Concerned about my third grader??

Ok, here is the deal. My 8 year old is naturally intellegent. He was tested after 1st grade and was testing at an 8th grade level. They tested him again 3 weeks ago because they don%26#039;t know what to do with his brain power. This time he was in his last nine weeks of 2nd grade. He tested at a 10th - 11th grade level. They decided to let him finish the last nine weeks in the 3rd grade and move on to the 4th when school starts back. Here is my dilema, he can not do simply things, like tie his shoes. I thought at first it was because he is the only left handed person in my family. Wrong. He can%26#039;t work a zipper and buttons on pants without help. What am I going to do to get him to be able to do the simple things in life? I am so very proud of him. But it is getting to where the other kids make fun of him because he is so different and he is not wanting to go back to school. I don%26#039;t want to hinder his abilities. Can I have some advice? Nothing I am doing is working.

Concerned about my third grader??
You may want to consider home school.





Eventually he is going to get really bored at school.... Most 11th graders don%26#039;t test out at an 11th grade level.





Manual dexterity is a seperate issue from intelligence however. He may have a problem with that for a while, and he may grow out of it. (My Son couldn%26#039;t button pants until he was in 7th grade) If he doesn%26#039;t he%26#039;ll have to buy pants with elastic waist bands and wear slip on shoes. The bright side is that highly gifted kids are often a little on the eccentric side and nobody will think twice about their 17 year old college proffessor wearing sandals and sweats to lecture.
Reply:I would just have him practice the little things at home. You might want to consider putting him in a school for gifted children. He will learn more and they will be able to give him the best education, versus a public 4th grade which he seems to have surpassed at this point. He might always have trouble fitting in, but I would just try to explain to him that everyone is different in some way, and it isn%26#039;t a bad thing, and that sometimes kids can be very mean when they are faced with something they don%26#039;t understand. I hope this helps a little. Good luck with him,
Reply:Congrats on having such a smart and wonderful son! You must be very proud, but I%26#039;m sure also very concerned. Please speak to the school%26#039;s child study team (or the teacher first, who may be able to contact them for you). They can put you in touch or get a referrel for an occupational therapist to help your son with these things. From what you%26#039;ve said it sounds as if he has fine motor difficulties. How are his gross motor skills, such as skipping, hopping, and running?


A good occupational therapist can provide physical therapy, either during or around school hours. The exercises he will learn can really help and can make your child feel more confident - especially when he has so many other natural gifts inside of him! Good luck!
Reply:i wouldn%26#039;t stress too much. My son is gifted as well, he%26#039;s 9 testing at a 6th grade level, so not quite as gifted as your son. He too struggles with the %26quot;easy%26quot; stuff. He has many normal friends that are the same way. He can%26#039;t open his own juice boxes, he can%26#039;t remember to do anything, he can%26#039;t work the zipper on his pants either. His fine motor skills just aren%26#039;t well developed. I was told to get my son working with his hands. Get him into Legos and Erector sets, clay, playdough, models. Working with small pieces like this helps them to fine tune those skills. It will be a big help I promise
Reply:He will get there!


It%26#039;s normal for kids who are intellectually advanced to sometimes be a bit behind in motor skills.



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