I don't want to sound like an overly anxious mother, and I also don't want to sound like I'm "bragging"... so I don't have any friends I feel like I can ask about this in real life. So I am hoping someone here can help.
I think my 14 month old is showing signs of giftedness, but I'm not entirely sure. I don't have a lot of experience with young kids to know what is normal and what is atypical... and unfortunately most development charts don't mention the things I'm noticing.
Right before he turned 14 months, I realized (over the course of one day) that he knew all his letters. I didn't intentionally teach these to him - but he does have a letter book that we occasionally read and plus he has talking refrigerator magnets that he plays with a few times a week when I prepare lunch. One day, just for fun, I asked "where's the letter A?" He search all 26 magnets with his eyes and then plucked off the A. I was really surprised. I asked for, and he correctly identified, every single letter over the course of the day. I was really surprised. The other day, after reading "Eight Silly Monkeys", I decided to see if he knew numbers. He did (1-8 anyway).
I don't know if this is unusual or normal. He wasn't an early walker or anything (he didn't start walking until about a year old). He was early with other milestones, though (like pincher grasp, for example, he obtained "extremely early" according to his ped). His vocabulary is maybe about 8 words - so not massive. He has a great sense of humor, is outgoing, and is a very very very energetic little guy. So... that's him in a nutshell.
I guess I have mixed emotions about the possibility of him being gifted. Bright is great... but gifted is sometimes a real challenge for the child and family. I was labeled highly gifted - and the school I went to as a child never seemed to know what to do with me. It was frustrating, and at times isolating.
I'm not sure if there is a benefit to identifying giftedness early - but at the very least my husband and I can start exploring local education options. We'd even be willing to move to another school district if need be. (My husband works from home, so we are lucky to have flexibility.)
So here are my questions: (a) Does is sound like my 14 month old could be gifted? (b) At what age can giftedness be accurately identified? (c) Is there an advantage to early identification (d) What should I be doing, if anything, at this stage?
Thanks so much for any advice and insights. I really appreciate hearing from parents who have 'been there, done that'. Thanks!
