Gifted but quirky (socially delayed)

[Anonymous]

Our DD is extraordinarily smart (tested as "gifted" at Child Find in communication) with academics but has issues socially, to the point that her preschool teacher recommended having her tested at Child Find. Our out brief isn't until next week but it is pretty clear that she won't be found having a significant delay that will provide her with county support. With that said, there are still pretty major concerns that we, her parents, and the social worker at CF have agreed exists. Our DD is great with adults and prefers talking with them but does very poorly with her peers. I am worried because she has isolated herself at preschool and in other social settings - she really has a hard time connecting with other children. So now we are trying to figure out what to do next. So here are my questions:
- are there any recommendations for pre-schools in the Fairfax Station/ Burke area for this type of child (a school where the teachers will get down on the floor and help my DD to engage with other children on a continuous basis)?
- can anyone recommend a developmental pediatrician in the Fairfax/Fairfax Station area that works with gifted children?

Any help/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

[Anonymous]

Has she been tested for Aspergers? It seems to me you should be looking for a developmental pediatrician to deal with her social issues as well. Its also important not to let giftedness blind you to real challenges. My DS with AS was also "extraordinarily smart" very early reader, and he is still smart, but pretty much succeeds academically if he's interested and struggles if he isn't. Some kids with AS do extremely well with rote learning but have trouble making the transition to abstract learning in mid-elementary.

Of course, your DD hasn't been diagnosed with Aspergers but there are a lot of red flags in your post.

[Anonymous]

My high IQ, 4 yr old Aspergers DS has no problems academically or behaviorally but has an IEP and receives services and supports at school for developmental delay/social.

[Anonymous]

Our pediatrician recommended ramping up our social life as a family. Seeking out other families to do one on one play dates with or small groups. We really worked hard to give our daughter more access to kids to play with. We are pretty solitary people. We did more one on one play dates and also small groups. It really helped a lot.

[Anonymous]

I have a child like this (6), no Aspergers, we look for LOTS of opportunities to interact with other kids, playdates, family get togethers, swim club, go to all kinds of kid oriented activities from storytime to fairs to childrens' theater. Over time, my child has gotten much better. You may want to look for a social skills group for your child.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you get her into a social skills summer camp. I'm pretty sure I posted a website which has many of them listed. I don't know the site offhand, but do a search on social skills in this forum, many people have posted on social skills camps and groups.

[Anonymous]

When my gifted/Asperger's son was this age, we were living in St. Louis. We enrolled him in drama classes and art classes through an arts education center. COCA groups kids by age and the classes really helped my kid learn to play with other kids. There has to someone around here who has similar classes.

[Anonymous]

Our experience was that our DC was socially awkward because her language skills far surpassed her peers. We switched schools, got her into a classroom with slightly older (6-9 months) kids, a better teacher ratio and things improved significantly.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is 5 and has Asperger's and she sounds very much like yours. We do receive services (social and OT for motor planning) through our school district so it is definitely worth pursuing.