How unusual is it for a 3-yr-old to write?

[CornField]

My 3-yr-old son has a speech impediment. We don't always understand what he is saying and often have to ask him to show us.

He was talking to me about wanting something today and I couldn't understand. I asked him to show me and he said he couldn't. Then he took my pen and pointed to a pad of paper. I handed it to him and he wrote "MAP" on the paper.

I asked, "You want a map?" and he said "YES!"

Before this, I've never saw him even attempt to write letters. And I don't remember either of my older girls writing words at age 3.

Edited to add a scan of the writing:

[RandomKoolzip]

1. I could read and write at three, but I could barely walk.

In fact, I still had trouble walking until I was six or so. Some skills just come easy, some hard.

[philosophie_en_rose]

2. I wrote at 3.

It's not that unusual to write simple words or sentences.

At least, I don't think so.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

3. I taught myself to read at 2 or 3 y/o,

and the writing came not long after that....I can't remember not being able to read/write. My grandmother was shocked, when I visited her in Chicago at age four, to find that I could read all the billboards and street signs.... ;) ;)

I don't think reading at 3 is very common, but then again, I just like to make myself feel special...

:D :P :D ;)

[mikeytherat]

4. I could write at two, and formed complex sentences before that!

It really freaked a bunch of people out.

mikey_the_rat

[HEyHEY]

5. I had composed my first novella at age 2

Well, not really

[BikeWriter]

15. .

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

17. Stop exaggerating. It was a 5-page short story. And you were nearly 3. -nt

[asthmaticeog]

18. Just a novella? Dilettante.

:eyes:

[HEyHEY]

45. Hey, I wrote it in one week and it won a newberry

[NNadir]

52. In just one language?

I wrote my first two novels at the age of 2 in two different languages. The first I wrote in English, although I was responsible for several coinages that later were cited in The Oxford Supplement to the Dictionary of the English Language.

Somehow I felt vaguely unsatisfied with this work, noting several negative reviews in literary journals like The Antioch Review, The Michigan Quarterly, and The New York Review of Books.

In part to obscure my feeling of inadequacy - feelings that were magnified by my parent's unconcealed disappointment with my lack of literary achievement - I chose to write my next work entirely in a dialect of Mordvin, a Finno-Ugric language that is nearing extinction in Russian Europe.

Later I translated both works into French and felt somewhat vindicated when I was awarded the Prix du Jeune Écrivain Francophone which offset some of my pain and intellectual malaise. This lead to a brief period of extreme creativity that peaked around the time of my 4th birthday but by the time I was seven, I was clearly past my literary prime. Some of my later works briefly flashed of earlier successes, including two works written in Old Norse and later translated, by me, into modern Icelandic.

My career was clearly over by the time I reached puberty, but by then, of course, I had begun to drink heavily and had been infected with several serious diseases of a - shall we say? - social nature. Both of my marriages had failed by then and I had taken to smoking heavily - and lost my ability to sing opera as well. The stinging rejection of my bid for the title role in Handel's Jephtha that would have inspired a literary response in my prepubescent years, instead lead to my hospitalization, including periods in which I needed to be restrained as I kicked my heroin addiction.

It's all been down hill from there. By the time I reached high school in the ninth grade, my previous achievements were long forgotten, and I was mostly known for passing dirty limericks around the class. I was briefly suspended for two years when one of the limericks I composed about our principal, a Dr. Bock produced as rhyming words "cock, shock, and crock.

The final ditty of my career, written at 17, went like this:

Dr. Bock was in for a shock
When he thought how to stir up a crock
By removing his pants
And by straightening his lance
He made quite a stir with his cock.

Dr. Bock had me expelled. Later I worked at some of the best car washes in Southern Utah.

[liontamer]

6. i don't think it's odd

If he has trouble speaking, he probably is going to write better because he has to communicate with you. He probably had to figure out writing out of frustration.

[kick-ass-bob]

7. It is outside of normal processes, but it is not unheard of.

My daughter has written her name (and now writes words as well) since she was 3 (now 4)

My son never did that, however, but he was reading street signs at age 2 (and a half or something)

[AngryAmish]

8. I wrote "Heart of Darkness"

in the 2 days between the time I was born and I went home. Joseph Conrad was working as an orderly at the hospital and stole my manuscript.

