Mix feelings about testing for G&T

[josie14]

Our little boy started school in September. He was 4 in April and has been reading for nearly a year. It sounds crazy, but he is really reading and now he is a very fluent reader recognising most common use words and not so commonly used. To give some idea, he knows words like - 'ultimate', scarcely, commenced, emergency. I gave him a reading age test 'the Burt Reading Test' and he has a reading age of 9 years on that test. We have four children and he is the youngest. We have not'hot housed' any of our children and he largely seems to have picked up how to read alone although I bought him a some ABC puzzles and books as a toddler. All great stuff and having such a bright child has a great novelty factor with the extended family. However, we have just had our first parents evening and I was very interested to meet Harry's new teacher to see what she made of it. He's got friends and is highly confident but a little explosive when irritated. The teacher showed us a list of words children going into Y1 should know and Harry was ticked as knowing all but one. That word was 'all'. I was surprised he didn't know this word so I showed it to him and he said 'all'. The teacher does not seem aware of how advanced his reading is and when we tried to talk to her about it she seemed a little annoyed and unwilling to explore it. She simply said he is ahead of the class but they will catch up quickly. We left it there as there seemed little point in going on.

The problem we have in having Harry tested, which seems to be borne out by some of the replies on this site, it that the label 'gifted' seems to cause hostility. It looks arrogant and the parents look pushy and snobby around other peoples kids. It is not a special need in the usual way. Other children who are labelled as special needs will probably have nothing like the life chances a gifted child might be able to take advantage of. But 'gifted' will make a child unpopular and set them apart.

Harry is only 4 and this ability he has may only be a flash in the pan, though I dont really believe that. We are wondering if there is any point to having him tested right now as he is so young. If school becomes a drag for him at a later time, we could look at it then. On the other hand would we be failing to open doors for him by not having him tested. But where would we go from there anyway if the test showed he was gifted.

You sound sensible to me - don't see the rush in getting him tested. Sounds like a bright lad, who has a natural talent for reading :)

This year is all about playing, making friends and getting used to school so at this stage I don't think a label would add anything.

How is Harry in other areas as well as reading?

What would you test him for? Lots of children including my own dd can do what your ds can do at this age? It's not unusual at all and the teacher will be used to differentiating above and below.

Harry's teacher told me they haven't really started numeracy at school with the children and I haven't done addition, subtraction etc with Harry. Some of his behaviour is a little obsessive. For instance he copies the football league tables from the paper sometimes spending a great deal of time doing so. He appears to be observant, which is probably part of how he learned to read so fast. The area that where he stands out is definately his reading.

I cannot accept how Harry reads is not unusual. I have four children and none of the others could read before school. Some knew their letter, how to sound them out and even have some word recognition. Harry can pick up any piece of writing - newspaper, magazine, and read it fluently and quickly.

My question to anyone who would know is this.
What the benefits of having the label 'gifted' are and should testing be left until something appears to be missing or wrong in the childs life. Right now, things are going will for Harry.

Having a child who is good at reading is easy - just give him loads of books at home, let him enjoy reading, and let the school do their own curriculum. He'll be fine, he may be gifted, or he may be an early developer who will plateau - time will tell. Don't worry about 'labelling him' - there is plenty of time to find out if he is a genius without having a label round his neck.

Do make sure he is reading age appropriate books - even if he can read complicated words, he is still emotionally a 4 year old and needs books suitable for that age.

I think as he is so young and things are going well I would just continue encouraging and keeping an eye on him. At least his teacher has recognised that he is ahead even though she did come out with the old chestnut about the others catching up

Of course its unusual for a 4 year old to be such a fluent reader which of course illustrates the the crux of your dilemma OP.

My friend's DD can read anything and she is only 3 and has been able to for a while. I think it is amazing. She says her DS now aged 11 was like that so doesn't think it is amazing but that he was unremarkable in other skills (although he is one of the brighter ones I am sure).

With her DD she doesn't make a big deal of her reading and gets her to do lots of activities that focus more on the skills that she isn't the best at, which I think is a good approach.

