Is my 3 year old gifted?

[user2021]

No one I can really ask IRL as I'm worried I'd come across a bit PFB.

My just turned 3 year old (3yrs 1 month), seems to be particularly gifted in mathematics and problem solving. She could count before she could speak. In fact her speech is behind her peers and we are working with a speech therapist to help her along, but her numerical skills are impressive.

She understands basic addition and subtraction, for example: 5+2 or 6-1
And her puzzle solving skills are next level - she'll sit and complete a puzzle designed for 4 and 5 year olds, on her own without any help from me.

She goes to preschool in the mornings and the staff there say she is doing puzzles far beyond her years and loves anything to do with numbers.

Does this sound "gifted" or in the realm of 'normal' for just-turned-3 year olds?

And can anyone point me towards maths apps for kids?!

That's really interesting @Angel2702 thank you for sharing. What other signs did you see in your DD that confirmed the diagnosis?

Our GP did say that girls present differently to boys but didn't have any concerns with DD, although of course still too early to tell and also cannot give a conclusive answer obviously as not assessed by a professional.

@user2021

It really depends on what you mean by gifted. Most definitions are top 2% of ability which I'd say your dd's spatial reasoning and math skills certainly are. However, 1 in 50 means a typical primary school would have at least one child with that ability per year which is why I think some posters are saying bright but not exceptional.

Despite what people post on mumsnet about a bright child doing well wherever, its actually well studied that gifted children (i.e top 2%) often under perform at school due to lack of challenge leading to demotivation over all as well as underdeveloped study habits.

Your DD is far too young to make any definitive conclusions about her ability yet I'd nurture her interest in maths and spatial reasoning and ensure that she has the opportunity to access work once she's in school commensurate with her ability.

Happy to talk more over PM if you'd like

I would second what angel has said. There are charities with websites that can tell you more about ASD in girls although I am also not suggesting this for your lovely DD.

My DD was fobbed off for years because she did not have classic traits but has delayed speech, is very literal and developed very quickly in some areas but not others. We're not going through a private assessment process after years of GPs and teachers saying there wasn't enough to warrant intervention, she's just her own unique self etc etc. Really it's just better to know and be able to adapt where necessary, if this is the case.

now

Don't worry kittykat, my 4 year old is still learning the alphabet and none of his teachers at nursery have batted an eye lid. I've worked in lots of reception classes and only once come across a child who was significantly beyond their peers. He was mostly able to do the same work as the year 1 class. Reading fluently at 2 or doing multiplication etc is very impressive of course and the parents of such children must be delighted, I'm not trying to diminish that at all, but its by no means normal or usual so don't feel bad. I've met many many children who start school unable to write their own name or who can't count beyond 10. The spectrum of normal is huge and its evens out really fast once they start school.

My DS is gifted and one of his interests was puzzles. He was doing ones for kids way above his age when young. He also has quite a photographic memory. But he also taught himself to read at a young age so his development was reasonably symmetrical.

When we had his IQ tested his numerical ability was around the top 4%. So quite high but nothing like his other abilities which were much higher. He’s now 13 and he’s good at maths but doesn’t really enjoy it and prefers subjects like history, English and geography. Any smart kid will work maths out in the early years, they don’t have to be specifically a mathematical genius.

The difference between her maths and language abilities is a little bit of a red flag and I would suggest keeping an eye on that. ASD is hard to diagnose in bright girls so you would need to see someone who was an expert to assess her, perhaps when she’s a bit older.

You'll probably find this advice sheet from Potential Plus UK useful.
potentialplusuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/PA104-Early-Years-and-High-Learning-Potential-170201a.pdf

You'll probably find this advice sheet from Potential Plus UK useful: potentialplusuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/PA104-Early-Years-and-High-Learning-Potential-170201a.pdf
There are some others here that relate to this age but there is a small cost to download them: potentialplusuk.org/index.php/parent-advice-sheets/supporting-children/

That's interesting thank you life over. I would say both my dc fall under those descriptions, one even more so but I have done nothing to push him, just keep chatting to him and allowing him space to follow interests etc. I wonder am I letting him down a bit..

I am wondering the same about my DD. She is almost 3 years old. She can do complex puzzles since she turned 2 (not sure about before as she got puzzles for her birthday and it started from there). She taught herself phonics at 22 months by watching letter factory video (her favourite at the time). We suspected that she could read since 10 months as I used flash cards with words and she recognised these. Now , she can colour by sight words worksheets. At 18 months she was given an epic tablet, she was able to work out it quickly and playing games by 2 years old. One of her favourite is solar system and she recognises all the planets and their places. She can count and understand numbers since before 2 year old. I have a conversation with her and she speaks two languages but mixes words. She can have 5-7 long sentences. She is extremely emotional to the point that she was crying on Stick Man as daddy stick could not find his way home. We could not calm her down for a very long time. We took her to cinema at 18 months and she watched the entire film and was able to recall the characters at home. When a child takes her a toy she will not cry but picks up another toy presents it to the child that took hers away and takes the one she wants back. Yesterday, I played with her odd one out and she was able to recognise that in the pattern MM2 MM2 MM4 MM2, 4 doesn't belong. I always wanted to ask if she is gifted, but reading responses I was put back. We continue to struggle with her sleep, which affects my mental health.

My youngest son (23) is high functioning ASD. His speech didn't properly develop until he was 5 y.o, he couldn't string a sentence together until he was 3-4, but he was a whizz at maths and his dotes of observation were out of charts. He was also unusual because he was very social, he always wanted to play with other kids specially during the first 6-7 years but the older he got the more he needed solitude and personal space.

He's still a whizz in maths today. He's on his final year of a BA in Biology and wants to do a masters in marine biology, and I must say his observation skills still amazes me after 23 years. I can't move a single item at home without him mentioning I've moved it. It's incredible.

Don't worry too much about labels. Whether she's gifted, simply has natural ability for maths or is high functioning ASD,doesn't really matter. You are doing things right by following up with her speech and make sure she develops the best of her abilities.

Sounds like someone close to me, very gifted . Extremely high IQ

Suspected Asperger syndrome

I would keep a eye out for ASD.

Use the Montessori app. It’s the best. My son has just turned 3 and by 2 years and 10 months he was able to count to 1000 (including recognising all the numbers, mixing them up eg 354, 543, 436) and can do some of his times tables, addition, subtraction. I hate maths myself so sometimes the app is a bit of a godsend when I’ve had enough of “doing the numbers” 😆👏🏻