Gifted children

[Lee-Bee]

I need help. My husband laughs because I have 3 degrees (ECE, child psyc and BEd) and I can't figure out my own 2yr old.

My husband was in the gift program growing up, he's an engineer and is quick to learn. My nearly 2.5yr old is very much following his footsteps. I obviously can't tell that she is gifted yet but she learns incredibly quickly (knew the alphabet upper and lowercase by age 2), knows her numerals 0-15 and can count well into the 20's with one-to-one correspondence and on and on. She fixates on a topic, soaks it all in, masters it then spits it out and is bored.

My problems are behavior. She is a great kid and ultimately she is disciplined. We can take her in public, can go for long meals in fancy restaurants etc. BUT she is, as they politely say, SPIRITED (aka a pain in the ass). She is at the extreme for energetic, determined, persistent, and on and on. Because she learns everything so quickly then gets bored I am constantly on my toes trying to keep up with her. It is ridiculous though I am a teacher and past daycare worker and I am running out of material and strategies to keep us going.

I remember reading on here that some caregivers have children of their own that were tested and gifted later in school and as toddlers thy were very 'difficult' and they were told this is expected with gifted children.

I am looking for resources, tips, anything. The older she gets (like by the day) the more determined and explosive emotionally she gets. I need resources to keep her tamed and help her grow to her potential without controlling the household.

Any suggestions??

[Discoveries]

A resource I liked:


http://www.talentigniter.com/ruf-estimates

[Lee-Bee]

Thanks so much! Oh the puzzles, too many puzzles. She wakes demanding them in the morning lol. When she was 18ish months we had to take all her peg puzzles, dump the pieces in a pile and line up all the puzzles on the floor. Now she does the 36 pieces puzzles on her own.

Did you use this online (paid) assessment? Was it of any use aside from telling you that your child was smart? At not quite 2.5yrs old I don't think we really need to know an estimate as to where her IQ level may be...we need strategies and resources to help her focus, control her energy and emotions etc. She wakes with master plans and cannot not cope if we have to tell her to get dressed and get in the car for church. Or if she starts a 36piece puzzle she cannot cope with having to stop before it is done to go pee etc. She is almost autistic...without having autism. I am using so many visuals and strategies from classrooms for behavior and special needs and autistic children. She refuses help for everything and can't handle us telling her what to so so everything is "what does your chart say is next (use toilet, brush teeth, pick pjs etc). This is helping right now. We need more help!

[Discoveries]

I would not worry about doing the online assessment. I did eventually do it when mine was in grade one and her teacher brought up doing special programming for her and bringing in a retired teacher to do enrichment with her. It is useful for seeing where they are at and for tracking milestones.

To be honest two was the most challenging year. While very bright they are ....well two Frustrations were high and I was still trying to figure her out and what would set her off. She was quirky and sensitive to sound and touch (tags, seams, certain materials.) I also wondered about her being on the spectrum as she was so bright, yet at the same time so far behind socially with her peers.

A camera may help for things like the puzzle and having to leave it to go pee. She could take a picture of it and take the puzzle with her to look at. It may help with leaving things behind that she is still interested in or trying to figure out yet.

It gets easier.

[Lee-Bee]

Quirky and sensitive :-) sighhhhh

I will definitely try to use the pictures on what she is having to stop, could very well help!!!

Question...the sensitivity to seams and tags etc. Was that always there (infant, when 1yr) or did it develop? She wasn't really bothered before but I am noticing she is needing different socks some days when she puts them on as she can't stand them and she is spazzing out with certain clothes like they are killing her. I was starting to wonder if it is a sensitivity to the clothes themselves versus a 2yr old being spazzy about having to wear something. My response would be different if she was legitimately feeling discomfort.