The Einstein Syndrome

I just completed The Einstein Syndrome by Thomas Sowell. It concerns exceptionally bright small childred who are also exceptionally late at beginning to talk. He (and others) have identified a few hundred of these kids nationwide. They hypothesize (for whatever reason) the development of the brains in these kids disfavors the speach area for the first 3-4 years, in favor of other cognitive regions.


We're pretty sure our son Ben is one of these kids. He has just turned five, and is extremely smart (he was able to add and subtract in his head before his third birthday, and he is now starting to read words - although we haven't taught him to read, and he admits to not being quite sure how he is doing it). He also didn't begin to talk until he was nearly four. Tests showed that he went from speaking at the level of a 12 month old to speaking at the level of a 7 year old in about 15 months.

Comments

[Debi]

I was enthralled reading this. My son was one of these late talkers. He didn't speak clearly until 6 years old. I knew he was highly intelligent though. He could solve puzzles and mazes with amazing ability. He seemed to have an amazing memory. He was good at building things and solving problems.

As he progressed through school it became apparent he was highly intelligent. They wanted to have him skip several grades, but he was socially backwards until his high school years, so I wouldn't let him. He was a straight A student, and made a perfect score on his ACT test the first time he took it. He made a perfect score on the english part of the SAT, and missed only one question on the math/science section. He also only took the SAT once. After he made the perfect score on the ACT, the school told us (which they had not previously) that he had scored a genius IQ on a test administered in 7th grade. They said they had no idea just how high his IQ was, because he tested as high as you could on that particular IQ test.

He was a national merit scholar and is on a full 5 year academic scholarship. He has gone to one year of college and is already a Junior. So, I think there is perhaps a lot of merit in the theory that some late talkers develop cognitive abilites rather than forming speech, and often possess genius or very high IQ's. My son followed these examples to the letter.

[zack simmons]

I think i might have this syndrome i started talking at 4.
I didnt start with words. i just started with sentances.
My mom kept me out of public school so i whouldn't be labeled retarded.
In the fith grade i started going to public school and in 6th grade I was put in advanced classes.
If i become an engineer
i would be fourth generation. Is there any test you can get done to see if you have it.

[Elissa]

I also just finished reading this book and I can honestly say I am THRILLED!!!!!! I truly believe my son has the Einstein Syndrom. He is currently 4 1/2 and can talk with 3-4 maybe 5 words in a row. But, he is extremly intelligent. He can already do simple addition, and subtraction, he is also reading at a 2-3 grade reading level. He amazes us with his memory, and at 3 years old did a puzzle of The USA and whenever a piece was missing he would know which state it was. My dad was an engineer and his dad was musically gifted. I would love to chat with any other parent about their experiences, please email me at limonezoneaz@aol.com I am having difficulty with his preschool teachers. Thanks Elissa

[hegem0n]

Hey, I was a late-talker. I wasn't really talking until i was about 3-4. I consider myself to be of much greater than average intelligence (I do excellent in school and find it to be exceedingly easy). Just a word of advice to parents of genius kids: teach them to read as soon as they know how to talk, and really push reading. second to that, i encourage you to teach them as much math as you can as quickly as possible.

One of the things about my childhood that really disappoints me today is that my abilities weren't really recognized by my parents (or even by myself really) for what they were. I always wished that I was educated much more quickly when I was young. I was too young and ignorant then to put my intelligence to its optimal use.

[Dave Tufte]

It would be interesting to know if you have any of the other symptoms. There are lots of reasons that kids talk late, and lots of ways in which people can be intelligent, but Einstein Syndrome appears to be a rather specific set of those features.

[Alicia Soto]

Hello. I read 'The Einstein Syndrome' in a single sitting and cried at the end. It WAS my son, described him and our family with almost freakish accuracy. We did later have a huge developmental eval done of him, and it pretty much confirmed the "Einstein" diagnosis.

