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Fri 29 Mar, 2013 10:48 pm
My son is currently 11 years old and I've just recently been doing research about giftedness and was wondering if my child is "gifted" and what I should do.
I'm probably going to jump around a little bit here trying to remember certain events that make me wonder about my son's abilities as I can't remember everything. When my son was about 2 or 3 he asked how Santa could get in the house if the doors were locked since we had no chimney and I told him it was magic, but he didn't like that explanation very well and thought that I just let him in. He also placed the shapes in their proper holes when he was 11 months without instruction. I'm not sure if this is a sign of advanced reasoning ability for that age or not. He also played monopoly (the regular version not the kiddy version) with his dad when he was 4 and was good at the game. When he was 4 he (without anyone telling him to) helped this baby out of a ball pit because there were kids jumping around the baby. He also used words like "actually" correctly and "oscillating" to describe fans when he was 2, but that could just be because I use words like that around him. One time when we took him on a plane when he was about 3 he was asking non-stop questions about the plane and how it worked and he's always been interested in how things work.
I also taught him to read when he was about 2 and he did a good job sounding out the words although he struggled at first, but he read/reads with a fluency greater than most kids his age and prefers reading above his grade level, however, he exclusively likes to read books on science, specifically books about astronomy or other sciences and does not like fiction at all. He seems to enjoy watching documentaries more than reading, but he reads once in a while.
He really hated daycare and wouldn't get along with the other kids there. He's really only had a few friends in school too. He goes to a small private school and has about 3 or 4 friends, but not much of a social life outside of school. He enjoys talking to adults more than people his age though for some reason. He does his school work since I make sure he does, but he seems to prefer learning higher level material and gets bored in class, especially with reading, grammar, and spelling. He enjoys science and math to an extent, but he has shown an interest in skipping a grade or two, however, I don't know if the school will let him and he's unsure about that because he doesn't want to leave his friends.
@Joe456,
What do his teachers say?
@Joe456,
He seems bright, for sure. but I'm not sure if he's "gifted". Usually that describes an extraordinary natural ability, aptitude or talent in one or more areas.
Parents get excited about kids who learn to read very early. In fact, all children will read when they are ready. I understand that in Sweden, the first years in school are spent on socialization skills and ALL kids learn to read within two weeks when that is introduced in the third year.
I say this because I am concerned about his social skills. He needs to learn to work with others and have the social skills needed to be perceived as a leader and creative thinker.
At 11, he is entering into those "angst" years and he needs nurturing, strong firm guidance, love and encouragement from adult males.
Your son is smart. I don't know about gifted. Depends on how you define it.
I think it would be very helpful to him if you could find a school where all the classes are advanced. Having him in classes with kids who aren't as smart as he is can be very tedious for him.
I was in advanced classes starting in the first grade. I was always challenged and interested. I was in a class in the fourth grade that was supposed to skip to the sixth grade. It was also assumed that I would skip the eighth grade (which I did). School adminstrators decided midyear that some students would be too young to skip two years. So kids with birthdays after a certain month were transferred out of the special fourth grade class. I was born in November, so I was transferred.
For the first time in my life I was in classes with average kids. I was bored beyond reason. I wanted to quit school. I hated it. BORED.
The teacher eventually found a solution. She had me sit in the back of the room and tutor kids that were having problems. I liked that.
I skipped the eighth grade. I was sixteen when I entered college. In retrospect, I think I was too young. I was intellectually fine. But socially I felt uncomfortable. If your son is already having social issues, you might not want to add an additional burden.
BTW, I too asked my parents how Santa Claus could get in. No chimney. They came up with an answer I bought. The window. I wouldn't have believed magic for a second.
Good luck with your son. Hope I helped.
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