Developmental Milestones of a Gifted Toddler
By Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D
Q:
Ultimately, I am trying (like many parents) to get a gauge
of my son's learning potential-level so I can provide the
best for him.
I am looking for concrete examples of normal vs. advanced
reasoning for a 20-24 month old.
My son seems to learn systems quite easily (see "I"
examples) -- but I do not know what is normal in terms of
understanding more complex concepts & solving problems at
this age (see II examples).
I. LEARNING SYSTEMS/PROCESSES
-
less than 1: obsessed with stop lights (red = stop and
green = go) -Was first exposed to alphabet at 12 months, had
it mastered (to our surprise) a few months later -Counting
to 10 at about 18 months and figured out the counting system
in a heartbeat (21-22-23...) -1000 vocabulary at 18 months
-Loves numbers (in parking lot has to read all the stalls
34, 35, 36, etc.) -Does "math" on his fingers ("2 plus 2
equals 4") and with objects ("3 take away 1 is 2") -Counts
all sorts of things, for example, the number of carrot
slices as I cook
-
at 14-18 months: very good with 10 colors
-
23 months: Very accurate with left/right
-
12 months: could accurately identify (say) 10 shapes
-
24 months: corrects me if I accidentally refer to a number
as a “letter”. When Daddy is all done working I show him the
ampersand" -Now obsessed with time - checks the clock
several times a day - is accurate with hour hand - loves
setting and watching the timer -Loves doing spelling
activities (typing on computer) -- he can get initial
letters on any word almost perfectly -now identifying the
spelling beyond initial word (BTW, he initiates all these
activities) -can sight read many words -- but much more into
spelling than reading -Likes to know/guess the direction we
are going (N, S, E or W)
II. REASONING
Are these scenarios typical at these ages:
-
12-14 months: making a lot of comparisons like big/small
(and changing his voice accordingly); smooth/rough,
high/low, light/dark, etc.
-
18-20 months: Very good at identifying a photo vs. a
painting
-
20-24 months: clear preference for art he likes and dislikes
--18-24 months: can sing a ton of songs (Ba-ba-blacksheep,
green grass, etc.) and creates his own lyrics (for fun) with
those tunes. 20 months (DESCRIPTIVE/PROCESS: explains how to use his iPod
while demonstrating: "slide here, click here, open Clock")
-
21 months (DESCRIPTIVE/PROCESS): recounts how a boat runs
("turn the key, motors starts, propeller goes around fast,
boat goes fast...") - he is obsessed with boat motors
-
21 months (INFERENTIAL?): recounts relationships of
new people he meets after one, brief introduction (e.g.,
"Carol lives with Bob and Alex and Mel and Sassy in
Florida")
-
24 months (INFERENTIAL): I ask my husband to
watch our 2-year old around a splintered piece of wood on
the edge of a piece of furniture, the 2-year old immediately
responds "put tape on it - that fix it" before my husband
says a word.
A: It appears quite obvious
that your son's development is rather advanced, something
gifted children usually master by two years of age.
For a 24 month old child, the average development would see
the child being able to feed oneself with a spoon, drink
from a straw, recognize parts of the face and points them
out when asked, take things apart, ability to build tower
(with about three to four building blocks), disassemble
toys, ability to open/close and explore drawers/cabinets,
pretend play, walk on stairs with help, follow directions
and instructions, has a vocabulary of several hundred words,
use of two to three word sentences, enjoys looking at same
books many times, refers to self by name, etc. A gifted
child would show about 30% advanced development of some
skills and abilities by weeks, months or even years.
An interesting research on developmental milestones of
gifted children is presented in the following tables.
(Source: The Gifted Education Research, Resource and
Information Centre [GERRIC], The University of New South
Wales, SYDNEY Australia). It is a fact that gifted children
tend to gain skills faster and sometimes with more ease than
the average child with normal development. Naturally, the
advanced development can and does show up in early life,
making acquisition of other skills and abilities also at a
faster pace. The following milestones have been gathered
over many years of research on giftedness.
Please note that these figures are just guidelines. There
are other factors that may influence development such as
general health, specific sensory disabilities, motivation,
etc.
General Motor Examples
| Ability |
Normal Age (months) |
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
| Ability |
Normal Age (months) |
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 (months) |
Gifted Age (30%
Advanced) |
| Social smile at people |
1.5 months |
1.05 months |
| 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 object to 3 |
36 |
25.2 |
Hope the above would help you gauge the developmental
milestones of your child. Best of luck!
|
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