I wonder if anyone out there can help. First day of kindergarten today and it was a DISASTER. Samuel had a really rough time with the transition. At 5pm on this his first day of school ever I was called into the principal's office to listen to the teacher laundry list her complaints about his behavior. It was awful, awful. I have been crying all night.

Has anyone been through this? Can you help?
Thanks, Alicia

[Dave Tufte]

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles.

No ... I can't help. I can only tell you that it is working out in our situation, so hopefully it will in yours as well.

[JC]

I think this is a place where people with the same concern can take heart in helping each other, rather than comparing whether one's child is "smarter" to qualify or "better" to survive than others in this situation.
I feel your pain, Alicia, so don't lose heart.

[Sarah Innerst-Peterson]

Hi, Alicia. My daughter, Stori, is an Einstein Syndrome kid. She is 5 years old and is currently in a Montessori school, which we find matches her temperment well. But we did have some problems with a teacher who "laundry listed" us as well. All her comments were negative. Each day was a new list of observations of how difficult, or even impossible, Stori was to "handle." I cried a lot, too, and then I decided that, since people weren't lining up to be Stori's advocate, I was going to do it. I began to insist that this teacher tell me about the positive things she observed with Stori, hoping that she would take the hint that things weren't going well.

Then, after several weeks with no change, I spoke to the head of the school and told her that this teacher was having a hard time connecting with Stori and that I thought I knew why. I said that this teacher was all structure, structure, structure, and demands that everything be done the "right" way (her way). I said that this perspective, mixed with Stori's decidedly different way of seeing and interacting with the world were a disastrous combination. I added that I looked forward to seeing how this teacher, with the head of the school, could work together to help Stori feel welcomed and approved of, as she is.

That teacher got a week-long sabbatical to consider if she really wanted to be a teacher and returned to a different classroom. Stori now looks forward to school and is excited to learn from a teacher.

This action wasn't in step with my character, as I tend to avoid confrontation like the plague, but I took a deep breath, focused on my love for my absolutely fabulous child, and let them have it. Don't give up. Don't ever let anyone tell you that because your son is different, he's a "problem." It's not true and it's not fair.

[David Tufte]

What a great anecdote.

As time goes on we have had less and less trouble with our son - things may change, but he's pretty stellar at school (1st grade) and home these days.

I found what you said about a Montessori school to be interesting. We have our 3 year old there now, and she is definitely not an Einstein Syndrome kid. If anything it sounds like our school is intentionally lacking structure - and that seems to be working. So it probably wasn't Montessori but the teacher.

[Sarah Innerst-Peterson]

Yes, one of the things we like in general about Montessori is it allows children to explore at their own pace and respects their individual processes. (Which is great for an Einstein kid.) Incidentally, you're right--it was the teacher. She actually had only started her Montessori training.

[Lennon's mom]

did any of your children walk late- Lennon likes to hear his baby sounds, he is 20 months and laughs appropriately. He just learned how to walk (very late) 20 months! Everything was a delay w/ him except laughing at and with his big brother. He also has mild Chiari 1

[Nancy]

Alicia,
My heart goes out to you. Both of my sons have Einstein Syndrome. My oldest, who is now 11, still tells me how much he hated kindergarten. If only I had someone to tell me what I know now. We pulled our children out of school and started homeschooling this year. I can't tell you how much happier our entire family is. The biggest benefit to this is that our already accelerated children have really taken off. Our 11 yr, old has completed pre-Algebra and part of Algebra 1 in less that 4 mths. He always had a hard time socially as well. Many of the homeschool friends he has made are very advanced as well, so they have much in common. If your son really is miserable, keep homeschooling in mind.

[David Tufte]

I'm glad you've recognized that there is an issue and a solution that works for you.

I'm not sure who you meant when you said "my heart goes out to you". If by chance it was us, then the vXboy is doing fine in school, and has always loved it. He does have problems with bullies, but he doesn't respond appropriately so we are working on that.

[David Tufte]

Here'a a cute story to add to the thread.

