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Sometimes being gifted can be as much of a disability as being mentally challenged. When a child is gifted, everyone expects so much more of them than what they would expect of any other child. And if by chance that gifted child goes unnoticed for any length of time, they can be misidentified, and labeled as a trouble child. Imagine the frustration that any child would feel, any adult would feel if they were that misunderstood. How do I know this? Because, I am the mother of a gifted child who went unidentified until third grade.

Hi, my name is Ami, and I'm going to tell you about my eldest daughter. When my daughter was born, like every other mother in the world, I just knew that my baby girl was the most beautiful and most special girl in the world. She did everything early. She rolled early, she got teeth at four months, she walked at nine months, she stopped napping at ten. But for all of the things she did early, she also didn't do some things that were hard to swallow to a first time mom. I couldn't nurse her, she wouldn't latch on and she couldn't stay focused on me long enough to feed. She would not snuggle with me. I had to force her to lay her head on my shoulder for hugs. Everyone told me it was okay. That she was just too busy trying not to miss what was going on around her.

At 18 months old our baby girl was proficient on the computer, and by age three she could tie shoes and read simple words. All of this came with other frustrations. She still wouldn't potty train, and she would eat anything that came into contact with her mouth. I would wake up to find chocolate syrup trailing up the stairs to her room. One day I found a carton of ice-cream behind a chair with a spoon in it. She simply could not find enough to occupy her- only I did not know this at the time. Oh how I would loose my temper at her. I would blame everything on her red hair. And her stubborn streak that she must have inherited from somewhere on my husbands side of the family.

Preschool was a relief. Finally I got a few hours a day where she would be occupied. Her teachers pegged her right away and told me that they thought she was "advanced". They thought I should try to get her tested for early admission to kindergarten. I opted instead to enroll her in a five day a week program versus the three day a week program she already attended. Somehow, we managed to make it through, though I tell you, that child was always into something!

Kindergarten came and we were ready. Her kindergarten

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