[northzax]

22. yeah, well I wrote "War and Peace"

in utero- damn Russian OB Nurse totally stole it.

[AngryAmish]

25. I feel so bad for you.

Ir is a scandal much larger than the James Frey nonsense.

[northzax]

26. I know, if only I had money

then I could be a republican.

[ET Awful]

44. So you're the one who can clarify . . . is it true that the working title

was "War, what is it good for?"

[THUNDER HANDS]

9. maybe he wanted a nap, not a map

i mean, what would a 3-year-old want with a map?

[eyesroll]

12. Have you ever seen Dora the Explorer?

"I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map!"

The preschool set is enamored with maps.

[politicat]

10. I read at 3, but didn't write.

I'm left-handed, and my family is right handed. They didn't grasp that I wasn't going to write with my right hand until I was about four.

My sister, who had a speech impediment as a small child, learned to write and spell very early - it was a more effective means of communication for her. I think she was late 2 or early 3 when she learned to move the alphabet magnets on the fridge into several easy words. She still writes better than she speaks on her feet. (She's terribly witty with a keyboard in front of her, but kinda dull in speech in person.)

[bleedingheart]

11. my daughter did, but that is because she had an older sibling

who was already in school writing...

[TallahasseeGrannie]

13. It is unusual in the general population

I teach gifted kids for a living. Most of them have been reading since late 3 or 4. Many of the girls have been writing since about that time. The boys develop more slowly.

Sounds like you have a very bright child, and also that he is making up for his challenges in other areas by developing this one.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

31. That's so cool, TG.

My teachers for my gifted classes are always 1000x more interesting than the other ones. Not that the other ones were NOT interesting, necessarily--though many were :D :D :P ;)--but still.

I guess I'm trying to compliment you, somehow.

;) ;)

WIMR

[TallahasseeGrannie]

35. Thanks, WIMR

That's quite a compliment. How do I say this... to teach gifted kids you really need to be pretty sharp yourself. You don't need to be a scholar, but you need to have a quick mind and a lot of curiosity. And a sense of humor. You are DOOMED in the classroom with gifted kids without a sense of humor.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

40. Oh yes, you SO are.

For my GT math class 7th grade year, we were taught by this very, um, INTERESTING, shall we say, woman. She was incredibly smart, and certified to teach GT, I believe, but rigid, and she would not know a joke if it danced naked in front of her.

Needless to say, she stopped volunteering to take "honors" (that's what they call it now--:eyes:) math classes after that year.

:D

[CornField]

34. That's what I'm wondering

If he isn't learning something new in order to deal with a challenge he has. (Kinda like the blind person who develops an excellent sense of smell or hears really well.) ???

[henslee]

14. His handwriting is better than mine. I will tell you one thing

that we did for my nephew that rocked his world.... we wrote the name of everything on everything in the house. FRIDGE, BATHROOM, WALL LIGHT SWITCH, DOOR. He is a super smarty now.

[sandnsea]

16. It's very unusual

I don't know what the rest of these people are talking about. Kids might begin to recognize letters at age 3, but rarely know the sounds or to be able to put them together to write or read. Sometimes kids develop skills in one area and are consequently slow in another, maybe that's what is happening with your son. Regardless, sounds to me like he's smart as a whip.

[dryan]

19. I could read and write....

when I was about 3 almost 4.

[sandnsea]

23. Then you and DU are full of geniuses n/t

[AlienGirl]

56. Hyperlexics love the Internet!

Hyperlexics take to discussion boards like ducks to water, so it's not weird that Internet communities have more hyperlexics than random samples.

Tucker

[dryan]

65. Maybe I just....

had a very patient mother?

[ScreamingMeemie]

20. It is very unusual. My daughter could read and write at three, but my

son could not. You will have your hands full with such a precocious child.

[greatauntoftriplets]

21. I could read words as big as Eisenhower when I was 3,

among others.

My penmanship teacher would say that, to this day, I have never learned how to write.

;)

[gollygee]

24. Cool!

I think that's pretty darn unusual!

