My 4 Yr Old Son's FSIQ is 131, Now What?

[Anonymous]

Hi 21:47 (aka Mom who has son at Groton). Glad to hear from you. I have two kids who have each skipped two grades. I'm happy with services my kids are getting, but I empathize with you completely. It's hard to find people to talk to about these things, because the issue of IQ and giftedness is so charged that I'm always afraid of getting the exact reaction you describe: disbelief and derision.
Anyway, good luck to you and your family!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dd tested at 160+. I don't believe the results esp when you test so young.

sure. but you couldnt wait to chime in with your DD's 160+ score.

[Anonymous]

no, just using it to say that I have credentials...she's done the test several times and I don't think it's real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:no, just using it to say that I have credentials...she's done the test several times and I don't think it's real.

What test?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, Is that true? While I know that everyone here exaggerates and tells stories to get a rise out of the group or to keep the discussion going, a score that high is really an outlier. What are you doing with your dd in terms of school and her education?

Not the PP but my DS is 13 years old and a legit, verified 173. Hopkins CTY has been all over him for years. It is an awesome program.
I've posted about his education a couple of times. He is at Groton. They can give him what he needs.
The biggest downside to being profoundly gifted is that everything is accelerated including letting go
I never thought I would be packing my kids up to go away for school at this age.
I'm not going to say any more b/c inevitably someone will either make fun of him or me and I'm still a bit raw from moving him.

PP, where was your DS before Groton? Public school (FFX, MD?) or private school? I am sure with kids that smart you will need to supplement regardless of which school he was in.

I don't want to 'out' him with being specific on the school, but here's what we did:
DH and I were very committed to allowing DS to have a peer group with kids his own age and to have the chance to play team sports and do 'normal' kid stuff. We kept him in a private K-8 that was very willing to work with us. DS did CTY and EPGY work at school for subjects where he was rapidly advanced. There are areas where IQ matters a bit less, for example, handwriting in lower grades, where he was kept with his peers. In broad strokes, he stayed with his peer group for religion, handwriting, PE, Art, Music and to some degree English. He did either accelerated or CTY/EPGY work for math, science, history, reading. It was month to month and we had a good K-8 that was willing to work with us closely. This allowed him to make friends, play on the baseball team, play in the band, and learn how to work and play with others. The school never made him feel like the odd man out. He simply went to the resource room to do his work at the appropriate time. Other kids went to resource too for various reasons so he never felt singled out. He did skip K but we resisted the pressure to skip him further. With appropriate supplementation, this is a kid that will learn and master the academics, the bigger challenge was helping him become a mature, confident, happy and social person. For high school he really wanted Groton, he had exposure to them via CTY and they can provide what he needs so we let him go and give it a try. We are very blessed, he is not Asperger's and is actually Mr. Social Butterfly.

A common question is "how did you know". He spoke his first word at 3 months, spoke 2 words together at 4 months, spoke in full sentences by 8 months, was fully articulate at his 12 month check up with a vocabulary of hundreds of words and could parrot back with perfect recall anything he heard on TV or the radio (yeah, that will drive you nuts quickly as he had an affinity for memorizing infomercials). He read simple books shortly after that, read chapter books at 2, could add/subtract at 2, memorized multiplication tables at 3.

It was the 12 month check up where the pediatrician sat me down and said... this is not normal. Not bad, but not normal. She referred us to ed/psych testing which we did via Hopkins so we got tied into CTY very early on. Our path may not be the best for everyone, but it worked for us because DS was not SN outside of the high IQ. I don't know if the hybrid path would work for everyone. He's in a position to take college level work so his learning needs are being met, but he's also with kids much like him so his social and emotional needs are being met as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi 21:47 (aka Mom who has son at Groton). Glad to hear from you. I have two kids who have each skipped two grades. I'm happy with services my kids are getting, but I empathize with you completely. It's hard to find people to talk to about these things, because the issue of IQ and giftedness is so charged that I'm always afraid of getting the exact reaction you describe: disbelief and derision.
Anyway, good luck to you and your family!

