Other people would always say--WHOA, your dd is something else. And I'd be like, she is?
Hah! Sounds really familiar.
We always figured that, at most, DS7 was a typical G/MG kid. When we learned that he tested HG and expressed our surprise about this to close friends, the response was always, "Oh, c'mon! How can you be surprised? It's obvious how advanced he is."
From what I've gathered by hanging out on this forum and reflecting upon the traits of DS, I've learned that the "middle range" of high MG/low HG can be really subtle to pick up on. It doesn't usually help that, when you read literature about distinguishing HG/EG/PG kids from G/MG kids, most of the examples used contrast a G/MG kid with a EG/PG kid (i.e., one whose profundity of giftedness is undeniably obvious). So there is a tendency to say, "Oh, my kid fits into the G/MG characteristics better" and think that you kid is more typically gifted, even though what you have is a kid somewhere in between. Ironically, there are probably more of us on this board with kids at this in-between level than there are in the higher EG/PG range. And, of course, every kid is different and uses their intelligence in different ways, so it's even harder to put a finger on. But I truly believe that the differences are there.
The profundity of our DS's giftedness is not undeniably obvious. He reached some of those developmental milestones slightly (but not drastically) early, he has always talked well for his age but not "like a professor," and he presents as smart but not "scary smart." He has started reading fluently around the time when many gifted kids do, but not at age 2
But, from what I've seen, I can tell you that his intelligence often sets him apart from other gifted kids his age.
I remember last year watching a group of gifted kids respond to the question, "If you were snow and could talk, what would you say?" Most responses were along the lines of, "Brrr! I'm freezing!" or "It's really cold outside!" His response, however, was, "Do with me what you will" (meaning he was the snow talking to a kid and expressing a desire to be shaped into something). Or sometimes he'll just construct the most amazing, thought-provoking ideas about science when it's just the two of us talking. Or he'll use his advanced abilities in social intelligence to completely blend into almost any social situation (I've seen him hang out with toddlers, kids his own age, kids slightly older, teenagers, adults... all effortlessly and fearlessly.)
So, the long and short of it is that I think it's very,
very easy for many of us to underestimate our children's intelligence and attempt to justify to ourselves that the scores must be incorrect. I'm still doing this (though I'm learning to stop).
