Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy An interesting weekend discussion....

There is such a phamphlet - see Is my child Gifted?
at http://www.sengifted.org/articles_publications.shtml

It think if we all start bringing these around to the local pediatricians we could save a lot of heartache.

What do you think?
Grinity

I think it's a good start, but I kind of hate the lists like the one listed in that brochure. I would have read that as my child was a preschooler and thought, yeah he's a little ahead. But he's with a full time parent all day and he's generally ND. And I would have bristled at the "G" word, having no previous knowledge or understanding of giftedness. Or it would be easy for a parent of a ND to read that list and think their child was extremely curious and inquisitive and be on the ND spectrum. I also know a number of kids that were reading before kindy (who attended a Montessori full time) that are really not more than perhaps MG.

Every pediatrician we've had has commented casually on both our kid's precociousness. Maybe it should have been a heads up that the dr. couldn't get a word in edgewise with the questions that were flying every time we were at the doctor's office. I wish they'd be qualified to do a little screening to give you a heads up on where you sit. It'd probably be helpful for kids on all ends of the spectrum and might head off problems of all kinds before school starts.

Our school district does a kindergarten screening starting at age 3. It seems like this would have been a good time to do a level 1 screen for giftedness too. Although, every kindergartener is screened which is nice. (that doesn't mean they do anything about it however)

I think my pediatrician did a *great* job of warning me without making me feel like DS7 was a freak or something, as can happen in that sort of situation if the doctor isn't pretty tactful.

After DS7, then 15 months, pointed out his cranium and his ulna (since if they can learn arm and leg, they can learn the medical names, too, right?), the pediatrician said, "You know he's more than a little bright, right?" It opened the door to a conversation about giftedness and meeting DS7's needs in a positive way. I think the doctor was probably a former GT kid himself, and having met his kids, I suspect he knows GT kids from personal experience. Also, another ped in the practice had two kids who graduated from high school early, so they're all pretty comfortable with GTness. It's made everything easier!

Interestingly, at that same 15-month visit, the doctor was the first person to gently suggest that we might consider homeschooling DS7. I know I looked at him like he had three heads at the time! LOL! I reminded him of the conversation when we saw him this year, and thanked him for being supportive. He was just glad that everything was working out.

I'm not sure all pediatricians are as comfortable with and positive about GTness (let alone homeschooling!) as mine is. But if they were, I'd support your idea, kimck. Pediatricians probably interact with more different kids on a daily basis than just about anyone else. (Even teachers only see the same 25 kids every day for a year!) If any non-GT-expert might have the breadth of experience to spot a potentially GT kid in minutes, it's probably a ped!

In an ideal world, a pediatrician would have this kind of background and information before leaving medical school. It conceivable that many docs would be at least MG, but it's also conceivable that many would have never been identified as such (like myself!). It seems like it should addressed right along side with identifying possible autistic tendencies, speech delays, growth problems, etc. IMHO.

In my same dream world, teachers would also have this information in their arsenal before getting a teaching license. Ah ... it's fun to dream!

I remember my DS went for his two year old well child visit. The doctor asked how many words he was saying. I replied that he was very verbal and the he could read. She didn't bat an eye and rephrased the question as, "Can he say X number of words?" LOL, she did get him eventually, but at that point must have thought I was addled.

I'm guessing that many pediatricians are gifted (I think I heard that most specialists in the medical field have IQ >130). But whether they know it or not probably depends on how old they are and their elem. school's recognition of giftedness. We have a fabulous pediatrician - we found out later that there is a waiting list for him because everyone wants him, and they eyed us suspiciously because we got him (i don't know how!). Anyway, he noticed and commented on our son's early grasp of things, saying e.g., "my kids were early at that too." But when I asked if there were any resources/advice for gifted toddlers/preschoolers, he said there's nothing until school. Looking at the Seng pamphlet probably wouldn't have helped me much. What really helped me was finding this forum while searching the internet for answers about what i should do with my little one. Perhaps a list of websites and short descriptions on the SENG pamphlet would be helpful.

I think it is all complex about testing and levels.

I think it is hard to define "how gifted" for a parent. I think we know our kids are bright, but how gifted is tough. I knew DD was smart but when we did the test-screening for the gifted preschool, I did not expect the results we got. Maybe I wanted to down-play expectations in case...

But I also wonder if this is some aberation because of my helicopter parenting style and by 7th grade she will be MG or ND.

I do believe the DNA line up has to be there, but like a plant, there has to be some nuturing. And like Ruf (am I quoting Ruf?) said: it is not static, the child can shift levels.

Ren

I agree that the different levels of giftedness add to the complexity, but I think that it would be extremely helpful for pediatricians to give parents a little heads up that hey your kid might be more than a little different. Pediatricians are usually the first professionals to see our kids. Having so much experience with kids, one would think they would be a good first place to inform families a little about giftedness. But since very few schools for teachers even teach about giftedness, it seems like this public awareness issue is going to be an uphill road! But i'm willing to bring a few SENG pamphlets to my peds as a start, even if they're not perfect. Maybe i can insert my own addenda about HG+...

Ren, quoting Ruf?! What is the world coming to?

I just wish I could start a dialogue with our ped about giftedness. I'm not really sure how to bring it up, especially since the kids are present at the appointment...

My DD developed spoken language faster than DS. Her FSIQ is lower than his and I think that's accurate. Language is a huge area of strength for her, though. DS read earlier than DD. On the other hand, I was a late talker--didn't talk until I was three. My IQ is in the HG range. So personal experience makes me skeptical, too.