Hi, I'm new to the forum. I have recently started to wonder if my daughter, who is 4.5 years old, could be gifted. I've always thought she was smart... I will give you a little background first.
She was born 15 weeks premature (born at 25 weeks gestation). Her development has always been a concern because of her extreme prematurity. So I did try and work with her and teach her things (I tried to incorporate it into everyday fun, not sitting down and having lessons or anything).
When she was about 16 months, which would be 1 year adjusted, she wasn't talking much. I went to a speech therapist and she tested normal for her adjusted age, but delayed for her actual age which qualified her for therapy. She ended up only doing the therapy for a few weeks before her vocabulary exploded. Around that time I also purchased the "Your Baby Can Read" DVDs and books for her. I thought it might help her vocabulary. So shortly after she started talking like crazy and learning some of the words. She went through the DVDs way quicker than "normal." By the time she was 2 she could read anything. I'm not talking memorized words, she could read words she had never seen, no matter how complex or unusual. No one ever believed me until they actual saw her do it (when out, she will read things she sees, signs, menus, etc.). I could take her to the library, let her pick a children's book she had never seen, and she would read it.
We started her in K3 this past fall, and she turned 4 in October. She already knew colors, shapes, the alphabet (recognized all letters, knew the sounds), counting, all those sort of things. She could even spell short words. But, her fine motor skills are not that great. So while I knew she would "know" more than the other kids, I felt it would help with her fine motor skills and also social skills. Obviously the teacher feels her fine motor skills are pretty poor. She gets notes on her paper saying "needs practice," "stay on the lines," etc. However they have greatly improved. I think she knows her fine motor skills aren't that great, so she just doesn't like to color/trace.
Now we are coming to the end of K3, and she is 4.5 years old. Now I find that she can spell longer words. She has also improved in her counting. She can count objects correctly and just count in general higher. I know I've seen her count a group of at least 15 objects corretly. Of course this stuff is not due to school, lol.
I recently read some things about gifted children. It was really kind of random. Some of the things I read made me think maybe she is gifted. As I said, I've always thought she was smart, but never really thought about gifted. I attributed her delays in motor skills to prematurity, but I read that many gifted children are delayed in other areas. Also, some things about her behavior I thought were due to prematurity were listed as common in gifted children. She is very active, she is very sensitive (and dramatic). I was actually also reading something about "strong-willed" children recently, and that described her well!. She also asks tons of questions. I know that can be normal to some extent with preschoolers, but she is pretty extreme. She is very knowledgeable about a lot of things (she learns a lot from reading, and also asking questions). She remembers things very well, and things that happened a long time ago (well, a couple years ago since she is only 4). As far as her attention span, a lot of times it seems like she really isn't paying attention, but she is. Her teacher has noticed the same thing. She will think Lynzie isn't paying attention, but when she asks her a quesiton, she knows. I also read that gifted children are often...unique? different? She is that (but I have to say, her father and I are also...not the gifted, just "different")
This is all new to me. She is my first born (I now have a 7 month old), so I don't really have much to compare her too. If she is gifted, I want to be sure I parent her appropriately. I want to make sure she gets what she needs. Sorry this is so long, and probably rambling. I'm just not sure where to start! Thank you for any advice.
