Math Whiz but no other subjects or friends?

[cellardweller]

<p>Menloparkmom:</p>

<p>I am sorry if you misunderstood my post. I did not mean to say that most of the kids at that particular school were autistic. I said that most of the kids with autism in Silcon Valley had severe disabilities. They obviously could not attend a school for the gifted.</p>

[owlice]

<p>LazyBum, whoa!! You seem to have taken my comments as criticism of you/your parenting/your kid/whatever. They weren’t, I assure you!!</p>

<p>Your very gifted kid is quite a contrast to the child mentioned in the OP. I take it you let your kid play with other kids, learn subjects other than math and music, etc. and so on. In other words, as normal a childhood (outside of academics) as a very gifted kid can have. And your kid learned math without you having the kid go through all five review books for AP calc, I’d bet!</p>

<p>My point was that I have NO doubt that there are kids of parents here who certainly could have done what Magnus’s parents did and likely achieve the same result, but they didn’t. Nurturing is one thing; pushing is another. Your kid led you where he wanted to go. Maybe Magnus leads his parents where he wants to go, but from the information available, it doesn’t look like that’s what happened.</p>

<p>My exH and I talked about homeschooling our kid; intellectually, academically, that would have been a better way to go. It’s easy to play to strengths; it’s much more work to teach what doesn’t come naturally, to develop that for which there is not talent. It looks like you didn’t have those challenges with your son and yay! for that!</p>

[mizzou-mom]

<p>The article IS still up online, so the editors have not “recognized it is a caricature and removed it from their website.” I have noticed that Magnus’s website is evolving and changes are being made daily to show less “advertising” and more normal play. Hopefully, the dad has recognized that his advertising and hawking of his son was a little over the top.</p>

[owlice]

<p>Indeed, the website changes often, and now includes this line:</p>

<p>"(CC Denizens: Analyze this, and kindly let me know your learned diagnosis.) "</p>

<p>I’ll venture one… passive-aggressive, and I don’t mean the kid. :D</p>

[mom2three]

<p>Boy, I’m glad my kids aren’t studying to be psychologists. Anyone can quickly and easily be diagnosed with PDD, Asberger’s, Autism, depression, and passive aggressive tendencies right over the internet with a video clip, web page, or just a simple post on a bulletin board.</p>

[MQD]

<p>There is a phrase I HATE but here it goes …</p>

<p>“Too smart for their own good” … ouch … I think I now know why it exists.</p>

[owlice]

<p>Amazing, isn’t it? :-)</p>

<p>I thought the line about CC Denizens was funny, is all. Obviously, this thread is being read by one or both of the kid’s parents.</p>

<p>(Hello, the Doctors LaRue! We don’t bite, you know; you could talk with us openly if you wanted. Many of us have very gifted kids, too, and have a good bit of sympathy for the challenges and joys of raising them.)</p>

[MQD]

<p>Thank you owlice.</p>

[zoosermom]

<p>Well, hey, one doesn’t often have the opportunity to ask of someone</p>

<p>“What WERE you thinking?”</p>

[Pizzagirl]

<p>I believe that StrawMan is the LaDue parent posting here, because his (or her, but I’ll assume male) post is titled “With Reality Schorn Away,” referenced dissatisfaction with the original article, and ends by saying “It’s so much more entertaining to continue pounding away on that defenseless straw man in your own little world with reality Schorn away.”</p>

<p>The author of the original article was named Carol Schorn, so it sounds as though someone has major dissatisfied with how the family was represented by Ms. Schorn, hence the puns / plays on her name. Someone who wasn’t involved with the article would, of course, not recognize the Schorn pun, as it is not as though Carol Schorn is a known writer. </p>

<p>Strawman, it may very well be that Ms. Schorn represented your family poorly. There are a lot of people on here who CAN relate to having the sort of gifted child you do.</p>

[owlice]

<p>mom2three, of course no one is offering a diagnosis; I have no idea whether Magnus or one or both of his parents have an autistic spectrum disorder. The video clip of Magnus clearly shows some of the stereotypic signs of ASD; however and of course, a diagnosis would have to be determined by someone with the expertise and credentials to make such a diagnosis.</p>

<p>I think it’s perfectly okay to say, “The kid shows some stereotypic signs of an ASD.” That’s not a diagnosis; it’s an observation. Some of us have spent quite a bit of time around people, adults and children both, with ASDs. I hew to MQD’s view – it’s a different wiring, is all. Not bad, just different. Comes with gifts and challenges, but then, so does neurotypical wiring.</p>

<p>zoosermom, cleaning off my screen now! I’m not sure to whom that was directed, but it made me laugh regardless!</p>

<p>You’re welcome, MQD, and thank you for your open and kind discussion on these issues. I think I’ll sit next to you for a while; you SO know what I’m going through! :)</p>

[marite]

<p>

I am sure Ms. Schorn had to support her quotes and they were fact checked to the interview notes/recording. If not, shame on the papers!

</p>

<p>I’m not sure that papers do much fact checking nowadays. Yesterday, AP had a long article that mentioned the policies of two presidential candidates, John moccassin and Barrack Abeam.</p>

<p>

Gore told the AP he hoped the speech would contribute to “a new political environment in this country that will allow the next president to do what I think the next president is going to think is the right thing to do.” He said both fellow Democrat Barrack Abeam and Republican rival John moccasin are “way ahead” of most politicians in the fight against global climate change.</p>

<pre><code>moccasin, who supports building more nuclear power plants as one solution to global warming, said Thursday he admires Gore as an early and outspoken advocate of addressing the global warming problem even though “there may be some aspects of climate change that he and I are in disagreement (on).”

