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Gifted, Highly Gifted or Profoundly Gifted?
By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D
Q: How gifted is my daughter? Gifted? Highly Gifted or Profoundly Gifted? Also, does IVF play a role in giftedness?
My daughter was conceived through implanting a seven year old frozen embryo. (have twin boys 10 from initial use of embryos - 1 son is gifted) Upon her first visit to her pediatrician her doctor joked is she seven or zero:)
I have to laugh as she is about to turn three this January and seems very smart. She recognized her entire alphabet and numbers 1-20 before her first birthday. And yes, I would just write the numbers mixed in with the letters at random and she would tell me what I had written with no pointing or prompting at all. At two she mastered shapes and colors and now we are beginning to use advanced words in our speaking read and have yet to turn three. Any help would be beneficial. Thanks.
A: At three, it is best not to label categories for giftedness although your daughter does appear to be in the higher range with the short description of her abilities. As for the IVF role, according to a new study by the University of Iowa (2010), children conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) score at least as well as non-IVF peers on academic tests in grades 3 through 12. However, there are many debatable issues and researches over the years have shown different results, some supporting and others denying the notion. I feel it is best not to pay too much attention to these researches and just enjoy and give your best to the child.
Your daughter is definitely very advanced for her age and I would suggest that she tries play school to develop her social and fine motor skills at the same time. At home, there are various activities that may be suitable and stimulating. She would surely need a lot of exposure for her to explore and discover her environment. Variation in her activities would be very beneficial. Make sure that her activities are stimulating, challenging and meaningful. Allow her to try out a variety of activities – books, music and movement, outdoors – are some interesting ones that gifted children enjoy. At the same time, make sure she has a lot of space to explore on her own – free play. Monitor her progress and if you find she does not enjoy one activity over another, instead of totally discarding it, you may want to include some variety to help her gain some interest.
Most of all, she would flourish in an environment that is not stressful and loving. When she is a little older, her activities can be ore structured. For now, guided activities with lots and lots of exploration are the best. All the best in your journey!
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