The vXboy's first grade teacher wanted to desensitize the kids to doing poorly on tests (and also to show them that they can often figure out the right answer on a multiple choice test just by reasoning), so she gave an initial test that was far ahead of where they were.

The vXboy brought it home in his bag and didn't mention it. The vXspouse - who is the volatile one in the house - found it and freaked at the 15/24 score.

About a week later we found out that it was a test from a higher grade.

Many heartfelt apologies followed ... but this points out that you need to be extra diligent in figuring out exactly what is going on with your Einstein syndrome child.

[kerry]

I have been around the block so many times with my three yera old daughter,
things i have picked up are firstlt before she could walk, i watched as she sat down
and put blocks into the colours and there shape, i should of then relised that she was diffrent!! all her skills for example crawling and walking were all normal,
when she became about two and half she got hard to handle, only interested in playing by herself but very consructional, and would never wont to go out, even for a drive she'd prefer to stay home and play,
then when she turned 3 she still was only saying a few words i got worryed and took her to the local gp who stated she had autism, then that was mis digonised then i was told nothing was wrong with her, but they said she acts like she has a twin sister or somethink because she makes her own words up for example "nerily" for chocolate, "icty" for me, then when i sarted her at day care she became better behaved, but they observed her to be better then other kids that were tallking, with the graph chart she was high and then the only thing was speech that was at low,
i have been every wher trying to deal with this problem as its hard on you when kids are younger then my daughter are talking,
but if their are going to be benifts for her joy!! but it concerning as i dont know where to go to find out more, i am more worryed about if she will be ready to go to school and maybe people may make fun of her!!
its hard to work out what to do i feel bad when she talks to me in her words and i cant understand half the things she is saying!! hope someone can give me some advice

[Dave Tufte]

I think the message here is that there is hope but no guarantee. The vXboy went from barely saying any words intelligibly to forming 8 word sentences in about 11 weeks. I hope that happens in your case.

[Alexandra]

My son might be one of those children! Of course, I don't know if he's reading or adding things in his head because he's not even talking, and he's four.

I've been told that my son has great problem solving skills. My mother often comments that you can see those wheels turning in his head!

Tyler (my son) loves music. When he was one month old my husband observed him waving his arms and legs to the beat of a song he was playing. I'm not surprised there, because I taught myself how to read music at age 4 (I was reading at around 3) and was in the school band from fourth grade on. My mother has musical talent, as did her mother, who sang opera.

Tyler also seems to be very analytical. He'll build something, and study it--look at it from all angles. He loves to sit back and observe--he learns that way. In fact, we forbade him from watching wrestling when he was a year old because he was doing wrestling moves on his toys--and on Daddy (Think HBK elbow drop)!

The little rascal is smart! When he was two, my husband had a blanket that Tyler wanted, and Tyler kept trying to take it. Finally Tyler went and got a toy from his room and handed it to Daddy. When my husband reached out to take the toy, Tyler snatched the blanket away!

There's this one time when he was 3, my mother and I had him at the mall, and I had a harness on him to keep him from running off, which he did NOT like at all! When we got home I went into the bathroom and my mother watched him pick it up with his fingertips and hold it out in front of him and head into the bathroom with it--where I saw him throw it away! I told my mother what he did and she just busted out laughing!

I wasn't much of a talker myself...my mother tells me they had a time getting me to talk. I just had nothing to say, I guess. Thing is though, while I'm pretty good in math it bores me. Give me music, art, crocheting, knitting, writing, that kind of thing!

Tyler is pretty bullheaded too. My husband thinks he got that from me!

[Dave Tufte]

Sounds like a correct diagnosis to me.

If you haven't read the book yet, you'll probably freak at the first chapter (it will sound so much like you and your family).

