To think that gifted pre schoolers need to learn through play

[ReallyTired]

A bright child who is nursery age needs formal education like a hole in the head. It is desperately important that they learn the social skills they need for life. A well run nursery is good place to foster a range of skills.

If a gifted child is bored with nursery/ reception its often a sign of autism and if anything they need more learning through play rather than less. Possibly an autistic child might need an adult to show them how to play and foster good social skills. There may be bright children who need intensive help with their social skills who aren't autistic.

A really bright child will learn faster through self directed play than sitting in a classroom doing formal actvites.

Our 'gifted' DS is HEd. His social skills are absolutely fine. He goes to quite a few different after school clubs and his teachers there often comment on how great he is with the other children. It's as if they almost expect him to be strange or different because he is HEd.

Nursery (and school) may be a great way to learn for some children but I don't think that one size fits all. I think people need to be more open minded and less judgemental about other people's decisions.

Yes RT, but being amazing with children with autism doesn't mean you've had the right training to build their social skills nor that you will have any license to in the classroom, or that you are even allowed to work exclusively with the child to which you were assigned.

And if the teacher believes the nonsense about the child learning in the classroom rather than learning the skill 1:1 and then being transferred into the classroom as the research supports then it just isn't going to happen.

My son has austism and all he played with was the dinosaurs, at the age of 5 he knows every single dinosaur and if they are plant eaters or meat eater. If I am doing a crossword I would asking him a question dinosaur related.

I truly don't believe there are 'gifted' 3 year olds out there and to be honest, nothing I've read has changed my mind.

Kids have things that they're good at...sometimes exceptionally good at.

But 'gifted'?

Unless they're playing the violin like Vannessa Mae, I think not

Where do you think gifted children come from then Worra?

Children learn through play well beyond their pre school years. My DS (7) still learns plenty of skills through play. In fact at this age he is playing far more complex games/ role play and recently he and his friends decided to be reporters, went around the street carrying out 'investigations' and then wrote a newspaper. The next day when it rained they produced this on a computer.

I would like to say they learnt new computer skills but they already seem to know more than me.

Do you have to be born 'gifted' then? You can't become gifted?

Where do you think gifted children come from then Worra?

It's not about 'where they come from'

It's having the common sense to realise that a 3yr old is simply learning its own path and what they're extremely good at now, they may be struggling with in a year.

Yes, some may. Others who are exceptional as 3 year olds (or even younger) will continue to be exceptional as they get older. Gifted children do exist at age 3. Their skills and understanding go well beyond what the vast majority of children of that age are capable of achieving. I think if you actually met some of these children you might change your mind.

starlight if a child is diagnosed as autistic, is there a program for that type of 1:1 time with a qualified professional developed with the school? Just asking out of interest as it sounds like there is a need for this.

What proportion of children are officially diagnosed autistic?

Bumble but you don't know what they'll continue to achieve in the future, or if their friends will catch them up or pass them by.

This is because they're only 3 years old.

Fair enough, a gifted adult or teen could be considered gifted at 3yrs old with hindsight, but to label a 3yr old gifted is a bit silly because you can't see into the future.

No, you don't know what they will achieve in the future but that doesn't mean that you should ignore their abilities/dismiss them/ assume that everyone will catch up etc. A child showing high ability at that age could very easily get bored and/or discouraged if they aren't stimulated enough.

Bugster, no, there is nothing linke that for the child. There is however advice for the school on how best to 'manage' that child in the classroom on as minimum resources as possible. This usually involves strategies to 'contain' the child, and to prevent the from disruptive behaviours. Very rarely is it about teaching the child.

If there is any education it is of the 'training' type, so training the child to keep his arms and legs inside a circular mat as a solution to his poking other children at carpet time is a more efficient classroom management solution to providing a 1:1 to sit with him amongst the children and teach him how to listen to the teacher and process the information in order to learn and not get bored enough to poke other children etc.

What proportion of children are officially diagnosed autistic?

UK prevalence is 1 in 100.

Bug, it is estimated that in the US 1 in 88 children are being dx with autism.

I know a boy who taught himself to read at 3. He is now an adult and certainly bright but not spectacularly brilliant. He hasn't achieved anything out of the ordinary. It would have been extremely silly to label him as gifted at 3. That would be like labeling a child who learned to walk at 9 months as 'ambulatorily gifted.' Kids learn to walk. They learn to read. Some learn earlier, some learn later. Early reading isn't in and of itself a sign that the child has some sort of special talent, any more than early walking is a sign of future Olympic glory.

I am hugely skeptical of the 'gifted' label, especially when parents are the ones trumpeting their children's supposed gifts.

Ok kitchen but early reading doesn't necessarily = gifted. There can be many other things alongside that early reading that make the label more appropriate.

This G&T label should be scrapped IMO, If a child has superior abilities at some things we should nurture those abilities rather than slap a label on it especially at such a young age, Such pressure.

Imagine a child bring made to believe they are gifted from age 3, Then at age 7 finding themselves struggling and falling behind.

TBH unless a child is reading and understanding physics as a toddler or the like I think parents should really calm down.

If all you do is slap a label on then it's a bit pointless. If you nurture them a bit and give them the opportunity to stretch themselves then that's different. FWIW I think the gifted and talented label in schools is daft and takes away fom truly gifted children.

Nurturing them yes, Parading them on the other hand doesn't do the child any favors.

Don't get me wrong I have seen the G&T section of MN and there is very little parading but it does happen.

So if the support for autistic children is lacking, could it be that having your child officially labelled as 'gifted' helps them get more of the individual attention they need?

starlight that situation in schools sounds totally inadequate, really don't have any experience of this whole issue but I thought that children with special needs got extra support in school. Autism comes under special needs doesn't it?

Autism does indeed BUT it's actually really hard to access the statements that force a school to give extra help- some boroughs give hardly any now and Starllight lives in one of those.

Getting a statement for autism is far from a given; they tried to refuse my son when he was non verbal, withdrawn, incontinent and sat with his back to the class all day. I managed to get him (and his AS sibling) some help but many never get that support.

Just as an example- in my County there are a whole TWO SN places in comp per year for children with HFA / AS (so autism with average to high ability). My son has one, but I often hear of kids in other city schools having an awful time.

I think half of what you say is just sweeping generalisations: "If a gifted child is bored with nursery/ reception it is often a sign of autism" (rubbish, surely) and "A really bright child will learn faster through self-directed play than sitting in a classroom doing formal activities." (they'll learn different things in different ways but not necessarily faster, depending if they are ready or not for formal teaching).

However, I am not going to say you are unreasonable for having an opinion but I think leave people to decide what's best for their own children, frankly.

Well I have 4 dcs 2 grown up and have childminder for years do have known literally hundreds of young children and never ever have I met a ' gifted' child.

Lots of deluded and sad parents though.