Yes, we joke in our household and call him the family nerd. Dude. He is. His brain is working overtime and the things he can compute, calculate, figure out, realize, rationalize...it's scary.
J read a book to all of us the other day at bedtime and I wasn't even listening to the story. I was just sitting there, mouth open, dumbstruck at how he didn't stumble over the words, they just flowed out of his mouth. Proper & perfect inflection in the appropriate places and all.
He knows the entire Napoleon Dynamite movie from start to finish. He recites the words, the dance moves, the gestures. His brain just flash freezes everything right in his head upon first sight of things sometimes. Crazy kid.
J has the ability to carry on adult conversations and annoyingly, often gets right in the middle of lots of them. He understands and comprehends far more than an average 6 year old should.
He excels at sports too. One wouldn't think someone who is so busy using their brain could also be so physically coordinated. Oh no, his brain is actually contemplating what his body will do next. Soccer isn't just soccer. Its geometry, acceleration, physics and a little competitive nature thrown in for good measure. The kid dominates on a soccer field.
About 3 years ago we were ready to have J tested for behavioral issues. ADD, ADHD, the gamut. He was a spaz, bouncing off walls, destructive, attention span of a gnat and I was actually really worried for what lie ahead for him. Preschool began and we started to notice a calmness slowly covering him like a gentle blanket. ahhhhh. Structured learning. J needed it and needed more.
About 2 years ago, J failed the vision screening test at preschool, despite passing the one the pediatrician had just given him a few months earlier at a physical. Upon further testing, it was discovered J has some pretty insane vision issues. Near sighted in one eye, far sighted in the other and different astigmatisms in each eye. The eye dr, while scratching his head, questioned aloud how J had gotten around the previous 4 years without literally bumping into walls. He said the new glasses would take some getting used to as they are pretty strong and that J would have to relearn how to write. Relearn? These glasses brought forth an explosion in J's head! I think connections were made that had never been there before, synapses' grew closer and J's behavior even improved dramatically. The now-clear world became his classroom and J's brain was ready to absorb it all.
My husband & I are both pretty intelligent people. I was a total nerd in school and my husband is nothing short of a brainiac himself with his mad engineering skillz. He & I will often look at each other, bug-eyed, at the latest thing to come from J's mouth. It's jaw dropping and often just shy of simply unbelievable the things that are being created & cultivated in this small, wiry boys head.
His teachers see it too. His teacher last year adored him. She told me often how exciting it was to watch him grasp a new concept and his love of learning was inspiring. His teacher this year commented how he will help others with their work. She said its so awesome to watch him be a peer/leader/teacher to the other children as he tries to help them figure out the problem/answer for themselves and does not just immediately give them the answer like many children typically would do.
My son has insane potential in this world to succeed. I must say it's a bit intimidating. It's kind of exciting too. :)
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