Do you have a gifted child?

[bellababe]

If so, what in, at what age did you realise that s/he was gifted, and how? And what did you do about it?

[mummylonglegs]

Personally I'm not keen on the term 'gifted.' If you mean by 'gifted' one of those strange genius type kids who make the headlines I'd imagine that's quite rare. I think that some children succeed at some milestones more quickly than others but that generally they all average out at a later time. At the moment, dd (2.3) is doing really well with her language and amazes people generally with what she comes out with and with how much she remembers and observes around her. She's quite small and people get confused about what age she is. On the converse side she's not good at climbing stairs and can't jump properly. I imagine at some point she'll switch her attention to some gymnastics and in the meantime her peers will catch up with her talking.

[galaxy]

morningpaper, that sounds exactly like my 22 who is just approaching 2.3. She has exceptional speech, is like a sponge in absorbing new words like "laminated, argumentitive, interfering" etc (is there a theme there)?


She also excels at doing jigsaw puzzles designed for 3 year olds.

On the other hand, she can't hop or jump and was a late walker.

[galaxy]

That is of course my dd not my 22

[bellababe]

That's what I mean by gifted. Brilliant musically, or artistically, or exceptionally good at sport or dance. How did you know at this 6/7 stage? Had you already encouraged them to start learning an instrument or was it their singing? Did the school point it out?

[bellababe]

Anyone else? I am just interested. You see these amazing kids and I just wonder how it was spotted.

[bellababe]

btw, beetroot, are you or dp prof musicians, or musical yourselves?

[Eulalia]

Well my dd age 2.9 is the opposite, only really talking properly now but just short sentences. However she has been climbing everywhere since she started walking and at about 16 months onwards will stand upright in the seat of the supermarket trolley. People are forever rushing to catch her but she has perfect balance. She loves those soft climbing areas and has been disappearing inside them since around 18 months, even the ones for age 3+. Went to the zoo last year and she kept on trying to climb into the enclosures! She's never been clumsy or had the usual toddler falls, only time she falls over if she just gets too overenthusiastic and runs too fast.

Having said her speech is poor she is recognising a lot of the letters of the alphabet. Not sure when kids are supposed to do this though. I've heard of some kids reading at age 3 but surely this is quite unusual.

[happymerryberries]

Dd was recognising letters, and pointing them out to me in shop signs etc before she was 2. Her language skills were always excellent. She started to talk at 11 months and by two was being taken for a child of three. She started to put together letters into words (unprompted by me or her nursery btw) at 3.5. Now at 8 she has a reading age of over 12 and a phenominal vocabulary.

That said, her spelling is awful, so is her handwriting and she is good at maths but not exceptional.

Every child learns on a different curve, and she has not continied at the exceptional rate that she did as a younger child.

[ThomCat]

oh yes I do. She's gifted in cracking me up with laughter at once a day. And she's also gifted in charming the pants of people. She's just one big, wonderful gift to me.

[doobydoo]

Tricky with the word 'gifted'.My son could write at the age of 2 and ahalf and has always pushed for info etc.He could tell the time at 3 most disconcerting!He sometimes drives me mad with questions etc.He is very interested in the Universe and square roots at the moment.He is 5anda half.He also enjoys footie,surfing and skateboarding.He appears to be a 'good all rounder'.His music teacher said she is impressed with his musical ability.Anyway,i do not mean to sound boastful btw.I am amazed at this as i always scraped by at school.I think he takes after his dad.Problem is he can lose concentration if he is bored and does not have to try.I have not had him assessed or anything as i am not sure what the benefits would be.
I do remember at his 3 year check the health visitor asked him to draw her a face and he said he would draw a clock instead which he did.

[coppertop]

I think all children are 'gifted' in some way tbh. Ds2 is 23mths and already showing signs of being a little artist. He's been drawing faces for about 3 months now (with eyes, nose, mouth and hair). His painting is also very good. Physically he is also advanced for his age and could do well in gymnastics. OTOH his speech and language skills are way behind and he is being assessed to see if he is autistic like his older brother.

Ds1 could read and type at 2yrs old. He never read 'on demand' but would blurt out the words he found interesting. For the rest of the time he was almost completely silent and had no idea what the words meant. This hyperlexia was part of his autism. At 4.5yrs his hyperlexia has lessened and he now speaks well. Tbh I prefer it this way around. I would rather have a non-reading child who can talk than vice versa IYSWIM.

[happymerryberries]

Coppertp, agree with your first comment. We all have different strenths and weakness.

As a boring pedantic pont, schools consider a child who is very good all round to be gifted and a child who excelled at one area as talented. Abbreviated by schools to G & T. !0% of all children in a class should be considered as G & T according to governemnt guide lines.

As a teacher at the moment I am working with a lot of very able children. I am only working with two exceptional children, a boy with asd in y10 and another in y8. The Y10 boy is working at upper sixth level. The y8 boy discusses GCSE chenistry with great confidence and understanding. I teach all sorts of great kids, but these are the two who are outstanding.

[doggiewalker]

My ds2 is in yr 4 and is on an IEP for being "gifted". His strength is maths, although he does have a very good all round ability. He is working way beyond level 6 (Yr 7/8) in maths, and is also fairly musical, he will be taking his Music Theory Grade 3 in March, having scored 96% and 97% in his two previous theory papers! Very proud but don't tend to shout out his achievements in case am seen as showing off!

I don't think we would consider letting him take GCSE's early, I really don't see the point of that kind of thing. And all in all he is just a very normal little boy, who argues with his mummy and falls out with his brother, and plays on his PS2 a lot!

[bellababe]

I understand that there are some definition problems here and I really don't want to demean anyone's children by asking you to class them as "not gifted". Outstandingly talented, what you will, I just find it interesting when you see a child who has an "exceptional talent" and really stands out among their peers for whatever (good) reason and I wonder how it emerged. I must, I feel, add that noe of my three are anything above average - except the little one possibly who has the advanced language skills that some of you have already described but I'm not sure where that will take him.

[onlyjoking9329]

my three are gifted, DD1 can locate any item in an argos book within seconds, DD2 is word perfect in all disney films and DS1 his specialist topics include the work of Mr bean,reading and making people laugh, oh and they have autism which is a gift they share with everyone who meets them

[handlemecarefully]

Yes of course...aren't all children in one way or another? They are all certainly unique and special

[handlemecarefully]

Oh dear, sorry - I sound a bit motherhood and apple pie.

[happymerryberries]

For what it is worth exceptionaly gifted children (and I have taught a few) can have a very hard time in school and can have special educational needs. There can be a world of difference between a 'normal' (for want of a better word) bright child and a 'gifted' one.

[happymerryberries]

And I would agree that all of our children are special in one way or another. And all of them should get every cahnce thay can to develop and grow and learn. But those at either end of the attainment scale can need different help.

[jampots]

My dd is very bright but I wouldnt say gifted - she just absorbs information and things so easily and with enthusiasm. She had over 100 words when assessed at 18 months and could easily hold a conversation and speak clearly by this time. I think she just started early and certainly compared to the children she was at nursery with and primary school she was certainly very advanced. She is and always was physically and emotionally advanced too. Only ever had 1 tantrum presumably because she didnt get frustrated as she could verbalise things early on.

I agree true gifted children are very few and far between.

[handlemecarefully]

and I would have to say 'Oh balls'