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You are here: Experts > Education > Gifted Children > Gifted Children > Is my 19 month old gifted?What do I do next?
Gifted Children - Is my 19 month old gifted?What do I do next?
Expert: Ettina - 11/3/2009
Question
Our 19.5 month old son never ceases to surprise us with how fast he learns things.He is very very curious and hungry to learn and constantly observing and learning from what we say to him.
* He uttered his first word at 8M and had a vocabulary of 40 words by his first birthday besides knowing the sign language as well.
*At 10M,he knew the names of every toy he had (>25)and would touch the right one when asked.
* He knew his alphabets and numbers 1-10 by 15M and would be reading them out aloud when he saw them on car name plates, t-shirts or in the supermarket aisles.Now, he knows phonics as well.
* At 16M, he knew over 400 words,can say numbers until 20 and knows the names of 30 birds & animals, 10 insects,20 fruits& veggies,all his body parts,
can differentiate between vehicles ( car, truck,firetruck,ambulance,tractor etc),>15 cartoon characters, can fill in the blanks when i sing nursery rhymes ( knows nearly 15 of them and would even request me to sing a particular one by saying the right words and could execute 2 step instructions.Also, spoke in 2 word sentences.
* He was always crazy about books and makes me re-read them several times, while he pores over the pictures for hours.
Now, at 19 months :
* He sings complete English nursery rhymes!! Knows almost 7 byheart and can fill in the blanks for 20 more when I sing it to him.He even modulates his voice ( though not accurately :-) ) for high and low notes.
* Speaks regularly in 3-4 word sentences in a combination of 2 languages.
* Knows 10 shapes including parallelogram,pentagon, octagon etc and constantly spots shapes in billboards,food items etc
*Has a remarkable memory for events in his life few weeks ago, which he can answer with details of people etc
* Pretends to spell words and doodle on paper all the time
* Draws a circle, standing and sleeping line upon request
* Knows a word or two against each letter of the alphabet and answers correctly if the reverse is asked too..( ex: queen is for -Q )
* If I call out the spellings, he will pronounce the word of some simple English words (approx 10 )including his name.
* We can have a detailed conversation with him about an object/incident and keep varying the questions using how/what/why/which/how many etc and will always get an appropriate answer.
* Knows 8 colours by name and can recognize 3 correctly consistently.
And many more...
His pediatrician does not seem to show too much interest and tells us to just continue what we are doing with him
We can see that our son is way ahead
on the verbal ability front.But, is he gifted or just advanced for his age?
And if he is gifted ( it excites and worries me that he should not be considered different from his peers ), what should I do to nurture his talents?
I am a stay at home mom and my child does not go to a montessori school yet. I buy him books that he may like every now and then and when he is done with those books I get him more.I expose him to as many new experiences as possible,play in parks,have him play with peers( though he prefers company of adults ),buy him puzzles and expose him to educational videos too.
He is however shy outside of home, is scared of a lot of everyday objects that make loud noises and is very sensitive to anyone talking around him in loud tones etc. He is also slow on the motor skill front and started walking only at 13.5M, does not feed himself etc.But he is an active and happy baby and has a very good sense of humor too and we spend a lot of time with him.
I do not know if there is any systematic approach I need to take to teaching him and how I can channelize his interests.
Are there any special institutions/people/school that I need to go to as well that can help identify and work with smart/gifted children? Would you also recommend I enroll him in a pre-school early?
I really value your opinion.
Thanks for your time and answer, in advance.
Answer
Yes, your son is gifted. By the way, walking at 13 months and not feeding himself at 19 months is actually in the normal range, not slow.
There isn't really a specific approach for raising gifted kids, particularly gifted preschoolers. For the most part, they just need what most kids need. Basically the only differences is that in certain areas, a gifted child will need to be treater the way an older typical child is (for example, usually with toys rated for certain ages a gifted child will do best with toys for older kids). And gifted kids are usually highly curious and intellectually oriented, meaning they ask a lot of questions and get into things a lot, so being tolerant of exploration is important. But then, it is with most kids too.
Age at enrolling in preschool should be based more on social/emotional maturity than intellectual maturity. Some gifted kids are also more mature than their peers, but many gifted kids aren't. Basically, for preschool, you want the kid to be able to cope with large groups of other kids and with separation from parents for several hours. And preschool certainly isn't necessary for children, as long as they have some contact with other kids (eg siblings, playdates, public play areas, etc).
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