Curious- other than WPPSI scores, how does someone know their toddler is "gifted"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the problem with "losing momentum." Is it a race? Are we supposed to make our kids go as fast as we can?

I agree with the last poster. I don't know any parent in DC who doesn't think his or her child is gifted, and can rattle off all sorts of supporting evidence.

My IQ was 165. No one called me gifted back in the day. i went to school, did well in some subjects, not as well in others -- just like all the other kids in my DC public classroom, who were all gifted as well, I'm sure. What I remember is that I had a pretty great childhood hanging out with friends, reading, being a kid. I have no memory of any child being referred to as gifted. I think it has all become so silly.

That's odd that you have no memory of it, because I am 40 and certainly back in our day, at least where I lived, there were indeed kids identified as gifted and we had gifted programs in school.

And the reason it is important is not because of bragging rights, as many seem to imply (actually, I never mention DC's giftedness at all to anyone if I can help it). The reason it is important is so that an appropriate-level education can be provided. No one questions that a slower student should have an individualized program to help him/her catch up and reach his/her full potential; why should it be any different for a gifted student? It is torture for a very advanced, quick-learning student to have to waste time learning little or nothing in class, as often happens in elementary school (generally speaking, high school is better for gifted students since they often have the option of college classes). That is why it is important to identify gifted children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the problem with "losing momentum." Is it a race? Are we supposed to make our kids go as fast as we can?

I agree with the last poster. I don't know any parent in DC who doesn't think his or her child is gifted, and can rattle off all sorts of supporting evidence.

My IQ was 165. No one called me gifted back in the day. i went to school, did well in some subjects, not as well in others -- just like all the other kids in my DC public classroom, who were all gifted as well, I'm sure. What I remember is that I had a pretty great childhood hanging out with friends, reading, being a kid. I have no memory of any child being referred to as gifted. I think it has all become so silly.

"Was 165" Why were you tested if you went to DCPS? For the gifted program, perhaps? I hope you were joking with that ridiculous score. The below quote was taken from an article published by scholars at the gifted development center.

"Compared to the WISC-III, the WISC-IV is a substantial reformulation. While the
highest IQ score[b] possible is still 160[/b], the WISC-IV does offer additional harder questions
at the upper ends of a number of subtests."

I happen to think there is a great deal of value in knowing a young child's specific strength, weaknesses and learning characteristics, so that their individual learning needs can be met. At the pre-school level children's minds are extremely plastic: connections are being made that set patterns for life, and often learning patterns. I personally, would like to know more about how my DD's mind works and how to best foster her development. Because I want to help her understand herself as a learner, I want to be an informed advocate for her at school when need be, and I want to help her be the best she can be. I would never push her....I only want to know what else I can be doing to help her reach HER highest potential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the problem with "losing momentum." Is it a race? Are we supposed to make our kids go as fast as we can?

I agree with the last poster. I don't know any parent in DC who doesn't think his or her child is gifted, and can rattle off all sorts of supporting evidence.

My IQ was 165. No one called me gifted back in the day. i went to school, did well in some subjects, not as well in others -- just like all the other kids in my DC public classroom, who were all gifted as well, I'm sure. What I remember is that I had a pretty great childhood hanging out with friends, reading, being a kid. I have no memory of any child being referred to as gifted. I think it has all become so silly.

That's odd that you have no memory of it, because I am 40 and certainly back in our day, at least where I lived, there were indeed kids identified as gifted and we had gifted programs in school.

And the reason it is important is not because of bragging rights, as many seem to imply (actually, I never mention DC's giftedness at all to anyone if I can help it). The reason it is important is so that an appropriate-level education can be provided. No one questions that a slower student should have an individualized program to help him/her catch up and reach his/her full potential; why should it be any different for a gifted student? It is torture for a very advanced, quick-learning student to have to waste time learning little or nothing in class, as often happens in elementary school (generally speaking, high school is better for gifted students since they often have the option of college classes). That is why it is important to identify gifted children.

AMEN! It should not be different. You are exactly right. Early ID and intervention is key, as it is with any significant learning difference.

I tested a child a few months ago for being "gifted." In my opinion the testing came a bit late, for this already bored and misunderstood child. His teachers were reporting him as a behavior problem, but he made 100% + bonus on all assignments and tests. He told me some stories from school of being picked on and how his teacher said "maybe they just don't like you." It was tragic, especially because his IQ was in the 140s even with some significant weaknesses in processing speed and working memory, which explained the "behavior problems." He was not able to quickly respond to questions and discussions in class, but did not have to study to blow the rest of the class away on all assessments. By all measures I conducted to develop his learning profile he clearly presented as a gifted child in accordance with state and county regulations. He qualified and is now in a separate self-contained public program that better meets his learning needs.