Thank you for all the replies. I was aware the children in England start their formal education earlier then the US and most other European countries which would suggest that the majority of the developed world dont feel the need to formally challenge the very young, gifted or not. Webwiz, I appreciate you emotional support and in my heart, I hadn't really planned on having DS tested so young but thought I would run it past some other mums, anonomously, to see what they thought. No parent want to feel they are failing their child through indifference.

DS is happy at school and I think his social skills are the most important at this stage. Formal academics should probably be kept on hold and we may come back to this in 3 or 4 years time if necessary. It gives us plenty of time to think about it!

I think you answered your own question - things are going well for Harry so why rock the boat? If he's happy and not complaining of boredom then just let him get on with it.

I was reading fluently before starting school in 1991 and I was the only one. I remember asking my dad how to spell 'metamorphosis' and memorising it so I could use it in a story at school in other words I was a precocious little madam! Stayed top of the class but not crazily gifted or anything.

To be reading words like 'ultimate' and 'commenced' at 4.5 is not at all usual - I'm a primary school teacher and I and my colleagues are certainly not 'used to differentiating above' this level in Reception. I am a bit at the poster suggesting this - but I'm afraid questions like the OP's always get a few responses like that on this board...

Josie, my DS was very like yours. His first two years at primary school were wasted (academically, not socially) because his teachers didn't know what to do with him and just left him to do his own thing.

Having him assessed by an Ed Psych at age 6 was the best thing we could have done for him. It showed that he had an exceptionally high IQ and a reading age of 13.6. It gave his teachers a clear picture of his strengths and weaknesses and gave practical advice on how to cater for him at school.

I'm about to go out and can't go into more detail now, but I just wanted to put a different opinion across. Most people won't agree with me, but I wanted you to hear our experience.

I am still here Redfred and want to hear about your DS

I am still here Redfred and would love to hear about your DS

I said teachers are used to differentiating above and below - I should have added the average on the end to make it clearer but I still stand by that teachers are able to differentiate for children who can read already on entering reception. DD certainly could have read those words and she's not a gifted child.

I know a child who was like Harry and he has been diagnosed with autism. His exceptional reading ablity was hyperlexia and it does not compensate for a very major disablity.

What is Harry's comprehension like? There is little point in being able to read words like 'ultimate' if you did not know what the word means. To read for understanding the child needs good language skills as well as the ablity to bark at print

He does ask what words mean. He certainly wasn't born knowing all this. He often acts out what a word means when it is explained. My sister has a child who is profoundly autistic so it is in the family. DS doesn't display any of his cousins symptoms. He is high energy and often very hard work. But I know the autistic spectrum is broad and vague. He does seem to properly tuned into other people though and I really dont think he has hyperlexia, (which I only looked up on google )

Just a word about your original post Josie14 being labeled 'gifted' doesn't mean a childhood of unpopularity. Although there may be some other parents who judge and decide your DS is just average but so what? DS who's now 13 can be a bit odd sometimes and would certainly be described as quirky in the way he approaches things (but that might be because he is a teenage boy!) but he is popular and well liked by his peers and his teachers. There have been slightly rocky years along the way (and an unbelievably hostile year one teacher) but he's happy with himself and his ability and that is the most important thing.

What always strikes me about these threads is how keen everyone is to say "your child is completely normal. Do nothing."

I wonder how one explains the many exceptionally clever and or talented people in the world then? Did it happen miraculously at 18?

Sorry Josie, I've been rushing around.

If you ask what you want to know I'll try to answer your questions.

Hullygully, I agree. I have a look at this board occasionally, and know that anybody asking questions similiar to the OP will get many of the same kind of response - justified in some cases but certainly not all.

Just to add, I am a regular on other boards but have namechanged for this because of the response I feared I might get from some when I wrote about my DS.

Thank you Redfred for getting back to me. I would like to know how old your son is now and how he is accommodated in the classroom now. Also, you put off having a specialist evaluate him. What made you decide to have the evaluation when he was six. A fear of mine is that he will be excluded. It may be an irrational fear but I have seen before that where a mum becomes unpopular with other mums, their children sometimes dont get invited to many parties.My last question is - do you feel the evaluation has made a big difference and is it received well by teachers.