My daughter is 3. She can only write her name. To write you have to have some reading knowledge AND writing knowledge, and that's early even for reading :)

[distantearlywarning]

27. My parents taught me to read at 2 1/2

I don't remember a time when I didn't know how to read. I don't know for sure, but I imagine that I was probably able to write simple words like "map" at around 3 years of age. I think that's pretty unusual, though.

Your kid sounds very smart. Maybe you should run with it and try to teach him on your own to read and write before he gets to school?

[WritingIsMyReligion]

30. Absolutely run with it, I'd say.

My friend is precocious and a recognized GT student like me, but her mother was told--by a not-so-reliable source, it turns out :eyes:-- not to teach her any reading/writing before she started school, because then she'd "have nothing to do while the other kids learn." (:eyes::eyes:)

Which is total horseshit, of course. Teach him all he wants, and if he ends up ahead of the class, that really is the school's problem, not his, not yours.

WIMR

[khashka]

28. I could...

While it's not like it never happens, it's a tad unusual. You got a smart little kid on your hands - which is not always such a great deal for the parents. A very smart little kid. Encourage him and feel proud of him :)

Khash.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

32. My mom says that somedays she's immensely proud of me,

and somedays, especially when I was younger, she wanted to throttle me for being so infuriatingly smart. That was before modesty came into play on my part, of course. Now I'm just the most modest, most delightful thing....

:D ;) :P

[khashka]

36. Yeah, right

you ain't fooling me, girl!
But I had the opposite experience - I was the best kid, smart, responsible, obedient, good.... Never woulda thought that, eh? Weird old Khash was the perfect child - and my parents will testify to that. I only became wild later.

"Most modest, most delightful thing" Yeah right, lady, pull the other one!

(Seriously, wimr, I would like to read a sample of your writing. And I know how exposed that can make you feel - hell,I can only write if I promise myself no one will ever read it. It can be very personal. But if you ever feel able to share a little bit of it - keep me in mind. As a published author I might be able to give some advice.)

Khash.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

37. Hell yea, you might.

:D

You'll be a presence at the back of my mind, Khash. :thumbsup:

[BikeWriter]

29. I think your kid is pretty sharp! ;-)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

33. It IS unusual

and you should encourage it, but not push him.

My parents, who had both been elementary school teachers, used to spell out words for me on products and signs that we encountered: "m-i-l-k" or "s-t-o-p" or other words that are easy to sound out.

At story time, they'd run there finger under the words and stop at a word that they thought I should know, asking me to supply it.

I was sick for most of my kindergarten year, so they bought a lot of easy books for me to read through.

However, they never pushed, never put me through the trained seal act that some parents get into. The most ridiculous one I ever saw was a man who had taught his four-year-old to recognize the parts of a cell: "And these are the mitochondria." Uh, that's totally useless, show-offy information until the kid is old enough to understand a bit about physiology.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

39. That's so true.

If the 4 y/o doesn't ask about mitochondria, and doesn't show a particular interest in science of that type, then WHY teach him/her that?

And THEN, if you insist upon teaching it, and the poor kid spaces out, or just doesn't LIKE it, then WHY do you push it?

Some parents.....

:crazy::crazy:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

38. My son could read and spell at 3,

but his fine motor skills have always been weak; so he didn't write much at that age. His pre-school teachers encouraged him, though; and he was able to at least write his name by the time he was 4.

I think it's wonderful that your child is developing and utilizing his writing skills to communicate effectively with you! :)

[mzteris]

41. He sounds gifted with verbal language delay.

You should seek out a developmental pediatrician to find out why the delay. There can be myriad reasons.

But if he's writing - at three - he's definitely very gifted.

Einstein was a late talker, btw.

[wildeyed]

42. My daughter did stuff like that.

When she was 2-1/2 she drew a smiley face and wrote her baby brother's name underneath it. My mother and I just kind of sat there with our mouths open.

My 3 year old son is no where near writing or drawing figuratively. He can identify all his letter and numbers. I don't push. Hew will learn when he is ready. On the other hand, he can climb anything, there is not a fence that can hold that boy, and he is more creative and fanciful than my daughter was at his age. I guess everyone develops at different rates.

[Spider Jerusalem]

43. I read at two; and wrote to some extent before my third birthday.

Both without having been taught. So no, it's not odd; it's just that it'sm more common for those skills to be acquired around age five or so.

