Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Charts, lists, etc

DD14 (probably older than majority of the people there, but she's been like this since at least 10, probably forever) loves making and looking at charts, graphs, schedules, etc. She doesn't ever follow any schedules she makes, but for some reason it's *fun* to make a schedule, or a chart, or a table. I've found notebooks filled with itineraries for imaginary trips (a trip across the united states, a trip across europe), about 30 drafts of a schedule for writing a book... (from 2 years ago, so the book never happened, lol), and so on.
Anyway, I think this is kind of fascinating, I was wondering if that's a common thing that gifted kids do, or if anyone else has a kid like that.
(BTW, some might mention Aspergers, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some one in the family had it (especially my husband), but it seems like all of the kids are "one off" from really fitting the Aspergers description, and if it was anyone, I highly doubt it would be her)

My son is and has been the same way :-) He is in love with any kind of chart/graph/schedule/map and has baskets filled with ones he has made or we have made/found. He has most of the Amtrak map sytem memorized and can tell you just about any schedule pertaining to Amtrak and is now working on the FEC railroad schedule/map....I found that he has a thing for finding out patterns in charts/graphs which has led to a quicker understanding of a lot of math calculations. If we go anywhere (the post office/station of any kind/anyplace) and he sees a table/chart/graph he has to have it and see what it is all about. He totally fascinates me all the time - I think it's pretty cool because add it into all the other ten million things he is in love with doing, it makes for really unique kids! :-)

At 14, he may be old enough for much of what you will find here...
http://chartporn.org/
"A collection of interesting charts, tables, maps, and interactive data toys -- with a focus on economics and graphic design."

This is the link that introduced me to the site back in the spring:
http://chartporn.org/2010/04/16/so-you-need-a-typeface/

Sorry about the name...

ETA:
http://visualoop.tumblr.com/
A little more family-friendly name, to be sure.
Also, in the lower-left column, you'll find links to a dozen or so similarly-themed sites.

Your son's appreciation for charts is shared by many.

My DS14 loves charts, and websites with charts. I even found out that the academic name of this field is 'information visualization.'

But your DD14 sounds more like me. I love making fake travel itinerary, fake personal schedules, and when it became time to be a parent, you should have seen me run from the family meetings to my computer to whip out the newest 'family contract' with giant letters to post on the Refrigerator. Those weren't fake.

When I was your daughter's age, I reported to my annual pediatrician visit with a chart of my monthly cycle. I asked her if this level of variation in timing was normal.

She said that the variation in timing was quite normal, but the fact that I graphed it made me quite unusual.

My family members are still laughing over that one.

Don't worry that she isn't following the schedules - eventually she will. Just the fact that she believes that it is possible to be organized is really good. If she generally has a problem with personal organization, you might want to let her know that I recommend Flylady.org and the book: 'Making it All Work.' David Allen has the best insight into'to do' lists I've ever seen.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

My DS6.5 makes lists and charts all the time. Right now they are family tree type charts or websites he has to visit.

DC16 used to do that when she was younger. Personally, I liked it because I didn't have to keep track of schedules... JJsMom, DC16 likes doing family tree charts, too. She tried teaching her brother new ways to put them together...

Thanks for all of the responses, it's funny to see what other kids are doing.
For me, it's funny how the most unorganized person in the world can enjoy having everything neat and tidy in a table, or a chart, etc. She can use either a pen or a pencil, but once she's used one on a page, she refuses to use the other because it looks bad. All the while, I'm just thinking "why can't you care that throwing books and clothes all across the floor of your room makes it look "bad"?"
(She's looking at those sites, by the way, but she has driving school in a few moments, so we can't give a full review)

I've always liked them as well.

And for the record, I love lists and charts too, and I am unorganized too, Bassetlover! I love the idea of organization, and I live in organized chaos. BUT, I can not stick to actual real neat organization!

One thing I love about the book

http://www.amazon.com/Smart-but-Scattered-Revolutionary-Executive/dp/1593854455

'Smart by Scattered' is that it talks about many different aspects of executive function - maybe 15 different aspects, and helped me be more aware of what I'm good at so I can use the strong areas to help me over the challenge areas.

Sure enough, stepping back from a challenge and making useful tools to get over it is a Executive Function skill that I'm good at - all those maps, charts, and lists. My DH is great at persevering until a job is done, not so good at noticing a job needs to be done and jumping in to do it. This helps explain why a person can be meticulous in one way and messy in other.

Splitters Unit!
Grinity