We recently received the following message from a parent of a precocious baby:
Q: I’m reaching out because I have a 7-month-old baby who, I believe, is gifted. From day one she was very alert and seemed aware in a way most babies aren’t. She has been reaching most of the milestone 1.5 to 2 months early. She recently turned 7 months old, has been crawling for weeks, can crawl up stairs, can stand for very long, using whatever she founds to pull herself up, pushes things to take steps and is working really hard on balancing on her own! She has been feeding herself since she was a 4-month-old. Her verbal skills may not seem advanced, which I know is a better sign that gross motor skills but I think it is because she is raised bilingual. I mostly speak to her in French but our social interactions are in English and sometimes Spanish. Is she at a normal rate of development or is there a possibility that she is gifted? Do you had any advice or resources to share to help me support her?
A: It can be difficult to determine giftedness at such a young age because many gifted identification tests and assessments are aimed at students who are two, three, or four years old at the earliest. However, the research shows that gifted kids tend to gain skills with ease and at a particularly fast rate, and this is why a differentiated school curriculum is required for such children. The following charts developed by GERRIC have been gathered over many years of research and are presented here as a guideline. What you should be looking for is broad consistent advancement, rather than the odd isolated advanced ability.
General Motor Examples
| Ability | Normal Age | Gifted Age (30% Advanced) |
|---|---|---|
| Sits up alone | 7 months | 4.9 months |
| Stands alone well | 11 | 7.7 |
| Crawls upstairs | 15 | 10.5 |
| Walks upstairs | 18 | 12.6 |
| Turns pages of a book | 18 | 21 |
| Walks on tiptoes | 30 | 33.6 |
| Skips with one foot only | 48 | 33.6 |
| Throws ball | 48 | 33.6 |
| Skips with alternating feet | 60 | 42 |
Fine Motor Examples
Keep your child’s drawings and date them!
| Ability | Normal Age | Gifted Age (30% Advanced) |
|---|---|---|
| Plays with rattle | 3 months | 2.1 months |
| Pulls strings adaptively | 7 | 4.9 |
| Holds object (Finger + Thumb) | 9 | 6.3 |
| Holds crayon adaptively | 11 | 7.7 |
| Scribbles Spontaneously | 13 | 9.1 |
| Folds paper | 21 | 14.7 |
| Draws a person with 2 parts | 48 | 33.6 |
| Copies a triangle | 60 | 42 |
| Draws a person with neck, hands and clothes | 72 | 50.4 |
Cognitive-Language Examples
| Ability | Normal Age | Gifted Age (30% Advanced) |
|---|---|---|
| Social smile at people | 1.5 months | 1.05 |
| Searches with eyes for sound | 2.2 | 1.54 |
| Vocalizes 2 different sounds | 2.3 | 1.61 |
| Says "Dada" (or equivalent) | 7.9 | 5.53 |
| Responds to name and "no" | 9 | 6.3 |
| Looks at pictures in a book | 10 | 7 |
| Has vocabulary of 4-6 words | 15 | 10.5 |
| Follows directions to put object on chair etc. | 17.8 | 12.46 |
| 3-word sentences | 24 | 16.8 |
| Gives full name | 30 | 21 |
| Counts objects to 3 | 36 | 25.2 |
(Source: The Gifted Education Research, Resource and Information Centre [GERRIC], The University of New South Wales, SYDNEY Australia).
Other Resources
You may also find the article, How to Get Your Child Tested for Giftedness helpful for information on how to find someone to test your child. In the meantime, you may find the following resources of help:
- Supporting Gifted Preschoolers
- Parenting Gifted Preschoolers
- Frequently Asked Questions About Extreme Intelligence in Very Young Children
- The Pivotal Role of Parents in Expanding the World of Young Gifted Children
- Developing Math Talent in Very Young Kids
- Gifted 101: Our Favorite Gifted Parenting Books
- The highly gifted baby
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