The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late

An eye-opening book. As the parent of a child who fits this classification to the letter, from family background to the reaction that they have to her gifts and her stubbornness at nursery, I can say that this book is an absolute gem. I had never heard of the 'condition' until an educational consultant working with an organization for gifted children recommended it, and I have to say it's a great relief to have found out about it. It had gotten to the point where I had to show videos of my child counting to 100, saying her alphabet, solving mazes in under 10 seconds, etc. at nursery, for them to even consider the idea that she may not be autistic, hyperlexic or anything other than a gifted child who simply feels pressured unnecessarily into doing the most boring things imaginable for absolutely no reason other than the gratification of some people with pre-conceived ideas, who behave as if they want her to fail just to prove their point. And don't even get me started on that whole 'high-functioning autistic' non-sense. You can't expect to put people with an IQ just above sea level with savants and anything else in between in the same category and expect nobody to think it's absolutely ludicrous. And there's no such thing as a 'happy case of cured autism'; only mistaken diagnoses.Finally, there's some recognition for the fact that a child can be an autodidact, and nobody at home makes them study anything to 'turn them' into zombies. Finally, there's the suggestion that just because some children don't perform on demand, it doesn't mean that they're unable to. And finally, there's an acknowledgment of the fact that it's bonkers to label 3-year-olds, instead of waiting to see how they develop by themselves in a year's time. I know exactly what my child is going through, because I was in her shoes 25 years ago. I would have been labelled a high-functioning autistic by today's standards. I was expelled from nursery for not interacting with other children, as if nursery's supposed to be a hang-out where you're supposed to go and hook up like some randy bachelor in a bar, not the place where your parents dump you so they can have a few quiet hours to themselves (which, I'm sorry to say, parents, it is). Whoever thinks nursery is a place to study and make friends most definitely isn't gifted, and to act as though all children should behave the same way their parents did 30 years ago is also incredibly naive. Also, to put your child's future in the hands of people who have only ever been told that what they're doing is right, without knowing what the alternatives are, is equally foolish. So, thank you, Mr. Sowell, for a well-written book, that I hope gifted children with speech delays will benefit from in the future, because right now it looks as though not much has changed from the time when Ritalin was dispensed like mints. And good luck to all you parents out there who have been made to feel like your child is too much to handle, placing too big a burden on the educational system, or that you're in denial about your child's (in)abilities. Hang in there and prove them wrong!

I was sceptical when i bought this book, as the title seems to imply a child that fits the described criteria is a genius. My son is a bright boy but probably not a genius. And he is severely delayed in his speech development. But this book has been an invaluable resource in helping my son....and myself. Reading this lifted a weight off my heart. I have never met a child like my son. But all the children described in this book show the exact same cluster of symptoms and traits. This has been a huge help in building my confidence that my son will be just fine. While i'm a believer in the value of speech therapy an behavioral therapy, more so than the author appears to be, i found his research credible, insightful and very helpful. Highly recommended.

Brought this as my grandson doesn’t talk yet but it doesn’t really give solutions to help get late talkers talking I gave up reading it half way through got fed up

If you have a speech delayed child who excels in other areas, such as putting together complicated jigsaw puzzles, definitely worth a read. My daughter fitted the profile perfectly.

great booked helped me understand a lot

Interesting read, well written with an audience of parents in mind. More professionals should be aware of it. Worth reading

Brilliant read and so helpful..

My son is 3yrs and 4 months. Up to 1 month ago he said "more" and "bicky". That was it! He didn't call my name, didn't communicate, when prompted to repeat words, he did but out of context. For example: "Call Molly", he would say "call Molly", rather than actually call her.He is being assessed and pushed down the road of Aspergers by the professionals. However, I didn't agree with this as how he "performed" during assessments was out of character when he was out of that environment. I quit my job with the aim of focusing on him and finding out how I could help him. Whilst browsing on Amazon for books to help me with his speech and language development, I found this book. I was intrigued with it from the moment I "looked inside".This book has been a godsend for me. I don't believe my son would be on the cut and clear diagnosis of Einstein Syndrome, but if he was to be labelled this or Autistic, then the former certainly wins hands down. This book has given me a new approach towards my son and I've looked at him in a different light since starting to read it. How I interact with him, deal with his tantrums, process what the professionals say and by and large has made me back up my son instead of doubting is ability to be "normal". Since my approach has changed and I've given my son my time, he is a different child. My mother and mother-in-law who minded him between them for the 3 days I worked hadn't seen him in about 2-3 weeks. They were shocked at his progress and interaction. He has now started playschool 3 days per week which is now pushing him along further and his awareness of other children and desire to play with them has opened up.He is now speaking full sentences, beginning to answer questions with logical answers - not completely coherent or complete but they are answers. His behaviour that I had put down to destructive and autistic-like can now be explained and even gotten around now.This book changed my behaviour towards him and in return he has thrived. I would highly recommend this book if only as a different slant to the same stuff being churned out at every child with speech delay.I and my husband are computer scientists and play the piano. My sister is a software developer, brother an accountant, 2 other brothers are engineers. My in-laws are engineers, accountants and play the piano too.He is fully proficient on the iphone, you tube (navigates around it finding educational tools himself), he obsesses about animals, loves water, loves the piano, has started reading (recognises all letters of the alphabet and will say a word beginning with that letter), he said the alphabet in totality one night when I was lying beside him in bed and said to him "let's sing the ABC". I wasn't expecting a response, but he just started singing it. I've more or less been kicked out of speech therapy with him as he just stands at the door now and says "go back home". He will NOT play ball with them. We walk out of the office and there's not a bother on him. The speech therapist wants a psychological assessment and expects autism too. Before I'd cry for days after that, now I examined her techniques and found more flaws in what she was offering him that the other way around. No doubt that will be interpreted as me in denial.2 things that this book has changes in me:1. My outlook and approach towards all aspects of my childs behaviour and life2. I give him every bit of time I have. For example: instead of my mam minding him whilst I bring my daughter swimming because he might be difficult. He is brought regardless of the extra work/effort/difficulty on my behalf. The results have been that he learns new words and gets used to environments quickly. Bring them with you everywhere and talk incessantly and clearly about everything you or they are doing.I gave it 4 stars only as there were a bit too many samples iterating the same thing.