What’s it like when your child really is significantly smarter than average?
Solly went on to memorize the periodic table of elements at age four, and his current fascination at age six is geography. He enjoys looking through reference books to find mistakes.
When Solly was three, the teachers at his preschool in Seattle, Washington would make comments like, “Oh, he’s so unique, he’s so special, he’s so quirky.” Then the school called Rachel and her husband in for a meeting. They told them that they’d never had a kid like their son before. He was often in his own world in class, he had some quirky mannerisms, and he wasn’t interacting as much with the other children. The school recommended getting him assessed for autism.
After dragging their feet for a few months, they finally set up an appointment with a child psychologist to do an evaluation. It turned out Solly wasn’t autistic — he was highly gifted.
These days, people throw around the term “gifted” casually, but the truth is, the majority of bright children aren’t gifted. Being gifted isn’t defined by intelligence alone — it’s more about the brain working in a different way, like showing advanced thinking and comprehension beyond age level, exhibiting emotional intensity at a young age, having a heightened sense of self-awareness, being highly curious, and having an excellent memory.
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