Signs in 18 month old

[londonloves]

Not going to post what he can do and ask if that means he's gifted, as those threads seem to get nasty.
If your older child is now classed as gifted and talented, were there early indications and what were they?

Older child was classed as gifted in junior school.

Then was ill during secondary and ended up with modest results in GCSE and A-levels- the only subject she did really well in was her BTEC Acting, which wasn't something anybody had ever thought she would excel in at all. She is now at drama school. Speaking as an academic myself, I would say she could probably have done well at university but think drama school is a better fit.

She did seem very bright and precocious in her speech from an early age: complex sentences, very thoughtful commenting on stories she heard etc, vivid imagination, good at arguing (oooh yesss!).

Not especially early in learning to read and write, but once she got started read very widely and quite difficult stuff. Never particularly interested in maths but did what was required. If she hadn't been ill, a string of A's would have been a reasonable expectation.

She was not early at anything physical but then she is disabled, so that was not to be expected. Very social though, interested in other people.

I agree with the good at arguing!

First real sign was learning the violin (basics) in a month at 3 despite still having very little language, also discovered she could read, again she had very little language so was a surprise. She has asd. G&t through to secondary but struggling with crippling anxiety so grades dropped off a bit at 16, and a levels only completed a few whole days of school

I think most that stood ds out was alertness and determination at early age.

Both DC were on the Gifted and Talented register at school back in the day which meant that they were offered enrichment opportunities after school. They're both clever but not sure if either are actually gifted or talented.

Early signs? They could work things out for themselves eg the post box toy when little, colour and shape sorting, quick with numbers playing a shopping game. Relatively long attention span even when young. When they went to school they 'got' things quickly and they were then asked to help others. So quick and clever yes, not sure if any of that is gifted or talented.

Eldest dc was on the GT register from nursery. He's doing well now (GCSE) and expected to get high results but not GT, I would say. He was always looking for ways to solve things - turning technology on, fixing things, good problem solving skills. He was social and 'into everything'.

Thanks everyone.
My mum keeps saying she's sure he is gifted. He has amazing vocabulary, 250+ words, speaks in 3-4 word sentences, remembers loads of songs and has started singing with recognisable tone and rhythm, amazing memory too. Counts in context to 14 without prompts. Loves music. Very social and yes, into everything, wants to work out how things work. Stubborn as hell when he wants something!
I have no idea about G&T criteria and I don't want to make a big deal of it at this stage really but it's really interesting to read about your kids, thanks.

Being able to make links to other knowledge and think in the abstract was an early sign. So could talk about cousins even though they weren't there, understand past / future. Prolonged concentration on activities.

My nephew was like your 18mo at the same age OP. He's a very burger, sociable and engaging nearly 14yo now. I would say he's near the top of his peers both in terms of emotional intelligence and standard intelligence but not massively G&T. However, being so emotionally intelligent makes him who he is which IMO is better than being amazing at playing the piano or some such.

Basically, I think a lot of the things that work with gifted children also work with ordinary children.

Be interested in life when you're around them! Show them that you're interested in life, that looking at things and talking about things and learning gives you joy. It's not about worksheets: it's about having a mind open to all there is to see and talk about.

In fact, precisely what it sounds like you are already doing if your ds is that keen on music and already knows so much. He is getting the stimulation he needs.

I have a large extended family which contains some very gifted people and some probably less so. They have all benefitted from being in an atmosphere where people take pleasure in skills and learning and the wonders of the world. Some have used it for high-ranking academic or technological purposes, some for manual skills or performing arts. Doesn't matter: the joy and pride in achievement is the same.

And encouraging his social skills is brilliant. Difficult to think of any career that will not be made easier by that, not to mention the pleasure it gives.

@corythatwas thank you for a lovely post 🥰

Started to read age three. Could read fluently by the time he'd started school. Could solve complicated jigsaw puzzles at a very early age. Manually dextrous at 18mths - could hang fiddly Xmas decorations on a tree with his pudgy fingers. Could do complicated sums much earlier than his peers.

Now age 13:

Midyis score of 150 for maths where G & T is anywhere over 130. Overall score of 138 and top in his year.
UKMT Junior Maths Olympiad
Grade 7 in two instruments at age 13.
Top in his year in all but two subjects at his school.
Taught himself Python (computer language) and won an international coding competition against entrants from 55 nations.

To answer your question, no there were no signs. Ds didnt speak until he was 2.5 and was a ‘late bloomer’! Started to show more of a talent for maths as his language developed, and teachers started to talk about g&t when he was in year 3. He is now 12 and g&t in maths but good in every subject, top SATs scores and CATS scores. Teachers talking about early maths / computing/science GCSEs. Children are all so different and there is not one single pattern to show that a child will be of higher ability.