[AlienGirl]

57. That's not unusual for an Aspie

[DarkmoonIkonoklast]

58. "Aspie"?...

[AlienGirl]

59. Person with Asperger's (very high functioning autism)

[DarkmoonIkonoklast]

60. One of the things I LOVE about D.U....

... is that it's one of the few places I know where my intellect is only slightly above average... at best!

[Spider Jerusalem]

64. Yeah, I know...

a sizeable number of the Aspies I've met seem to've been hyperlexic as children. I was reading about six years ahead of grade level by kindergarten...and I remember that in first and second grades I got an award for reading more books from the library than anyone else in the school (I preferred to spend recess and other free time reading, finding Sherlock Holmes and Tom Sawyer and Long John Silver much more interesting than the other kids in my class).

[huskerlaw]

46. My nephew

had trouble speaking due to a series of ear infections when he was a baby/toddler, and yes, he learned how to read and write early (3). Now that he's 6, he reads at a 5th grade level and can tell you everything you wanted to know (and more) about US Presidents or college football.

His little brother, who just turned 3, has no problems speaking and could care less about learning to read or write.

[purr]

47. I was able to read at 3.. My son knows how to write sentences

and he just turned 5. Hes not even in school yet. He has a speech impediment too and he gets quite frustrated when I cant understand him. Does your son get frustrated as well?

[CornField]

66. Yes, extremely frustrated

Sometimes he'll just throw himself onto the floor or into a chair and cry. It breaks my heart.

[Anita Garcia]

48. Frame the writing.

I love it! Get him some books, paper, pens and colors and put in boxes in every room that he "hangs out" in. This is wonderful news that he has chosen to communicate this way. I would frame the writing/picture. Hang it where he can see it and tell him you understand what he is telling and you and thank you!

[BlueStateGirl]

49. My neice is 3. She can write her name, and about 30 other words.

She learns more every day.

[Left Is Write]

50. My son was reading and writing at three...

I believe that's on the early side of normal, but still normal.

[MiniMandaRuth]

51. i read something once, where certain areas of the brain develope well,

while some do not. Writing could come easy for him for the rest of his life, while speech could not.

You're son has clearer handwriting than me.... oy...

Who knows, you may have a world-famous writer under your nose! Nurture his talent all you can...

[BamaLefty]

53. Okay, he's definitely not a Republican

lol

[driver8]

54. My daughter could speak 5 languages and do calculus when

she was 3...

I'm kidding, but she could write. (She turned 4 yesterday.)

[CanuckAmok]

55. I could write at three, but just short stories. And not well.

I didn't even bother attempting a novel until I was seven, and even then I didn't fully understand the pacing of a good Dénouement.

Even today, I don't get it.

I just don't.

Not even now.

[DarkmoonIkonoklast]

61. I was reading the N.Y. Times when I was 3...

... or at least, so I was told by my schoolteacher cousin from Jersey.

I stayed with mom's 1st cousin a lot while she was in nursing school. She told me, years after the fact, that she caught me at the dining room table one sunday morning reading her husband's Times.

Rather than patronizing me ("Awww! How cute! He's (high, horrible faux-cetto voice) READing!"), she came over and watched to see what I was reading, then, when I appeared to be finished, asked me what it said... and I told her.

As for writing, I've never had much eye-hand co-ordination, so I didn't learn to write (or at least, write legibly) 'til I was in grade school...

Probably why I was somewhat of a blabbermouth as a kid.

But I always seemed to make up stuff... got me in heap big trouble with my fundie (Southern Black Pentecostal) stepdaddy... thought he had to beat the (literal) devil out of me for lying...

could be why I've always had trouble finishing my fiction to this day ;>

[AlienGirl]

62. I read "Huckleberry Finn" the summer before kindergarten

I didn't let on that I could read until I was about three and a half or so. By kindergarten I was reading at a sixth-grade level.

Tucker

[DarkmoonIkonoklast]

63. see my post #60 ;-)

[noonwitch]

67. My sister's kid could write like that at 3

She's 5 now and could read somewhat prior to starting kindergarten.

I could read at 4, but I really didn't learn to write until kindergarten. Of course, I started kindergarten at 4, and turned 5 a couple months later.