Brilliant!

On Sunday evening I had my first visit with a family/parent therapist. As I mentioned previously, we've been having some challenges with Miss M. So I decided to contact this woman because a) I wanted to know how much (if any) of M's behavior was outside the norm (for all I know, what we're dealing with could be basic developmental stuff that happens to all three-year olds) and b) I wanted to know what K and I were doing that could be contributing to her behavior. Were we too impatient with her? Not giving her enough downtime? Pushing her too hard? Not nurturing enough?

You know how you feel immediately comfortable with some people while it can take forever to relax around others? This lady was definitely in the former category. Probably a good thing considering I'm paying her $100+ a week to listen to me complain about my child.

As for the appointment itself....well, let's just say it veered in a direction I was not expecting.

First I spent about 25 minutes filling her in on all the drama that had been going on at our house. Then she started asking me some questions. And the more pointed her questions became, the more I began to worry she was going to tell me something I didn't want to hear about M, something along the lines of developmental problems/disabilities, etc. So it would be no exaggeration on my part to say I was completely floored when, roughly 45 minutes into the appointment, she calmly said, "Are you aware you have a gifted child?"

[sound of record scratching as main character does a huge double take]

Say what?!?!?! Gifted? M?!

Don't get me wrong. K and I have always thought M was an intelligent child. But would either of us have ever suspected her of being genius material? Uh...not really. I don't know about you but when someone says "gifted", I immediately think of Mozart, Einstein, and that dude who's life story was portrayed in the film "A Beautiful Mind." And as far as K or I know, M hasn't been secretly composing an opera or inventing a perpetual motion machine in her bedroom.

Now that I've had some time to absorb and process this news, I'm still not sure what to think. On the one hand, there is something compelling about being told that the child who has been driving you batshit crazy for weeks is actually doing it because she's highly intelligent. It lends a certain je ne sais quoi to the daily struggles and tantrums. But on the other hand, the cynic in me has to wonder if the therapist feeds this line to all her clients. Perhaps as a way to ensure they keep coming back?

Anyway, I'm trying to keep an open mind about all of this. The therapist asked K and I to track M's behavior this week to see if we could figure out a pattern. And she referred me to a few websites with lots more info about gifted children, how to identify them, where to get formal testing, etc. I plan on going back next Sunday and I guess I'll keep pursuing this angle until we get some resolution or I realize this gal is simply blowing smoke up my ass in an attempt to drum up business in these tough economic times.