This case proved that this gifted child was just as special ed as students with severe learning disabilities. If I ruled the world he would have an IEP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the problem with "losing momentum." Is it a race? Are we supposed to make our kids go as fast as we can?

I agree with the last poster. I don't know any parent in DC who doesn't think his or her child is gifted, and can rattle off all sorts of supporting evidence.

My IQ was 165. No one called me gifted back in the day. i went to school, did well in some subjects, not as well in others -- just like all the other kids in my DC public classroom, who were all gifted as well, I'm sure. What I remember is that I had a pretty great childhood hanging out with friends, reading, being a kid. I have no memory of any child being referred to as gifted. I think it has all become so silly.

"Was 165" Why were you tested if you went to DCPS? For the gifted program, perhaps? I hope you were joking with that ridiculous score. The below quote was taken from an article published by scholars at the gifted development center.

"Compared to the WISC-III, the WISC-IV is a substantial reformulation. While the
highest IQ score[b] possible is still 160[/b], the WISC-IV does offer additional harder questions
at the upper ends of a number of subtests."

I happen to think there is a great deal of value in knowing a young child's specific strength, weaknesses and learning characteristics, so that their individual learning needs can be met. At the pre-school level children's minds are extremely plastic: connections are being made that set patterns for life, and often learning patterns. I personally, would like to know more about how my DD's mind works and how to best foster her development. Because I want to help her understand herself as a learner, I want to be an informed advocate for her at school when need be, and I want to help her be the best she can be. I would never push her....I only want to know what else I can be doing to help her reach HER highest potential.

Ummm..not the PP, but I am *gifted* enough to know that when we were young, it was earlier versions of the Weschler tests that were used as well as the more popular Stanford-Binet (at least where I grew up) which, of course, is the test which was used to parse out more accurately IQs for people who would/could max out on the Weschler scaled tests. I believe that this is/can still be done if you find (like we did) someone who has and still uses those earlier tests. To the OP, if you need the name of someone who will help you more finely learn where your child's IQ range is (within the 99.99th percentile), there are people around who this area who can help. Reply back here if you need a name. Also, these same people can usually help with the social/emotional issues that can arise when a child has asynchronous development.

[Anonymous]

I think the test are great at making sure your child is "normal". Every person including my child that has taken the test is in the 99%. Anyone out there that isn't? I think my child is smart, adaptable, funny and learning new things every day. Are there kids out there that did not get "in" because of the WPPSI score? I don't know a lot about these test but I did not think they had a lot to do with IQ. I think most children can learn easily, some different ways than others. Children are sponges. Maybe some are more absorbent. Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the test are great at making sure your child is "normal". Every person including my child that has taken the test is in the 99%. Anyone out there that isn't? I think my child is smart, adaptable, funny and learning new things every day. Are there kids out there that did not get "in" because of the WPPSI score? I don't know a lot about these test but I did not think they had a lot to do with IQ. I think most children can learn easily, some different ways than others. Children are sponges. Maybe some are more absorbent. Just a thought.

Not sure if this posting was a joke or not, LOL. If it was serious, then by definition, 99% of people will not be at the 99th percentile, LOL, since being at the 99th percentile *by definition* means scoring higher than 99 percent of the normed others who took the same test. So if everyone you know is truly at the 99th percentile, then you are hanging around with a very unusual bunch of parents/kids.

Also, when you say these scores have nothing to do with IQ, that doesn't really make sense, since these tests in fact measure IQ--that is what they do, again by definition. If what you meant to say is that you believe that there are many forms of intelligence that aren't captured by classic IQ measurements, that's one thing; but to say that IQ tests don't have a lot to do with IQ just doesn't really make sense--kind of like saying taking a tape measure and measuring from your feet to the top of your head has little to do with height.

[Anonymous]

Former 165 IQ here -- I say "former" because I do not believe these scores are static and i suspect I peaked at age 12. Seriously, I have a child on the autism spectrum whose IQ has literally doubled over the years. He's still the same child but the test couldn't break through his disability when he was younger. On a less extreme scale, I think all of us would fluctuate if we were given this test over time.

I have no idea what test I was given. I did it as part of admissions to private school, I switched from DCPS to private school in 7th grade. But I never felt I was "cheated" out of an appropriate education when I was younger. And while there may have been gifted and talented programs in other parts of the country back then, they didn't exist in DC.

I do believe that some bright kids get bored in school but with the lens of a parent with an extremely intelligent but developmentally disabled child, what I see far more are children who are intelligent but have learning or developmental differences/disabilities that aren't being addressed. The parents just assume its their child's intelligence but it is often more complicated than that. I would urge any parent in that situation to have their child undergo full testing to make sure an addressable problem isn't the cause of what appears to be boredom.