DD at 18 months was talking in proper conversations. And had a huge vocabulary. When she had her 2 year check the health visitor was astounded at her language. DS1 didn’t utter a single word until he was nearly 2.5 (when he did we realised he could read fluently)
DS1 is now 12 and is working at a level not expected until year 9/10. DD is 10 and although very good at literacy is nowhere near the level DS1 was at that age so early speech isn’t an indicator of future literacy.
Likewise all 3 of my children were walking on their own at 9/10 months - none of them are sporty/great runners although DD does do gymnastics.

The best thing you can do at this age is just engage them, allow them to guide you and follow thier interests. If they are G&T that will be apparent when they are at school.

DS1 did show signs such as able to do complicated puzzles at age 2, could basically read anything and everything before he started school, amazing memory and a Thirst for knowledge, etc
DD is bright but not G&T, she is however amazingly creative and great at out the box thinking and problem solving, she can turn any piece of rubbish into some wonderful creation, I remember that she was really really good at colouring and drawing at a very early age.
DS2 is not academic, he’s quite bright but he prefers making and building things.
All kids are amazing and it’s crazy thier ability to learn and develope. One thing I have learnt is that they all develope at different rates and early ability isn’t always indicative of advanced ability as often when they reach 6 or 7 everyone else has caught up with them.

Sounds similar to my DD at that age (12 word sentence at 19 mo this recounting an accident she witnessed) had started speaking at 9 months. Had great verbal reasoning by then too often mistaken for being much older than she was.

Academically very able but not straight A grade, plans to do a masters. So although always G&T certainly not a genius.

My 3.5 year old had similar speech and language at 18 months. He's in a school nursery class and teacher says his a high attained in the class and on a level with the oldest who are nearly a year older. Hes just beginning to blend and read simple words. He wasn't counting at 18 months (just before 2 he could count to 10) but teacher says mathematical understanding is a real strength. Little sis aged 20 months has been counting to 10 from 16 months but language is nowhere near advanced as bid brother at same age. Fascinating watching them both develop and wondering where they will go to next.

Sorry about typos.

Not going to post what he can do and ask if that means he's gifted.

... that didn’t last long 🤣

One the other posters has it - all babies hugely benefit from being interacted with, having their interests followed and engaged with, being given all kinds of stimulation, and all babies develop at different rates, so regardless of whether your child is gifted, it sounds like you’re doing a great job of meeting his needs so just need to keep that up.

Early language skills can indicate giftedness, but not all gifted children have this, so it’s not really a useful indicator.

Haha I was waiting to see how the post turned out before I said anything, but as you've all been so lovely it felt ok! I don't want to be "that" parent so never talk to anyone about it IRL!
I just want him to be happy and loved and enjoy growing up, but it's so fun watching all the amazing stuff he is learning.

My Ds was reading, spelling and Decoding at age 13+ level when he was 6. He tested in the top 0.1% IQ range at 7 and was diagnosed with ASD at the age of 9.

He's 22 now and at Uni studying computer games design but academically it's been a struggle since he was 16. He finds it difficult to focus on anything other than his narrow range of interests and he has no time management skills at all. He underperformed at school and took the college route with lots of support from his lecturers. Every semester is still stressful for us to make sure the work is being done.

Intelligence isn't everything.

You should be able to post here without any fear of being called delusional or getting sarcastic comments.
If they do, just ignore it. Most people here are very helpful and understand difficulty having very able children.

DC went from a first sentence to being someone you could just have a conversation with very quickly. She just seemed to understand everything - my nan, who didn't have much time for such beliefs, was convinced she was living a second-life as the only explanation for her knowing so much. She loved jigsaws, and particularly doing them upside down so you can't see the picture. She knew the alphabet before she was 2, and taught herself to read when she was 3 and it's accelerated since then.

Thanks irvineoneohone I appreciate it, it's hard not to feel like a twat going on about how amazing he is and good to have a safe space to talk about it.
The counting is a bit of a shock, I thought it was just recall but he's doing it unprompted and in the context of counting things e.g. stairs. I'm just carrying on reading, singing, chatting loads and I will let my mother carry on her fantasies of his glittering academic future

My ds1 walked at 9 months, talked early etc, read fluently at 3 and passed Y6 SATS in Y1. Diagnosed with ASD at 6. Has had a seriously rough ride through school.

I know it's hackneyed to say this but concentrate on emotional wellbeing, resilience and breadth of interests. This will be invaluable whether the child is gifted or not.