Posted by:
Tevai
(
)
Date: January 07, 2016 04:48PM
crookedletter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> .........but this year he seems to have
> more self-awareness that he is intelligent and
> doesn't quite fit in.
"...that he is intelligent and doesn't quite fit in..."
I don't know what this means in quantifiable terms (is he above average, or WAY above average???), but if he is nine, you probably have some idea.
If he is intellectually oriented, but could use some friends who are on his level and are interested in the same things that excite him, there are resources available that he (with your help to begin with) could take advantage of.
If he is fascinated with the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, math, and anything to do with computers), Art of Problem Solving is unique and wonderful. It is a mostly-online community of STEM-subject aficionados, with the youngest beginning at pre-school ages, and with most of them in elementary-through-high school ages. Many of the kids on the site are preparing for the various local, and the global, math, chemistry, etc. competitions (which begin at elementary school age), so there is an international group of online, and in-person, friends available to him who are his own age (and who may live in the same general area). www.artofproblemsolving.com (P.S. Kids who have competed in the available math and science competitions are usually in line for easier college acceptances and often for scholarship money...and kids who go through the AoPS courses rapidly become the students who get first preference for the hardest-to-get college, and college major, slots.)
If he is substantially more intelligent than most of his classmates, he may qualify for Mensa (which is open to anyone whose IQ scores in the top 2% of the population). One of the things Mensa is particularly good at is supporting gifted children in every possible way---since all the adult members grew up as gifted children themselves, and they know (and remember!) the challenges. In most areas of the country, there are special events for kids like field trips to different interesting places, etc., which all provide a place for gifted kids to meet, have fun, and gain friends they can actually talk to and have genuine fun with.
Mensa accepts the scores of a variety of proctored or administered IQ tests, and they also offer in-person, qualifying tests several times a year in most areas.
Google: Mensa for general information from a variety of sources. (Also:
https://www.us.mensa.org for American Mensa, and
https://www.mensa.org for International Mensa)
There are ways for your son to make contact with other kids in your area who are like him, and who are also looking for same-level friends...and there are a wealth of friends waiting for him at places like the online groups in AoPS (and the subsequent in-person groups which get together to prepare for the various competitions).
I wish him all the best!!!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2016 04:50PM by Tevai.