[Laurie]

My son griffin is now five years old. When I read "the book" I immediately thought that he fit the profile. He was barely talking at 3 and a half, was late in toilet training, and showed some interesting signs of intelligence. He now reads at a grade 3 level, but taught himself. His math and vocabulary are very advanced.He asked me to explain what "hypothetically" meant just after his fifth birthday. (He had read it in a book, and didn't quite uynderstand.Although he is obviously very bright, he has some areas that are delayed, or immature. He cries easily, is emotional, and has difficulty with coordination, compared to his older sister. He goes to kindergarten, but does not like to play outside at breaks. He reads excessively, usually non fiction material, which he quotes regularly.

[Dave Tufte]

This sounds very familiar, although Griffin sounds smarter than the vXboy. We also have issues with crying easily (and sometimes inappropriately), and coordination.

We stress that when he is upset, that he needs to think about the 5 things he needs to do to be happy: pee, poop, sleep, eat, and drink. He just seems clueless about this sort of stuff. It works like a charm: just this past Saturday afternoon he had a breakdown about stacking stuff in a cabinet so it wouldn't fall out ... wouldn't you know it ... two items on the list he had to take care of, and then he was fine.

[david f]

I was one of these children, now an MD with a BS in Elect Engr/Comp Sci. I was extremely fortunate in that I went to a high school with three Nobel Prize Winners out of 3,000 graduates and I fit right in (Univ of Illinois High School). We definately think differently than others and see the world in a different way which enables us to contribute to the world. I best interact with extremely bright people. Best to get your kids into programs for the very gifted, otherwise they will not be happy. If you can live in Urbana Illinois, move there and have your kids attend the University of Illinois High School.

[Julia]

I have been through all sorts of people telling me all kinds of stuff. We went to one of the best psychologists in NYC and she suspected that all things my son could do exceptionally well was because I "trained him", or I've made him memorize them. He answered most of her math or visual-spatial questions in 1-2 seconds and mostly right (I would say that he would have made a perfect score right there if he would concerntrate a little, even for 2 more seconds.) Since he is so much delayed in speech, he was thought to be not understanding anything (not even social rules like saying think you). When he genuinely express his thanks to the psycologist, she said to me "see, you even taught him that". My son totally understood this and all other things she had said, and the same night he said: "Mommy, I am stupid, I am not smart."
This made me furious, because not my integrity as of raising my child was insulted, my son was deeply hurt. My son is obviously bright in many ways (a lot of them were already covered by previous posts, so I would not keep repeating them.) I will suggest that STAY AWAY from anyone who may not understand your child well. It is not that your children do not understand, but that people who don't and don't want to understand them.

[Julia]

I understand how intelligence test scores and academic skills are important to these children. Since while parents already know how bright their children are, it's really not necessary to have them printed on paper. However, this is our tools to get around when other people's opinions can affect our children('s furure) greatly.
There are just so many test administrators out there who may add personal preference into the interpretation of the test results. I was told that although my son is doing quite well on the visual-spatial part of the intelligence test, those skills are not really important as he goes to school. (In terms of how true this statement is, I think many of you will make judgement yourselves with common sense).

[Julia]

I would also suggest keeping a journal or videotaping your children when they do things that show how bright they are, just in case people have questions about how they could be so unbelievably and uniquely bright. When my son was 3, he self-taught computer, and used search engine to download his favorit games or find out topics that he was interested in (by that time he also started to read and spell by himself), I did some homeschooling after he was having hard time in a few pre-schools, thinking that it would be better if I could try teaching him myself. So far after 7 months he is math skills are at 2nd grade level. I am a person who likes to insist on fairness. All I did was to explain to him the general rules of math operations, which he is able to understand and apply by himself in 5 min. We finish a week's lessons in one or two sittings, and I have never made him memorize anything other than the multiplication table. I feel very angry when I am already tring to pick up the work that teachers are suppost to do but fail to, and then have to be misunderstood and judged this way. However, after thinking over (I almost wanted to give up on it), I will not stop teaching/ supporting his giftedness, just because someone suspected me of trying to make a genius out of a "savant" (is that ever possible?) I purely do things because I spot some great talents and interests in my child for learning, in some particular area. I am not going to waste them away just becuase someone who just met him for a day or two do not see it.