How did you know your almost four-year-old was very bright?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:138 isn’t that high, OP. I would definitely go for it and have him tested and apply. He sounds bright.

It is the 99.5 percentile.

Yes but not genius. The majority of people only have a 100 IQ.

The majority of people do not have an IQ of 100. The mean is 100 and 68% of scores fall within 1 standard deviation (which in this case is 85-115).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A fascination and obsession with reading.

Learning to read or being read to?

OP here and DS will stop everything if you’re going to read to him. He likes books slated for six and above like the science I Am series (I Am Neil Armstrong). He asks questions about everything. But the ability to read by himself isn’t there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A fascination and obsession with reading.

+1 I never got DC tested for "giftedness", but DC is now in a very competitive magnet program. Every test score has been very high, ie, 99%ile.

DC loved to read. Started reading at 2.5; chapter books by 4. Extended vocabulary, and multiple complex sentences by 2.5. Even the pediatrician was impressed.

Also loved puzzles, and could do puzzles meant for 8 yr old by the age of 2 in a couple of minutes.

All of DC's preK teachers (and some adults) told us that DC was very, very advanced.

BTW, we moved to a different district (out of CA) because none of the public schools had gifted programs, other than pull out a few times a year type programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A fascination and obsession with reading.

Learning to read or being read to?

OP here and DS will stop everything if you’re going to read to him. He likes books slated for six and above like the science I Am series (I Am Neil Armstrong). He asks questions about everything. But the ability to read by himself isn’t there.

DP.. IMO, your kid is probably advanced, above average IQ, but not 138. You can try to get a test from amazon or something to gauge his IQ before deciding if it's worth $500 assessment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A fascination and obsession with reading.

Learning to read or being read to?

OP here and DS will stop everything if you’re going to read to him. He likes books slated for six and above like the science I Am series (I Am Neil Armstrong). He asks questions about everything. But the ability to read by himself isn’t there.

DP.. IMO, your kid is probably advanced, above average IQ, but not 138. You can try to get a test from amazon or something to gauge his IQ before deciding if it's worth $500 assessment.

I wouldn’t try to IQ test your own child. WY, way too subjective and your kid won’t engage in the way he would in a new setting with a stranger.

[Anonymous]

The school says _minimum_ IQ of 136. That’s pretty smart. Smarter than 993/1000 kids. Your kid has to be either very verbal and/or amazing at puzzles/legos to test that high.

Or, maybe you and your spouse always tested at 99+% growing up. If that’s the case, then your kid has a better chance of testing high as well.

[Anonymous]

Your son sounds very bright to me. If his vocabulary and problem solving are where you say they are, I think it’s worth the test.

My brother is a genius (160, I think) and was not an early reader or doing math equations at four. He just loved learning anything and everything about plants, butterflies, trucks, rockets, anatomy, etc. Everything was always of interest to him. Going to a museum with him was torture!

[Anonymous]

I’d get his tested. My IQ was tested three time over the course of my life and I always scored exactly the same (142) and your kid sounds much smarter and engaged than I was as a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d get his tested. My IQ was tested three time over the course of my life and I always scored exactly the same (142) and your kid sounds much smarter and engaged than I was as a kid.

That is really strange. Were these real tests given appropriately? The scores almost always vary a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d get his tested. My IQ was tested three time over the course of my life and I always scored exactly the same (142) and your kid sounds much smarter and engaged than I was as a kid.

That is really strange. Were these real tests given appropriately? The scores almost always vary a bit.

I know! It’s weird. 142 all three times. I was tested in grade school, then in college, and the last time as an adult by a friend for her dissertation.

[Anonymous]

Your child definitely sounds bright, OP. I think it’s worth getting him tested next year. See how this school year plays out.

Good luck! I think I know the school you’re thinking of in Los Angeles (Mirman) and it’s a wonderful, supportive school with very bright and creative kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s a wonderful gifted school that’s near our home in Los Angeles. For acceptance my kids would need to be IQ tested (138 minimum) next year for kindergarten. How do I know if it’s even worth thinking about?

DS isn’t reading yet but knows alphabet and phonetics; his verbal abilities (vocabulary) are impressive; he can retell a story with a beginning, middle, and end; he is very strong when it comes to finding solutions and loves being read to.

He’s average and not really interested in puzzles. No second language. Seems normal in most physical areas.

I honestly don’t know if this school is even worth pursuing. His preschool teachers say he’s very bright but I assume they say that to all the parents.

Just a word of caution..don't emphaszie how bright he is. praise for effort. I've seen many a bright kid give up or not try something because they think if they don't get something right away than they are stupid. Research how other countries ( particularly Asian) praise for how much they study rather than innate gifts. They did this study on npr and how a parent reacted to a kid who did well on a test. American parents would say "you did well because you are smart" And Asian parents would say "you did well because you were prepared and studied" The second way is a better outcome in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

As someone who was identified as gifted as a kid, it's kind of a mixed bag. You can be very very smart but if you don't learn to work it eventually catches up with you. It's very common for gifted kids fo flame out at some point.

The other harsh reality you learn is that no one actually cares how smart you are, it's about your ability to apply it in ways that other people find valuable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As someone who was identified as gifted as a kid, it's kind of a mixed bag. You can be very very smart but if you don't learn to work it eventually catches up with you. It's very common for gifted kids fo flame out at some point.

The other harsh reality you learn is that no one actually cares how smart you are, it's about your ability to apply it in ways that other people find valuable.

This was me, too. I was in a gifted program from 3rd-8th grade but through the local public school. My IQ has been tested twice, 138 and 142. I wish my parents had been supportive and involved, it could've made a huge difference. I struggled with undiagnosed ADHD and study skills were never taught to me. I hated hw so I stopped doing it. I was taking classes at the community college by 15 so that became my new crowd of friends. Long story short, I dropped out of HS and never finished college. I was a high earner in my 20s but found it hard to keep up by 30. Decided to SAHM and here we are.

[Anonymous]

Acquaintances, babysitters, and other parents commented frequently that she was very bright. Begged at about 5 to have us read her physics textbooks, not an early reader but very curious. Tested eventually at 99.9 pct+ on IQ and achievement tests.