Thanks, a previous post several months ago my kid was called a nerd, it was stated that he had no life, I was lying and I was only sending him to Groton because I was status obsessed, otherwise I would send him to G'town Prep as they are a boarding school (as if every boarding school on the planet was the same). Back in the real world, we actually did talk to Prep and they were very clear they could not offer him anything as he had already completed all the math and science they offer. Anyway, good luck with your DC, the parent to parent support at CTY is a great help and resource.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, Is that true? While I know that everyone here exaggerates and tells stories to get a rise out of the group or to keep the discussion going, a score that high is really an outlier. What are you doing with your dd in terms of school and her education?

Not the PP but my DS is 13 years old and a legit, verified 173. Hopkins CTY has been all over him for years. It is an awesome program.
I've posted about his education a couple of times. He is at Groton. They can give him what he needs.
The biggest downside to being profoundly gifted is that everything is accelerated including letting go
I never thought I would be packing my kids up to go away for school at this age.
I'm not going to say any more b/c inevitably someone will either make fun of him or me and I'm still a bit raw from moving him.

PP, where was your DS before Groton? Public school (FFX, MD?) or private school? I am sure with kids that smart you will need to supplement regardless of which school he was in.

I don't want to 'out' him with being specific on the school, but here's what we did:
DH and I were very committed to allowing DS to have a peer group with kids his own age and to have the chance to play team sports and do 'normal' kid stuff. We kept him in a private K-8 that was very willing to work with us. DS did CTY and EPGY work at school for subjects where he was rapidly advanced. There are areas where IQ matters a bit less, for example, handwriting in lower grades, where he was kept with his peers. In broad strokes, he stayed with his peer group for religion, handwriting, PE, Art, Music and to some degree English. He did either accelerated or CTY/EPGY work for math, science, history, reading. It was month to month and we had a good K-8 that was willing to work with us closely. This allowed him to make friends, play on the baseball team, play in the band, and learn how to work and play with others. The school never made him feel like the odd man out. He simply went to the resource room to do his work at the appropriate time. Other kids went to resource too for various reasons so he never felt singled out. He did skip K but we resisted the pressure to skip him further. With appropriate supplementation, this is a kid that will learn and master the academics, the bigger challenge was helping him become a mature, confident, happy and social person. For high school he really wanted Groton, he had exposure to them via CTY and they can provide what he needs so we let him go and give it a try. We are very blessed, he is not Asperger's and is actually Mr. Social Butterfly.

A common question is "how did you know". He spoke his first word at 3 months, spoke 2 words together at 4 months, spoke in full sentences by 8 months, was fully articulate at his 12 month check up with a vocabulary of hundreds of words and could parrot back with perfect recall anything he heard on TV or the radio (yeah, that will drive you nuts quickly as he had an affinity for memorizing infomercials). He read simple books shortly after that, read chapter books at 2, could add/subtract at 2, memorized multiplication tables at 3.

It was the 12 month check up where the pediatrician sat me down and said... this is not normal. Not bad, but not normal. She referred us to ed/psych testing which we did via Hopkins so we got tied into CTY very early on. Our path may not be the best for everyone, but it worked for us because DS was not SN outside of the high IQ. I don't know if the hybrid path would work for everyone. He's in a position to take college level work so his learning needs are being met, but he's also with kids much like him so his social and emotional needs are being met as well.

Thanks for the response, Groton Mom. Can tell that you really miss him. Is he your only child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, Is that true? While I know that everyone here exaggerates and tells stories to get a rise out of the group or to keep the discussion going, a score that high is really an outlier. What are you doing with your dd in terms of school and her education?

Not the PP but my DS is 13 years old and a legit, verified 173. Hopkins CTY has been all over him for years. It is an awesome program.
I've posted about his education a couple of times. He is at Groton. They can give him what he needs.
The biggest downside to being profoundly gifted is that everything is accelerated including letting go
I never thought I would be packing my kids up to go away for school at this age.
I'm not going to say any more b/c inevitably someone will either make fun of him or me and I'm still a bit raw from moving him.

PP, where was your DS before Groton? Public school (FFX, MD?) or private school? I am sure with kids that smart you will need to supplement regardless of which school he was in.

