where to start... assessing my child's intelligence?

[Sakari]

I agree with the homeschooling idea. There are a million different ways to do it and it sounds like it could be the personalized learning environment you need!

DSS is smart, too. His teacher suggested having him skip a grade - but biomom said no. Shortly after that, they took some tests in school there was a k-2 one and a 3rd -5th grade one - DSS is in 2nd grade - but his teacher had him take the 3-5 test. He score higher than any of the 5th graders! so yeah, skipping one grade wouldn't have helped at all! I really think homeschooling is the way to go with kids like this. (fwiw, DSS is Constantly getting in trouble at school. Constantly. But you can't really blame him - he's so bored! and the teacher tries, but what more can she do? She has a whole classroom of kids to teach! oh, and DSS knows JUST how smart he is and likes to point it out. Probably should work on that learning-to-be-humble-and-gracious thing, huh? )

[TeganFlannery]

I was an extremely active, smart child who thrived in public school, so I'm going to a little PSA for the environment I had.

It depends on the school. When I was in Wisconsin, I was allowed to learn at my own pace even if that was leaps and bounds ahead of my peers. I remember reading "Black Beauty" to my class in 1st grade because my teacher always cried at the end. I always had lots of "special projects".

When we moved to Georgia in 3rd grade, all students were evaluated on learning styles and assigned teachers based on that. I was in the same class as 20 other kids for the rest of elementary school. Mostly boys And we were rambunctious, loud learners.

Elementary school is SO MUCH about emotional development, it's important not to undermine that. Although I was smart, I started a year later than most because of my size. Most of the kids in my classes in late elementary school were older, too. They went to a class called "Cluster" in between K and 1st to grow a little.

The best advice I think you can get is to be proactive, which you are by thinking ahead. And if it's not working, change it. Change teachers, change schools, homeschool, whatever makes your LO thrive and love learning.


ETA: Your idea for testing might be a doubled edged sword. We live in a world of helicopter parents who think their child is the only special one. You walk into the elementary school saying, "Look, my child is SO SMART" the teacher might just roll their eyes. On the other hand, if you have "proof" then perhaps...

I would focus on learning style, not smarts. There was this fascinating study done where children who were identified as "smart" came to fear failure so much they lied about test scores and would not try new things. Children praised for effort went above and beyond and were not afraid to fail or succeed.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...7/ai_60059979/

Have you read "Outliers"? It makes a case for creating opportunities for children to succeed in an interesting way.

[Beaners_Mom]

Sounds like my daughter.
She's been talking in sentences for as long as I can remember, she just turned 2. She can count up to 20. She can spell her name (well Gabby, not Gabrielle yet). She recognizes the numbers. We'll be in the store and she points at signs and hollars out the numbers. She knows her alphabet and recognizes most of the letters. She knows some simple words like "a", "the", "and", "cat", "dog", etc.

I mean I thought she was smart, but I never thought she was gifted...lol. She's my first child too and i'm afraid that if I say anything people will think i'm bragging because all moms think their kids are smart

[FallBabies]

I'd look into Montessori programming. You could get started young, and they are grouped into age groupings (3-6, for example), and given independent learning opportunities, so she may really enjoy this setting.

[julesbulia]

It is more common than most people realize. His particular genius is evident BECAUSE you never taught him anything, or labeled him. PLEASE do not start to! It will do nothing but harm him. And he should definitely NOT go to traditional school. "genius is as common as dirt" I once read, and it is schools that will squash that right out of our little ones. I am studying the Montessori method, and it is such a celebration of the human child that I highly recommend it!!! The sky is the limit, if you never limit him with labels or compulsory learning.

[Minniebees]

I probably won't have a popular opinion, but IMO IQ really doesn't matter.

For one, IQ tests have been designed only to tell when kids need assistance, not to separate the super smart from the mediocre smart. So, the results don't really mean anything except that your ds doesn't need special ed, because that's what it was designed for. It's like, you can't take a strep throat test and test for AIDS, KWIM? It's testing for something different.

My ds has had several IQ tests. He has autism and the state needs to know that he is of at least average intelligence. He has scored in the genius range every time. The last one he took, he scored so high they finished the book. They never finish the book. He scored higher than they could score. But, that doesn't mean that he does not have significant developmental delays that impair him in a school setting. He just knows all the answers on the IQ test.

His tests were done by a Pediatric Developmentalist and Child Psychologist between the ages of 2 and 4. Usually schools pull out the IQ tests for school age kids, so for a typically developing child of such a young age you are going to be hard pressed to have someone do one for you just because.

IMO, the school they go to has little effect on who they are as adults, or how successful they are. My dh went to mediocre public schools up until college, and is very successful. What really matters, IMO is that you teach them to be good people, to LOVE learning their whole life (and pursue it), and to be determined to reach their goals.

[bpure8]

Your DS sounds like my first. Reading by age 2 1/2, started speaking in sentences and enunciating around 16-18 months. Has trouble with social skills. He's now almost 15. Straight "A" student, top of all his classes (I actually feel like he's been held back).

Around the 4th grade I started to wonder and started looking into some things. My SIL pointed me to a website that described my child to the "T". We had to get an evaluation in order to get some neurological things looked into and he came back as being on the Autistic Spectrum. It's called Asperger's Syndrome. I really HATE labels and we look at it more as his way of learning and interacting with people. It's not a disability, It's a different way of thinking. His brain is wired differently. My Father acted the same as well as my older brother.

We live life normally.. but I must say, having a diagnosis has helped me learn more about how he learns so we don't clash as much!

[NorahsMom]

Originally Posted by rosefall I would also suggest reading the chapter in Nurture Shock about intelligence testing. It does a good job of talking about what types of tests are good when, and why. Also why testing young often isn't a good predictor of future performance.

This. I listened to a public radio interview with these authors and it made me laugh about the way we handle "giftedness" in our culture. I was tested at a young age, school wanted to me to skip 3rd grade but my mom wasn't comfortable with that. Am I a little smarter than the average person? Maybe. I learn things really easily and comprehend complex material with little to no effort. But seriously? I think parents are obsessed with giftedness. I'm pretty sure at least half of the kids out there have done the things people have listed on this thread as evidence of their child's "advanced" status.

As for op's specific question, I wouldn't worry about testing the poor child. Honestly, what can a test at the age of 2 REALLY tell us? That's like testing 12-month-olds on their walking ability and then using it to determine future athletic prowess. It's useless. I'm sure lots of super athletes walked later than 12 months. Kids develop at incredibly different paces and they develop different skills at different times.

As for schooling options, if you can, I would homeschool him. That way you can always have the material right on the level that is best for him. Plus, you don't have to deal with all the labels (even the positive ones) that schools thrust on us. I personally think that my gifted label has never been a service to me and may have been a disservice in many ways.

Sorry, I certainly don't mean to minimize what your son can do. He sounds like he's doing great.