DS and his bizarre Rainman qualities!

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Just wanted to share some of the amazingly weird things ds1 has come out with lately.... He is 4.7 years old.

I said to him he had a party invite for next Friday and immediately he said 'on the 15th?' (which is the correct date). Without looking at a calendar he told me that the last day in June is a Saturday (he had been sitting thinking about it). I showed my dad a photo of him and ds2 playing in the garden a few weeks ago and he said 'that was the 26th of may' (which it was!!!!). He has always really been into numbers and letters but he is starting to freak me out! He is utterly convinced that his new baby brother will be born on the 21st June (my EDD is 30th June) so if he gets that right I will be seriously spooked.

Is anyone else's child like this or is DS turning into Rainman?!!!

Wow!! That is impressive.

My DS (4.4) is into his numbers but its more learning to read them. I have to tell him the number of every bus we see, although he will read the 2 numbers to me and try to put them together and every house number he sees, he will read out the individual numbers (if it is more than he already knows) and ask me what it is but nothing like this.

Ii'll watch out for it in the next few months though as he has a magnetic calender that we change each day and his interest in numbers is growing but the bloody day!

We have a magnetic calander too which is he is UTTERLY obsessed with. I think they are great for developing their interest in numbers, dates, days etc.

Wow that's kind of freaky lol my ds is 4.6 and is learning numbers but doesn't really understand dates etc he knows the days of the week but that's it at the moment! He's a very smart boy ..however I was freaked out last night when I was making tea and ds was demanding daddy was still at work when he was due home .. tried explaining that daddy was on his way but he was having none of it lol daddy arrived 6 hrs late as there had been a problem with fuse boxes lol freaky 6th sense?

the book "Born on a Blue day" explains life as a savant (Rainmanesque). The author explains how he can see, feel and hear numbers (and dates). It may be worth a read. Savants and ASD go hand in hand but the author is particularly high functioning (and sucessful).

he def doesn't have asd as he has no other features, he is a great communicator, loads of empathy, can see others points of view, very affectionate etc. he is just weirdly amazing with numbers & letters, could count to 200 aged 3, reading level is around age 6 ish (basically taught himself to read as sits in bed for literally hours reading books), can do simple sums etc. he is my little cool dude!

Just needed to add 'born on a blue day' is an AMAZING book well worth a read anyway

I did not mean to suggest he has asd. It is just a lot of what you describe is almost word for word at the beginning of that book. I only mentioned the ASD thing as the auther (Daniel Tamment?) explains that it is rare for a savant to be able to communicate clearly enough to describe how they think. He is the exception to the rule that savant and debilitating asd go hand in hand.

author

My DS does not have ASD but sees "patterns" in numbers which I don't really understand but it enables him to do maths really well and, like yours, has always been good academically.

Maybe he fancies the idea of a summer solstice sibling?

Seriously though, I think that this age is the time they start to develop serious passions and to pursue them wholeheartedly in the time before they start to divert a lot more energy into traditional school subjects. DS at this age used to draw intricate Heath Robinson style machinery- I still have them somewhere, they are a fascinating insight into the mind of the 4yo.

I know a boy (although not very well) who if you tell him a date (from any year in history), he can tell you which day of the week it was. I woukdnt have believed it if I hadnt tested him myself, but it was amazing. Still dont know how he did it - and his parents didnt know either, although they said he was ess willing to do it the older he got - presumably he had noticed people's reaction was out of the ordinary, but it was an amazing talent. Think kids who re good with numbers are great.

DS used to do that kind of thing with dates at around the same age - would remember people's birthdays, and tell them which day of the week their last birthday was, and what it would be on their next birthday etc. He was just fascinated by numbers.

Also used to do things like work out the bill at conveyor belt sushi restaurants (we were in Japan, and at our most regular place, a basic sushi plate was 126 yen, a fancier one 158 yen etc - he'd check the number of each kind of plate and work it all out in his head), or turn any period of time into seconds, so for example when he was five, and we were driving to school, he would look at the digital clock in the car and say, for example, "If we don't get to school in 1,020 seconds we will be late." - so he had read the time, worked out time until school started, and converted it into seconds.

He is now 13, still very good at maths (on G&T register, doing GCSE a year early) but definitely doesn't have AS.

my DS is 2 and a half, can read the numbers 1 - 10 for about 8months (recognises each no individually and out of sequence), he shouts the number of every bus that goes past. he can count confidentally up to 20 forwards and backwards (backwards has a "blast off!" at the end ) and on a vtech toy of his he correctly gets 1+2, 2+2, and some other simple addition. He can also read the entire alphabet, and is drawing the numbers 1-10 now and random letters (next to a doodle of a face he will suddenly draw a W and say "oh look! a w"), have been wondering if this is unusual at his age?!?! the other day there was the word "elements" on a slide and he pointed to each letter and spelt it out to me correctly. of course he didnt then say that spells ELEMENTS otherwise I would have been truly freaked out...! I haven't been teaching him any of this stuff as such, although we did/do flashcards of words which had 1-10 as the last 10 cards which he really enjoyed, I just think he has an excellent memory and learning things at the mo just is what floats his boat, lets hope he still likes it when he's older (or will it be a distant memory as I'm trying to drag a monosyllabic teenager to school eeeek)

confidently - duh spelling mistake

Brightonbleach your DS sounds like mine at that age plus I'm the same in that we haven't sat him down and 'taught' him so to speak, although we have done the usual count the steps etc when we are going up them etc. He has a natural love of letters and numbers and an amazing memory. At age 2.6 ish he could recognise and say every make of car and who in the family had what car, and he could also say when everyone's birthday was!

I think it's great to watch and although we aren't pushing him at all I think it's great to encourage whatever they are into. Ds2 is totally different, not into numbers at all but is very creative and loves drawing. He is a left hander too like his daddy so I think art and music might end up being his thing!

ilikeyoursleeves - keep your eyes and opinions open about asd.
Not all people with asd are unaffectionate, unable to see others opinions, etc - Huge variation in what people with autism/aspergers are like, that is why ts a spectrum!

What your ds can do with calendar dates is very unusual.

Thread watcher, I hope I didn't offend in any way! I understand there is a massive spectrum, I was just pointing to the main characteristics that are usually described.

Verity, DS has great uses, when we are at the shops and I am trying to work out how long the food item has until the best before date I can always rely on DS to tell me today's date lol :). He also reminds me whose birthday it is each month!

Sleeves - no offence taken!
I was more worried about offending you tbh.

It isnt at all usual to be able to do what your son can do with calendar dates - many adults are confused about what about what date next wednesday is etc. (I am!)

My son has a diagnoses of aspergers. Most people are if I quietly point out his need for additional help/tolerance - because he doesnt fit the mould most people seem to expect people with aspergers to have.

Not suggesting your ds has aspergers but dont be too quick to rule it out just yet!

I could do this as a child (not sure what age!); can't do it any more, mind you. Was an academically successful child and adult - not in the area of numbers, however. I don't have any kind of ASD as far as I am aware. Good memory (well, did until drink and children took their toll )

Yes - we noticed when DD was five that she was able to identify which days of the week dates fell on plus which days/dates we have done things on plus knowing when everybodys birthday is! It is seriously spooky - well it was at first but we have got used to it now.
DD also had an early interest in numbers and has a very good memory.

DD has an ASD diagnosis though ( I'm not implying at all that your DS has an ASD ) - in fact I have only read about it being associated with autism so it is interesting to hear about children without ASD being able to calendar calculate. I would love to know how they are able to do this - the brain is a fascinating thing!