I don't want to 'out' him with being specific on the school, but here's what we did:
DH and I were very committed to allowing DS to have a peer group with kids his own age and to have the chance to play team sports and do 'normal' kid stuff. We kept him in a private K-8 that was very willing to work with us. DS did CTY and EPGY work at school for subjects where he was rapidly advanced. There are areas where IQ matters a bit less, for example, handwriting in lower grades, where he was kept with his peers. In broad strokes, he stayed with his peer group for religion, handwriting, PE, Art, Music and to some degree English. He did either accelerated or CTY/EPGY work for math, science, history, reading. It was month to month and we had a good K-8 that was willing to work with us closely. This allowed him to make friends, play on the baseball team, play in the band, and learn how to work and play with others. The school never made him feel like the odd man out. He simply went to the resource room to do his work at the appropriate time. Other kids went to resource too for various reasons so he never felt singled out. He did skip K but we resisted the pressure to skip him further. With appropriate supplementation, this is a kid that will learn and master the academics, the bigger challenge was helping him become a mature, confident, happy and social person. For high school he really wanted Groton, he had exposure to them via CTY and they can provide what he needs so we let him go and give it a try. We are very blessed, he is not Asperger's and is actually Mr. Social Butterfly.

A common question is "how did you know". He spoke his first word at 3 months, spoke 2 words together at 4 months, spoke in full sentences by 8 months, was fully articulate at his 12 month check up with a vocabulary of hundreds of words and could parrot back with perfect recall anything he heard on TV or the radio (yeah, that will drive you nuts quickly as he had an affinity for memorizing infomercials). He read simple books shortly after that, read chapter books at 2, could add/subtract at 2, memorized multiplication tables at 3.

It was the 12 month check up where the pediatrician sat me down and said... this is not normal. Not bad, but not normal. She referred us to ed/psych testing which we did via Hopkins so we got tied into CTY very early on. Our path may not be the best for everyone, but it worked for us because DS was not SN outside of the high IQ. I don't know if the hybrid path would work for everyone. He's in a position to take college level work so his learning needs are being met, but he's also with kids much like him so his social and emotional needs are being met as well.

Thanks for the response, Groton Mom. Can tell that you really miss him. Is he your only child?

Yes, I miss him badly. I also have DD in 4th grade who is a solid 50% kid who struggles with a processing disorder... go figure LOL.. she is a delight but we did put her in a different school as she struggled with being in her brother's shadow.

[Anonymous]

131 is just not that high so not sure about wondering if he will be challenged.

[Anonymous]

exactly. with a 131 the child is bright but certainly not gifted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, Is that true? While I know that everyone here exaggerates and tells stories to get a rise out of the group or to keep the discussion going, a score that high is really an outlier. What are you doing with your dd in terms of school and her education?

I don't think it can be true unless PP paid for some very special testing for her 4yo child. The maximum score possible on the WPPSI and WISC is 160. There are other specialized tests that can yield a score above 160, and I'm assuming that's what Groton mom must be citing.

There are now extended norms for the WISC that go above 160. The numbers don't mean much at that level, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, Is that true? While I know that everyone here exaggerates and tells stories to get a rise out of the group or to keep the discussion going, a score that high is really an outlier. What are you doing with your dd in terms of school and her education?

Not the PP but my DS is 13 years old and a legit, verified 173. Hopkins CTY has been all over him for years. It is an awesome program.
I've posted about his education a couple of times. He is at Groton. They can give him what he needs.
The biggest downside to being profoundly gifted is that everything is accelerated including letting go
I never thought I would be packing my kids up to go away for school at this age.
I'm not going to say any more b/c inevitably someone will either make fun of him or me and I'm still a bit raw from moving him.

PP, where was your DS before Groton? Public school (FFX, MD?) or private school? I am sure with kids that smart you will need to supplement regardless of which school he was in.

I don't want to 'out' him with being specific on the school, but here's what we did:
DH and I were very committed to allowing DS to have a peer group with kids his own age and to have the chance to play team sports and do 'normal' kid stuff. We kept him in a private K-8 that was very willing to work with us. DS did CTY and EPGY work at school for subjects where he was rapidly advanced. There are areas where IQ matters a bit less, for example, handwriting in lower grades, where he was kept with his peers. In broad strokes, he stayed with his peer group for religion, handwriting, PE, Art, Music and to some degree English. He did either accelerated or CTY/EPGY work for math, science, history, reading. It was month to month and we had a good K-8 that was willing to work with us closely. This allowed him to make friends, play on the baseball team, play in the band, and learn how to work and play with others. The school never made him feel like the odd man out. He simply went to the resource room to do his work at the appropriate time. Other kids went to resource too for various reasons so he never felt singled out. He did skip K but we resisted the pressure to skip him further. With appropriate supplementation, this is a kid that will learn and master the academics, the bigger challenge was helping him become a mature, confident, happy and social person. For high school he really wanted Groton, he had exposure to them via CTY and they can provide what he needs so we let him go and give it a try. We are very blessed, he is not Asperger's and is actually Mr. Social Butterfly.

