I'm brand spanking new to the boards. It seems like all of you are so knowledgeable and can probably help me. We have an 8 year old daughter. Like many of you both my husband and I felt and still do that she is very smart. I hesitate in using the word gifted because I don't know for sure. She is an only child so I can't compare her intelligence to that of another. Maybe you can help. I don't even know where to start. Maybe at the beginning. When she was born she was immediately whisked away to NICU. I did not get to see her (only briefly) for an entire 24 hours after giving birth. When I finally did she immediately turned towards me and smiled when she heard my voice. She did so for quite some time that it stirred quite a reaction from the staff. Our bond was instantaneous; I felt it and I know she did too. As a baby she was VERY good. From the first night we brought her home she slept the entire night. I actually made a call to the pediatrician to ask if I should wake her for feedings, I was told to do so until one day I wisened up and thought if she's hungry she'll let me know. Fast forward a few months: one day at about 7 or 8 months old I was walking around the house like a crazy woman trying to find my keys. And just like moms do I asked her rhetorically as to the whereabouts of my keys. She immediately crawled to the armoire and placed her hand on it. Just for the fun of it I opened the door and voila my car keys were in that most awkward place. Around that age, too she initiated a game with me. She was in her crib at the time with a few of her stuffed toys. She would toss a toy out of the crib and I'd run to pick it up, she'd do it again and so would I. Well I thought I'd let her toss her toys without a reaction from me to see what she'd do. Well one toy landed on the floor then another and another until they were all gone. At discovering she had nothing left to toss without hesitation she immediately pulled off her sock, tossed it, and then the other. I swear she spent no time figuring out what to do. It just came to her. Fast forward again: as a toddler she would put things together. Many upon many times I'd be reading instructions as she would figure it out on her own. She's still very mechanical. I depend on her a lot. She also had and still has a great memory. Before the age of two she was reciting Robert Browning. I didn't know she had memorized several verses of one of his poems until one day I showed her a rose and off she went reciting 'Women and roses'. She did the same thing with Bible books. I was saying them and got stuck when here she chimed in. Present day: she's a great kid. Very well liked and does well in school. She's in second grade and thus far has made A Honor Roll. She does have problems writing though. She can come up with vivid stories (she has a great imagination) but cannot seem to write her thoughts down on paper. This is hard for her and therefore gets so frustrated. She's great at math although lately I've noticed careless mistakes when the work is done at school. I can't figure that one out yet. Her teachers always comment on her excellent conduct and never fail to mention my DD downfall which is perfectionism. Due to this she takes a long time to complete her work. Her teacher suggested I take her to see a Developmental Pediatrician for this, has anyone else been suggested to do the same? I homeschooled last year and our challenge was similar; she would take an eternity to complete her work. She would daydream and start thinking about her passion....animals. She made all A's and would grasp EVERYTHING instantly. As far as her education was concerned she was learning a lot; so was I. I placed her in public school (we can't afford a private school)this year thinking she would grow up in other areas, social skills mainly. She is so sensitive when others are to even look at her unfavorably. It may be so minute to me but to her it's a major ordeal; I respect that though,I don't belittle her feelings. She has matured a lot this school year in this respect so I think placing her in school was good for this reason ONLY. Academically she has regressed BIG time. What I mean by this is that she doesn't have much interest for learning this year. She says it's all baby stuff (she covered the same info in homeschooling last year). Actually I had no idea public school was so behind. Anyway if it wasn't for the social interaction I know she wouldn't want to go. It's boring she says. This is a child whose love last year was studying about the American Revolution and who spent months completely downhearted at the injustice of slave trade. She wept with deep emotion when we studied about this. And guess what we are not African American. Injustice affects her tremendously. She loves watching the news but I don't have her watch it too frequently because she takes a lot of it to heart especially when it's related to the mistreatment of children or animals. I want her to be compassionate, sympathetic and empathetic, too but it affects her to the point of having nightmares. Sorry I got sidetracked. As I was saying last year she had passion for what we were learning and yet this year has had no reaction to education. I desperately want to know if she's gifted because if she is then maybe she can be challenged at school; take the classes the gifted children are provided. I think if her teacher suspected this about our DD she would have mentioned it to us and yet she hasn't. I'm also afraid that if our DD is tested and we find out she isn't gifted then how will this news affect her? I don't want her to think of herself as less than those who are. And yet if she is, what will this label mean to her? What do I do? Please help. I'm so confused and honestly don't know where to turn. Aside from my husband this is not a topic I've discussed with anyone until now....thanks for listening.