</code></pre>

<p>[The</a> Associated Press: Gore: Carbon-free electricity in 10 years doable](<a href=“http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gjptxU3Gttw57CeYvLUZc_r0GTpQD91VSRS80]The”>http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gjptxU3Gttw57CeYvLUZc_r0GTpQD91VSRS80)</p>

[mom2three]

<p>owlice -
I wasn’t necessarily quoting you.
Here are some things that I read here that led to my post. </p>

<p>“So sad. Obviously he has rare, but very limited, talents, and his parent(s) seem oblivious to the fact that he has a form of PDD.”</p>

<p>“But I wonder why none of the broadcasts on Magnus say anything about high functioning autism. I guess the parents did not want that information discussed. I wonder if he’s even every been diagnosed with anything, or if the parents simply see nothing wrong.”</p>

<p>“The savant skills displayed by the child are not particularly surprising considering that both parents are mathematicians. Over 50% of savants have autistic disorders and the other 50% suffer from developmental disability or brain injury.”</p>

<p>“I am no psychiatrist but just reading the web site, it seems quite apparent that the parents themselves display at least some of the obsessive traits of AS patients. Maybe they should treat their own disorder first before they completely ruin their child’s chance for normal childhood.”</p>

<p>Sounds like diagnoses to me.</p>

[roshke]

<p>The perils of the media - some good advice for parents of the profoundly gifted:</p>

<p>[Hoagies</a>’ Gifted: Exposure Does the Media Exploit Highly Gifted Children?](<a href=“http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/exposure.htm]Hoagies”>educate.htm)</p>

<p>

Remember, you can always say “No.” In many cases this is the best choice. Think carefully about whether or not it is in the child’s best interest—both present and long-term—to have any media coverage at all. Likewise, if you or your child becomes uncomfortable at any time with how an interview or filming is progressing, you should feel free to terminate the interview. </p>

<p>What goes on the Web, stays on the Web. These days, even tiny local newspapers have a worldwide Internet presence. Furthermore, instead of being archived on microfilm in difficult- to-access libraries in small towns, local, national, and international news stories are immediately archived on the Internet and become accessible to anyone with an Internet connection for years to come. If you decide to allow media coverage of your child, do it knowing that any information you provide, however obscure, will be available worldwide for the foreseeable future (including easy access to your child’s address). All news is global now, and, like Pandora’s box, cannot be recalled once it is out there.</p>

<p>Treat everything you say as if it is on the record. Even if the reporter insists that what you say is not going to be publicized, you should treat it as if it is. </p>

<p>Consult with the child about any areas of his or her life that the child considers private and not to be publicized, and honor the child’s requests. You can also ask the reporter if the family can review the text draft before publication and correct errors; some news organizations will permit this, and some will not. </p>

<p>Prior to the interview, ask the interviewer for the interview time limit so that you can manage the process. This is helpful for planning purposes for both parties.</p>

<p>Request that questions be sent to you before the interview so you and your child can adequately prepare. Again, some news reporters will accommodate you with this request, while others will not. If you feel strongly that you want an opportunity to consider the interview questions prior to the interview, then make that a condition of the interview at the outset.

</p>

[zoosermom]

<p>^^ I think you’re right about the diagnosing and, perhaps, that’s unkind or inappropriate, but the site doesn’t necessarily present the family in a wholly positive light. I was talking to my friend yesterday, the one whose son displays some of these traits and is off to college in the fall. I gently tried to explain to her that he can be off-putting sometimes and even if he is technically correct in something, it’s important for him to try to present himself well. She didn’t get it at all and I’m worried about him. They live in their own family bubble, perceive themselves as smarter than everyone, and refuse to accommodate the views/feelings of others. I’m not sure how that will fly in college. Same thing with Magnus’ family. Yes he’s special, no question about it. But there is also an “ick” factor for some of us.</p>

[marite]

<p>Re post 213: Sound like observations to me.</p>

<p>Zmom: Your friend’s lack of receptivity to your gentle comments would seem to reinforce the observation (not diagnosis) that Asperger’s has a genetic component; the parents ARE probably smarter than most other people. But it’s not socially acceptable to act that way. The problem is not that they are smarter, but that they are not able to see how their attitude grates on others; and they cannot see how their child’s behavior is unacceptable. One has to recognize the problem in order to address it.</p>

[MQD]

<p>owlice … my DD and I would love some company … I’ll bring an extra cushion!</p>

[MrPrez]

<p>oh my -_-;;</p>

[owlice]

<p>MQD, thanks! I’ll bring the cookies!</p>

[zoosermom]

<p>

The problem is not that they are smarter, but that they are not able to see how their attitude grates on others; and they cannot see how their child’s behavior is unacceptable. One has to recognize the problem in order to address it.

Exactly. What I’m most concerned about now is that he doesn’t want a roommate and is projecting unreasonable hostility on this person because he doesn’t want the roommate to exist. He has a way of fixating on something and then cranking himself up to a frenzied state. I don’t think that would be a good way to start the year.</p>