A common question is "how did you know". He spoke his first word at 3 months, spoke 2 words together at 4 months, spoke in full sentences by 8 months, was fully articulate at his 12 month check up with a vocabulary of hundreds of words and could parrot back with perfect recall anything he heard on TV or the radio (yeah, that will drive you nuts quickly as he had an affinity for memorizing infomercials). He read simple books shortly after that, read chapter books at 2, could add/subtract at 2, memorized multiplication tables at 3.

It was the 12 month check up where the pediatrician sat me down and said... this is not normal. Not bad, but not normal. She referred us to ed/psych testing which we did via Hopkins so we got tied into CTY very early on. Our path may not be the best for everyone, but it worked for us because DS was not SN outside of the high IQ. I don't know if the hybrid path would work for everyone. He's in a position to take college level work so his learning needs are being met, but he's also with kids much like him so his social and emotional needs are being met as well.

Good for you for negotiating those accommodations, Mom. That had to have taken both skill and persistence. Two similar kids, little success working with their schools.

[Anonymous]

Hi Groton Mom, from Andover Mom with a similar story. Child did every MCPS magnet available, plus a stint homeschooling that included EPGY and local college course, and still there were problems. tested at CTY right before middle school and found that, um yes, child is PG. Left home mid-high school for Andover which was a wonderful experience. It's definitely not a path I would *ever* have predicted. Kudos to you for finding a way for your child to get what he needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi Groton Mom, from Andover Mom with a similar story. Child did every MCPS magnet available, plus a stint homeschooling that included EPGY and local college course, and still there were problems. tested at CTY right before middle school and found that, um yes, child is PG. Left home mid-high school for Andover which was a wonderful experience. It's definitely not a path I would *ever* have predicted. Kudos to you for finding a way for your child to get what he needed.

Hi Groton Mom and Andover Mom, thanks for posting your experience. Why didn't you consider the gifted program of fairfax public school system, which can feed into TJ high school for the PG kids? MD also has Blair HS which is highly selective too. Wouldn't that beat sending your DCs to boarding schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi Groton Mom, from Andover Mom with a similar story. Child did every MCPS magnet available, plus a stint homeschooling that included EPGY and local college course, and still there were problems. tested at CTY right before middle school and found that, um yes, child is PG. Left home mid-high school for Andover which was a wonderful experience. It's definitely not a path I would *ever* have predicted. Kudos to you for finding a way for your child to get what he needed.

Hi Groton Mom and Andover Mom, thanks for posting your experience. Why didn't you consider the gifted program of fairfax public school system, which can feed into TJ high school for the PG kids? MD also has Blair HS which is highly selective too. Wouldn't that beat sending your DCs to boarding schools?

I'd be curious to hear an answer to this. We are dealing with a PG child who has done elementary and middle school magnets. I would not consider Blair magnet for DC (neither the math/science program nor the CAP program) -- Blair is way too chaotic an environment and too split a focus/choice in the magnet programs. A friend recommended Andover for child. We have only begun to explore. While I love my child dearly and would be sad to see child go, if a boarding school presents a tremendous opportunity, we would do it. I think DC could handle it.

Our experience with elementary and middle school magnets, that while the challenge is increased, it is still not much of a challenge for DC. Also, particularly in middle school, classes are large and academic focus is still relatively weak, especially when considering across the board. Socially, the magnet kids are increasingly viewed by the whole school body as geeks or nerds. While DC is OK with this, and within the magnet the social environment is supportive, it's not the kind of environment I'd hoped to have DC in. In sending our DC to boarding school, I would hope to gain smaller classes, real in-depth support/mentorship in academics, strong academics across the board (i.e. math/science and humanities), and an environment where smart kids are seen as cool.

What is boarding school like in these respects?