OK.

DS started off in our local village primary school, which is typical of all the schools around us in having only 4 classes and two years groups to each class. When we decided to get the assessment done he was at the start of Year 2, but had already finished all the work for Year 2 and 3. No one wanted him moved to a Year 4/5 class, and the school didn't seem willing or able to provide teaching for him at his level in his Year 2/3 class. I was really worried that at age 6 he was learning that he didn't have to do any work at school and everything was always going to be easy for him. We have a history of bright but underachieving males in the family and I could see him going the same way.

We decided to look for another school, and because of the choice of schools in our area, ended up looking at independent schools. We aren't wealthy and can't afford private school fees, but we explained our situation and the reasons why we felt their particular school might be right for DS, and asked whether there were bursaries available. We were able to show the schools DS's Ed Psych report to back up what we were saying about his ability.

He has ended up on a very substantial bursary in a large independent school. It has suited him really well because each subject is taught by a specialist, so the teachers have been able and willing to teach him at his level. It has also been great at keeping him properly busy - he picks things up very quickly and always has lots of interests on the go, so the music and sport at a large school has been brilliant for him.

We have never talked with other parents about DS's ability or the fact that he has been assessed etc unless it comes up, so only a very few people know. I think he is known at school for being very clever, but the school's ethos is supportive of that so he is not singled out negatively. Unless you force your child's ability down people's throats, I can't see why he might be excluded.

Similiarly with his teachers (and being a teacher myself) we have always been very careful in how we use the findings of the assessment. I have checked at times that his current teachers are aware of it, when we have felt that he has been coasting or switching off, but most of the time it hasn't been necessary.

Our main concerns were that he was happy and stimulated at school, and that school was a place that stretched and challenged him, and taught him how to learn. I know of several adults who were clearly gifted as children but couldn't cope when they got to university and found that they had to actually work hard, for the first time in their lives.

Each child and situation is different. I'm by no means saying that only private schools can cater for a child like my DS - I teach in a state school and know that in many cases, very able children do really well in the state system. But in our situation, I'm glad that DS has ended up where he is, and believe that having the Ed Psych assessment was a vital part of that.

Sorry - this has become very long and I've got to stop now. Sorry if it's a bit rushed. But do ask if you want to know more.

I had a recent parent's meetings with my DS's son, also aged 4 and also one of 4 children.

The teacher showed us the EYFS targets for Reception, which is very good as it shows progress in all areas: creative, physical, reading and writing. Worth downloading as it is available online.

This showed my son had made exceptionally good progress in some areas I had no idea he was so talented at and really gave me ideas as things he actually likes doing beyond reading and writing.

I would try and look at that too - and that's not to say that it is not important he gets encouraged with his reading.

Like others' said, the teacher should have a good view and should be encouraging love of books - they must have a library at school?

I would personally hold off with testing until Y2ish but that's just based on my own children and what I can see of them.

Good luck with your very bright Harry! :o)

Josie, I didn't really answer your question about the timing of an assessment.

It wasn't a deliberate decision to wait until age 6. I think we just didn't feel it was necessary when he started school, and always hoped that we would be able to work with his teachers rather than taking things into our own hands. But by Year 2 it was clear that we needed to do do something - to reassure ourselves that we weren't completely deluded, and to have something professional on paper to explain to his teachers what his needs were.

At the time we got lots of helpful advice from the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). They used to have a free helpline that you could book appointments on. They would be able to advise you on testing, timing, and also possibly help you find an Ed Psych if you decide to pursue that.

Thank you for your advice. It is good to hear about the experience of other families. I like DS's teacher even though I sense she may put priority on things less academic for her year group. I respect and understand that and will see if DS needs more challenges in the future, as your DS did, Redfred, or if his ability does plateau. He loves school and I would like to work within the framework he is in now, if it is possible. You have been very kind sharing your experiences with me.