Anyone had a smart toddler that became below average?

[Smartcook]

Just wondering how usual this is? I had a really smart baby/toddler. I remember pre school, the childminder and everyone we met saying she was essentially a genius.
She did really well at school initially, and then somewhere around year 2 slowly dropped off to average, and then by year 4 was below average. (Or expectations I believe they call it!)
I’m not overly happy with the school, but this hasn’t happened to other children so I can’t blame them.
Just wondered how usual this is? They’ve said she’s unlikely to catch up fully now as she doesn’t grasp new concepts quickly, which is so surprising given how quickly she grasped things when young.
Just wondered if anyone else experienced this?

Maybe she intelligent with a learning difference that wasn’t an issue until education became more writing based.

Have you explored specific learning difficulties eg dyslexia? What you describe is a very typical profile for a child with SpLD.

Could she be neurodivergent? Common for girls with autism and ADHD to show giftedness early and then start to struggle as they get older.

What you’re describing sounds like slow processing speed or something (which isn’t linked to IQ). Worth exploring

I think ‘milestones’ as a baby and toddler are completely different to strengths in problem solving, abstract thought, logic and so on that you develop as an older child and young adult. My daughter was slightly slower as a baby and is now I would say very average (and wonderful of course!). My son has been a lot faster in his milestones so far but he’s only 10 months so we will see.

Seriously?

Worth double checking vision and hearing too

I remember back to the toddler / preschool days when people used to say how smart their child was… for doing very age appropriate, and often physical, things. Because they had no marker, only their own child/ren.

but also the ones who do struggle, as they go through school, the gap gets wider and wider.

They’ve said she’s unlikely to catch up fully now as she doesn’t grasp new concepts quickly
Id suggest speaking to the senco and finding out what they suggest. Take her assessments with you. Them saying that is like they aren't going to try.

Thanks for all the advice.

We looked into the possibility of learning difficulties but her spelling and mental maths has remained good so school said no. Also queried neurodivergence (for other reasons) a few years ago and again they said definitely not.

It’s so strange, she was reading chapter books in reception, speaking years above her age, could do mental maths prior to starting school. It’s not a case of walking early or that sort of thing.

Its almost like she never learned anything beyond year 1.

Children's development doesn't follow a straight line. They improve/plateau at different things at different times.

Has she had a hearing/eyesight test

There is a tendency for children to level out in the early primary years. This is why I always say to parents of pre-schoolers who think they have a genius on their hands to not be surprised if the others catch up pretty soon. Children go at their own pace - and speed up and slow down randomly.

But it is worth checking hearing and eyesight just in case. My poor eyesight was not picked up till I was nearly 5 and glasses made it possible to see the board!

If you can afford it an assessment/IQ test could be very revealing. We had a DC who knew whole alphabet and numbers to 100 well before 2, reading at 3, all self taught. Reading years ahead but so behind at school in primary. IQ test showed IQ at 99th centile in all except processing/digit span which was at 25th centile and that disparity was causing huge frustration. Understanding that plus ADHD medication has resulted in good secondary exam results (although they didnt portray as what I or school considered ADHD as had hyper focus for reading but medication was transformative)

I would agree with seeking an ed psych assessment if you can afford it. Nobody as the school can say for sure that your child does not have a learning difficulty or is not neurodivergent.

Ed psych here.
Whilst performance certainly can drop off in young people who have excellent recall memorisation skills (early readers and spellers often have great recall, and may actually be able to read words without full understanding of what those words mean. This is more common in children later found to be neurodivergent). Such kids sometimes struggle with application of that knowledge in a school setting. They can appear more able verbally as well if someone of their speech is echoed speech from adults (this is called 'natural language acquisition').

However, I would be very concerned if comprehension of concepts and ideas has deteriorated or stalled.

My first thought would be to check she is ok medically - rule out something happening brain wise, such as nocturnal seizures, hearing impairment, etc. This would probably involve neurology and audiology referral.

Only once that has been cleared would I be looking at cognitive assessment to see if there is a specific issue that could be causing it.

I would ask your GP for a paediatrician appointment and they will arrange the relevant tests for you.

@Naptrappedmummy yes, seriously. Not sure what your meaning is?

Definitely get hearing and vision tests if you haven't recently. Sensory processing issues can also be something that can stop a child from learning to their full potential, either because their auditory processing causes issues or because they find the school environment quite overwhelming and are using all their energy to cope with it.