Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Sometimes it just scares me....

Bear got tested for behavior (sensory related) issues through a state program, so it was a full battery of tests: behavioral, social, emotional, self-help, gross motor, fine motor, cognitive, etc...

It looks like he may be eligible for aid since he is delayed in a couple of areas (probably social and emotional), but we don't know by how much or exactly what yet.

The thing that really floored me was that the tester had to come back for another visit to finish the cognitive testing because "he surpassed all the tests she had with her." I watched the whole thing and there wasn't one test she gave that he couldn't have done if he had wanted to cooperate (instead of grinning and intentionally giving the wrong answer...). She told me that the tests she was giving him they normally used with 4 and 5 year olds. He is 2.10..... I mean I knew he was smart, but this???

It is sobering!
I've found that as they get older, (once they learn to type, basically) the bottlenecks don't seem as jarring.

I've had to practice saying: Well, his development seems perfectly normal, for him. Think of it as an 'Alternate Path of Development!'

Smiles,
Grinity

I know what you mean. DD is 2.9 and our ped has said she is on a 5-6 year old level cognitively. No tests yet but it scared me when I got her K work to challange her and it didn't at all.

My dd (3.5) is 2 or so years ahead cognitively according to our ped and I don't know what to do with her! I couldn't imagine a Level 3 or higher kiddo!!

My DS6 is a level 5 most of the time. When I'm lucky he falls to 4....LOL Imagine a very small mad scientist! When he's interested in something his intensity is crazy... Everyday he alternately amazes me and scares me to death. I'm hoping that as he gets older and I (hopefully) get wiser, things will settle down a bit. People keep telling me that the ferious pace he set for himself should ebb and flow from time to time but I haven't seen any letdowns. He's working 5-6 grade levels above where he should be based on age.

I have a picture in my mind of running as fast as I can. Each day he gets a little closer until eventually he just runs me down.

... I JUST watched him click on the bookmarks, look for the link to Disney, find it and click on it because we were taking too long getting over there to help him. Wow...

I am right with you there on the "it scares me.." thread. I think we all have gone through Gifted Denial, but what I am finding, is that it is not a once in a lifetime experience. In the past year I think I have gone through Gifted Denial several times. Most of the reason for my denial is that DD doesn't do "party tricks" or have any issues or LD, so at times I actually question if she is gifted.

DD 4.11 just got accelerated to 3rd grade and I am hoping that once we start with the curriculum after the holidays that she will finally be challenged and "learn something". She tells me that what she does in class everyday is just "showing off what she already knows".

BWBShari - I totally relate to the running/being run over. Just recently DD has given the impression that it is frustrating to have to speak her thoughts, since she can think so fast. I can just be answering her during a conversation and she is already on a different (yet totally related) topic. The thread of the conversation just seems to fly for her, and she spends time waiting for the rest of us to catch up with her.

She has not vocalized her frustration to me, it is just something that I have been observing lately, and I am just starting to look into how to handle this.

So yes, it scares me many times a day and I think it will for the rest of my life. LOL

You know, I'm not sure if it is Gifted Denial or not but I always have anxiety hit when someone takes my happy "normal" coated world and reminds me how far from average my "normal" is.

Today I met with the school district psychologist who has YEARS of experience with GATE and even worked in a state that had GIEP's. She raised a couple of gifted kids of her own. I figured she would have lots of experience with kids like Wolf. Wolf's teacher asked her about raising her gifted kids and she said they were nothing like Wolf or not in the same league or something else that made me feel very uncomfortably aware of how non-average he is. She's really hoping they can talk the district into allowing her to test him (tester with years of experience with gifties!!!) as soon as he turns six. She would so it tomorrow if she could! It was great to talk to her, but it really reminded me how out there we really are... When the gifted teachers/psychs are impressed it sort of tells you something. Sigh...

Shari,

Your description of being ahead by 5-6 years seems to be right on par with everything I have read about level 5 (Ruf) and extreme profoundly gifted children such as Michael Kevin Kearney. I have to confess ... when I start pondering if my DD is a level 5 (and yes she is only 3) I always think about your son and it gives me a reality check. As jaw dropping as he sounds; I have to think just how exhausting that would get for you and your partner.

You're not the only one!