised us because we had not yet took the time to teach him the alphabet, he just figured it out on his own. Then about 22 months he would take his magna doodle and write simple words and read them out-loud. Again, I was surprised to see this since he had not been formally taught to hold a pencil to write, let alone spell and read words(he doesn't even attend preschool). Once I saw that he was reading words, I bought some flashcards to show him and to see how many he could read on his own. Surprisingly, he read almost everything without any help. His reading has progressed over the past year and now at three he could independently read a book meant for a third grader from front to end without any adult help.
However, his reading ability doesn't always mach his reading comprehension when reading the more advanced books. He has no problem understanding the simpler books he reads, but he does ask me to explain to him the more advanced books. A lot of times he will read complicated things just because he likes reading, but he has no clue what he is reading.
While doing some research on the internet I found something called Hyperlexia that could explain the early reading. However, the traits of Hyperlexia also do not fit him since he does have good speech and communication for his age.
Aside from his reading skill he seems pretty average. He doesn't seem to be super advanced at anything else. He does learn fast and comprehends simple math, but nothing that extraordinary in other areas.
So my question is, is this something I should look into now or wait to see what happens as he gets older? I've read that kids who sometimes start out ahead seem to level out about first grade, but by the same token I don't want him to be bored at school and not be challenged. I've also heard that kids this young can't be tested. I am new into the gifted topic and would appreciate some advice. Thank you.
