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In elementary school I was moved into Special Ed for a few days until they gave us IQ tests and mine came up at 140.
One CAN have special needs/qualify for special education and not have any intellectual impairment.
Not saying you"belonged" in a special education classroom, by any means...but it's a misconception that special education services are only for those with intellectual disabilities or impairments. Having a high IQ and having special needs are not mutually exclusive. There are many disabling conditions that require an IEP and special services and do not come with an intellectual impairment. There is a stigma that implies that "special eduction" = low intellectual functioning, but it's certainly not always the case.
This sounds a lot like my son, who's only 4,5. He's scarily smart, he taught himself to read before 3 and reads insanely well now in two languages (we're bilingual), does math, writes, and completes grade 1-2 workbooks entirely on his own. At the same time, he's very intense, emotionally immature, prone to tantrums and meltdowns, and is a total control freak. I think he's got some internal anxiety issues which manifest themselves as an obsession with controlling things, especially when he gets upset - just today he dissolved into tears because his piece of cake broke in two, and then because there wasn't one that he deemed 'whole', refused to eat it altogether (and it's cake, which he loves). I feel like this kind of behaviour is normal at 2 but not at 4, though he did get a lot better as he got older - the twos were awful. He's also socially immature - not awkward per se, but he'll play and interact very 'directly' with kids and is still nowhere near the whole 'playground politics' of who's whose friend, etc. He'll pretty much play with whoever is around but doesn't care about being friends with a specific child. It's not a big deal yet in preschool, but I'm concerned about starting school and him making friends there.
I'm not sure what'll happen as he gets older. I plan to put him into a very highly rated public school with a great gifted program to keep him challenged, and possibly provide opportunities for extra work/activities outside of school if necessary. My main focus at this point though is social/emotional/physical development, so we'll be focusing on sports (because he leans towards being a couch potato), and making friends, and plenty of opportunities to just be a kid. I feel like the academic skills will always be there, but the social part is where he could really slide and that can have terrible repercussions in the form of bullying, etc. On that note, I feel it's also tremendously important to be in an environment (school, class, programs) where families and kids are highly educated and place high value on learning and academics - in other words, one where he'll feel at ease with being smart, more likely to encounter peers on his academic level, and where being smart and a good student is viewed as desirable, not ostracising. The worst thing you can do for a smart kid is live in a bad area with low focus on education, where he'll be bullied for being a geek, bookworm, teacher's pet, etc. Environment and demographics are HUGE.
Hi, first off, I'm so very happy that my child is smart! This isn't about me it's about him. I had my 8 year old tested by a psych the other day because he's a very emotional child. What came out of that meeting shocked me and now I'm at a loss as to what to do!
My son has always been way ahead of the curve in reading and now simple math and when they tested him the other day, the psych tells me he's reading at a 8th grade level (he's in 2nd grade) and 5th grade math level. He also mentioned to me that his IQ is 138.
So, I'm at a loss as to what to do now.
I will IM-modestly say I was a "bright kid." Let's leave it at that. Especially around reading and writing. Guess I can empathize with the child in-question. First thinly-disguised IQ test I have records of was the "Metropolitan Achievement Test," in Jr. High. I was twelve at the time. I don't know enough about the tests to know when results start to become consistent, i.e. at what age. I am amused and intrigued that the results around the MAT from way back when seem to be consistent with results in my 30s, too. Thus, I conclude that they're right: IQ is mostly stable after a certain age (a hypothesis, perhaps, vs. conclusion).
Reading, and comprehending, meant I had an intellectual understanding of things younger kids can't deal with too well emotionally. The emotional thing comes later, in some ways I thought I was a bit emotionally stunted. Might still be, ask any woman who's dated me longer than a few months . Point being I learned about many adult topics at an age when kids should probably not have much to do with all that. Wrestled with that, as a kid and then adolescent. That's a downside of being an advanced reader: the world sort of shocks you with all the available information at a time when you can't handle the ramifications too well. God knows how they handle it today, with a library in every smartphone.
My dad couldn't keep up with me, but as I learned the hard way "youth and exuberance are no match for age and treachery." Big difference between out-thinking and out-foxing someone, especially because adults have all the advantages over kids (resources, mobility, etc.)
My mom, however, was a intellectual match for me but wrestled with her own emotional problems over the long term. Regardless, she was wise enough to keep up with my childhood curiosity and kept it interesting, so to speak. If I needed a new thing to try or indulge, she'd encourage it. Learned a lot about art, science, and other topics due to my mom's understanding, when I was younger than many of the other kids participating. "Indulge" meant "letting me explore" a new topic, not buying and catering to every whim, btw.
Something for you to think about: encourage the child to try different things, and understand he may be frustrated when he doesn't succeed or cannot articulate his emotions. I for one to this day think I deal more-poorly than most with failure: call it "winner's curse," a bit of immaturity that the world doesn't always cooperate the way it does MOST of the time for those smart enough to stay ahead of the 8-Ball and
How do you teach a child to fail with grace? An interesting question, and relevant to current. Wish I'd have learned that one earlier.
One CAN have special needs/qualify for special education and not have any intellectual impairment.
Not saying you"belonged" in a special education classroom, by any means...but it's a misconception that special education services are only for those with intellectual disabilities or impairments. Having a high IQ and having special needs are not mutually exclusive. There are many disabling conditions that require an IEP and special services and do not come with an intellectual impairment. There is a stigma that implies that "special eduction" = low intellectual functioning, but it's certainly not always the case.
Back in the 1970s, that was the case. Special Ed=low intellect.
