Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment id without testing

Hi all, I am in the process of choosing a primary school for dd 3.5 and I am trying to convince DH to either cough up for private school or support homeschool.... We are moving to a rural area soon and there is only a country school with 4 compesite classes and no GATE program of any type in place (yes we do need to move!) Anyway I can't get dd tested as she is too young and does not have any issues but she has been involved in a global language research program and topped out at an ability of 6 years - she was getting tired and hungry (who tests 3 year olds at 11am?) and her kindy teachers have all commented to me about her operating at "a level above". Anyway if she is 3 and doing stuff a 6 year old would do with ease would she be considered regular gifted or higher? She isn't reading yet but is teaching herself and when she is not looking I can see her getting correct answers so I'd say she'll be away very soon. I would appreciate any feedback - it's hard to ask anyone else because well you know - they're all special

Thanks for that - it's a bit hard because she doesn't have any 'party tricks' it's only after talking with her a while that you pick up that she talks about things differently. Most people think she's perfectly normal (which would be lovely) but I am getting stressed about not giving her enough stimulation

It is a bit contentious but I think testing is the only way to be sure. There are some tests you can use at that age but why not wait until you are at school age and teach her to entertain herself for now - it is a really useful skill.

I'm with puffin here-- I know, I know, surprise-surprise, because usually I'm kind of ambivalent about testing.

My DD is another one that doesn't really have any amazing party tricks. She wasn't hyperlexic, wasn't one of those amazing "mathy" seeming kids, didn't really learn to read all that early (4-5)...

she was just... MORE. Very obviously so if you took even a few moments to talk to her. She adjusted to whoever she was speaking to, and made conversation the way adults do. When she was 2-4yo, I mean. You could always see the penny drop with people when they suddenly realized, five to ten minutes into things, that they were having this conversation with a tiny alien-like person. A person whose major interests SHOULD have been Teletubbies and the color pink.

But anyway, as puffin suggests, follow her lead, teach her how to enjoy being in her own head, and have fun.

My DD14 hasn't ever been tested formally because we've not needed to in order to get cooperation from local educational authorities (including a 3y acceleration), but her SAT scores at 13yo easily qualify her for any programs that she would be interested in, so she's very clearly HG+, and probably considerably +.


Does that help? The trouble with having a well-rounded kid like this is that it can be easy to lose sight of just HOW out-there they are. Until school time, though, just letting them be themselves full time is the best thing that you can possibly accomplish, IMO.

I should have said that since entry to school here is the day you turn 5 and early entry is specifically prohibited by the education act there wouldn't be a lot you could do unlessthe gifted preschool ran in your area.

I have a well rounded, just more child too which is why I recommend testing.