I can chime in and add to the pile of people who are above avg. I read some of the previous posts and they could have been talkimg about me. I have never had an official IQ test. I sailed through school and got a full academic ride to my choice of schools and promptly bombed out after 3 semesters. First 2 I passed easily 3rd I decided to stop going to classes and got a couple failing grades for missing class. I joined the military and was sent to the Naval Nuclear school where for the first time in my life I was actually challenged. I had a strict set of rules to follow. I excelled at it. It taught me to buckle down and apply myself. Up until that point I had a real problem with staying focused on something and completing things. I played team sports but I was not mr charisma. I always felt awkward in social situations. I had to learn to kick my natural tendency to be an introvert to the curb. I am not a natural born leader but I have learned to take that role. Still, that side manifests itself in my hobbies. I can pick out some of the wierdest hobbies and become completely obsessed with them right until I get it figured out, then I grow bored. Its not the hobby itself that makes me happy, its the challenge of learning something new.
With that, my advice is to let him be a kid but you need to challenge him and you need to put some structure in him. I am not suggesting that you run a boot camp at home, just provide a some strictness.
I would also do what you can to involve him in team sports or activities as your doing.
You need to keep working at finding out the cause of his outbursts. It may be something as simple as what he thinks others are thinking of him.
He needs to find some cool friends to help knock the socially awkwardness out of him. Yes, he may be successful financially wise later in life, but he needs to get socially stable. Speaking from experience here.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WiseManOnceSaid
Is it possible for a public school to actually lower a child's IQ by not having him challenged?
Well, it looks like I was wrong, IQ does seem to be relatively stable from childhood.
Quote:
IQ can change to some degree over the course of childhood.[43] However, in one longitudinal study, the mean IQ scores of tests at ages 17 and 18 were correlated at r=.86 with the mean scores of tests at ages five, six, and seven and at r=.96 with the mean scores of tests at ages 11, 12, and 13.[34]
For decades practitioners' handbooks and textbooks on IQ testing have reported IQ declines with age after the beginning of adulthood. However, later researchers pointed out this phenomenon is related to the Flynn effect and is in part a cohort effect rather than a true aging effect.
A variety of studies of IQ and aging have been conducted since the norming of the first Wechsler Intelligence Scale drew attention to IQ differences in different age groups of adults. Current consensus is that fluid intelligence generally declines with age after early adulthood, while crystallized intelligence remains intact. Both cohort effects (the birth year of the test-takers) and practice effects (test-takers taking the same form of IQ test more than once) must be controlled to gain accurate data. It is unclear whether any lifestyle intervention can preserve fluid intelligence into older ages.[44]
The exact peak age of fluid intelligence or crystallized intelligence remains elusive. Cross-sectional studies usually show that especially fluid intelligence peaks at a relatively young age (often in the early adulthood) while longitudinal data mostly show that intelligence is stable until the mid adulthood or later. Subsequently, intelligence seems to decline slowly. (note to mods: It's ok to quote Wikipedia extensively, since nothing in it is copyrighted.) Intelligence quotient - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
tangental, but I wouldn't force sports on a kid who is demonstrably uninterested in them (obviously, exposing a kid to activities does not = forced participation). Trying them out is fine, exposure is good, but if a kid really doesn't enjoy , say, team sports, forcing it isn't going to change that, and why would you want to make athletic activity something that puts a bad taste in a kid's mouth, long-term? Socialization is important, but you can find other outlets. Fitness is important, but there are ways to maintain fitness without participating in organized athletics. As a non-athlete, and the only one in my family, I cringe at the thought of being forced to do organized athletics. Fortunately, my parents didn't go that route. I did other social activities more in line with my interests and skills.
Also, you don't have to be a social butterfly to have social skills. Some people are not extremely social, and it's a personality trait, not a disability. Being less social shouldn't be a concern, as long as appropriate social skills ARE learned. Just because one grows up preferring more solitary activities, that is no reason not to learn how to interact with people in life appropriately.
Hi, first off, I'm so very happy that my child is smart! This isn't about me it's about him. I had my 8 year old tested by a psych the other day because he's a very emotional child. What came out of that meeting shocked me and now I'm at a loss as to what to do!
My son has always been way ahead of the curve in reading and now simple math and when they tested him the other day, the psych tells me he's reading at a 8th grade level (he's in 2nd grade) and 5th grade math level. He also mentioned to me that his IQ is 138.
I have so many questions and don't know where to turn so I thought I'd reach out to see if anyone has been through what I'm going through and if so how'd you come out the other side!
Thanks in advance for any advice you may have.
Get him in as much extracurricular activities as possible. After school programs....tutoring programs....computer camps.....get his mind on education as much as you can.
As for yourself....you need to start investing in learning materials. You need to be able to grow and learn as your child learns. The parental unit is the most supportive unit of them all.
His best learning will take place at home. Take some time to invest in your own mind so that you can help him when he needs it. Don't depend solely on his teachers to do the job.
IQ tests do not test how smart you are. They test how your mind works. Basically, they are a test of your potential. They test things like whether you have the ability to use logic to find the most reasonable answer to a problem, and how good your short term memory is. Not whether you know the capital of Russia, or how to do long division.
So while it is possible that the wrong school program might not help a child live up to their full potential, that doesn't lower their IQ.
Other than that comment, I think other people have already said everything I can think of. Let him help choose his activities, don't force him to do things he clearly hates (it's ok to make him try once, but don't make him continue if it doesn't take).
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. Point being I learned about many adult topics at an age when kids should probably not have much to do with all that. Wrestled with that, as a kid and then adolescent. That's a downside of being an advanced reader: the world sort of shocks you with all the available information at a time when you can't handle the ramifications too well. God knows how they handle it today, with a library in every smartphone. 
