Were you a gifted child? How are you seen as adult?

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I was considered a gifted child. My "gifts" outshone my difficulties (so I was on my own to compensate as best I could). I am considered a gifted adult (who wants to apply her "gifts" better). My allies suggest I am super smart and my detractors suggest I am overrated (and point out my difficulties).

As a child and young adult I did puzzles and acted, as a middle-aged adult I do puzzles (at work and hobbies). I would like to return to acting and also write and paint (as an elder).

Nooooo,, absolutely NOT , they were suspicious of me being gifted , well that was not my cup of tea ..
Transition from elementary school to prep high school , was a show stopper .. too big of a change .....just watched and analyzed stuff , digested the good bits tossed the rest. Am no personal success story but viewed from the outside would have been considered successful . Being a Aspie left me open to the worst NTs. Could do to a child.
With no reasoning provided . Teacher’s told me parents I should be getting better grades in school , no one realizing my. Home life was the very reason , for that issue , so they had a hard time allowing me to be me, Appearing to be average. Interesting part in almost every class I took growing up , I never brought home homework , And if I did my
Studies suffered . just did all my homework in classes not recess but in the subsequent class .
Worse thing was my last year in high school , was presented with a straight A report card.
That did me in ...... I did nothing to deserve that. So went to work for a few places That some bad people tried to draw me in , bad habits and everything , then a few crises later was able to decern a way forward , became Physically disabled in one of those crises on top of being a semi Adept HFA . But watched what people did to become successful. Even went to classes , seminars that successful people gave. Applied mimicry to these things and did well enough to feed myself . And continued to learn . Now am back to being just disabled ..... but still able to get food on my table and pay bills , Still. Keepin on. Keepin on . Smart maybe gifted maybe. But am still alive and breathing .

I was only just barely “gifted” (told flat-out that I didn’t qualify for the gifted program at my school by one or two points but I was going to be let in because there was room for me, I’d be doing different stuff from the rest of the students in the program because of my marginal qualification - because I didn’t do a good enough job of sticking out like a broken thumb on my own ). After high school, I think people have always typically assumed I have some sort of intellectual and/or developmental disability (well, at least they got the second part right). Most of the time I’ve actually been noticed in person by anyone except immediate family, I’ve essentially been treated like a child. Nothing I do or say really changes that, something about me seems to scream that there’s something “off” about me, and I get the impression that most people assume it affects my intelligence (which heck, maybe it does - maybe I’d be truly stupid if I was NT and only am not because of my autism and subsequent tendency to over-analyze things).

I'm pleased that others do better than me. We don't want a world full of idiots, do we ?

I was not seen as a gifted child, but now I'm in my 30's, people keep repeating I'm so highly intelligent.

I want to share this, in wonder if anyone else has experienced it this way around.

I know my parents would call me 'full of fantasy', my mother would call me 'special', and they would always be worried about me. In school I was a crisp mind, but not popular; teachers would love my jokes, kids wouldn't get them. I finished elementary school with a 98% score, advice for higher college/uni. My parents weren't for that, tried to get me to a common college in town. Luckily the teachers convinced them to let me attend higher college.

My sister of 6 years did the same, only a lower level. She finished it in 4 years, then did business college, got a job. When I was past the 4 years of my college, my dad complained about all the money I cost him, for transport, books, and tuition. I always felt bad about studying longer. We had a nephew in the family who'd started various studies, never finished them, and my mom was always furious about he lived off his parents' money.

All this made me conclude studying was not appreciated and I should wrap up and get a job soon. But, my mom had other plans for me. Come end of highschool, she pushed me towards art. An interest she never got to pursue herself. So I think I ignored my dean's advice for university, and tunnelvisioned into art school. I tried several ones, got kicked out, lived at home, tried again...
And all the time my parents encouraged me to get a job, just quit study pursuits, get a home nearby and get a wealthy man... just like my sister, who was decently happy at that time, and never understood those disagreements, my pursue for more... she'd always hated school, why did I want to rip my parents off this way?

I moved out again, landed in a great student city, started another art school... got kicked out. That's when the first crack in the pavement appeared. I called my dad to report it, and he got anxious and wanted me home immediately. I said no, I would find a new study here in town. He scared me with failing, failing, needing their money, not being able to pay my room, food... I think we ended that call in anger. Strengthened by the words of my roommates, all students, I found a new studies. I was still seeing my parents, so to keep a good understanding, I sped through my education like crazy. A++ everywhere. Found a boyfriend who was doing a PhD and only got more motivated to study more, more, more. I finished my bachelor's with honors in four years, didn't borrow a single cent (worked the last year), got out with no debt, immediately landed my first, well paid job.

My parents had been at the graduation ceremony, but didn't understand the value of it. I was done with school, could I get a job now? (mind you I didn't take any money from them except for bike repairs, on which my dad insisted). In the later years, I would always show them around in my office when I could, during a weekend. They looked around like they walked around in a golden room, and my mom once asked 'what exactly do you do here? clean...?' I was head of UI design. I bought my own apartment soon after, over which I received a lot of angry e-mails, because I would be too stupid to know what I was doing, and that I wouldn't have to count on their money if s**t hit the fan. Never happened.

But, back to being gifted.

Since I lived among students, I've always been surrounded by them. I love to hang around in hacker spaces, with geeks, popping jokes and wits at every breath. I belong here. This is the only place where I don't feel like the 'slow moron' I've been always called, I feel I'm among likeminded people.

The last years I've been diagnosed for autism, and boy, I've seen a bunch of psychologists and therapists. Sooner or later, they all would say '...since you're so intelligent...' and I would always say thank you, and put it aside as them being quick of judgement, not so smart themselves, or saying that in that context. But more and more people have said it, which got me to asking them more about it. Am I really that smart? And they say yes.

Personally I cannot believe it. I mean I just cannot accept that that's a word that fits me. For so long I've been held down with the conviction that I'm just a little dumb, just a little clumsy, just slow. I recently spoke to my ex, whom I dated at 18. He confirmed that he found me very intelligent by that time, and found my parents strange in general, but certainly that they didn't acknowledge my smartness, and treated me like a child.

I do not dare to take intelligence tests anymore. I did them as a child, and always got around 130 or so, never brilliant. I have stopped talking to my parents - not really blaming them, but having a way to be out of their conviction bubble - and I'm happy with the thought that my friends and co-workers respect me for my quick knowledge, my jokes, my comedy. I'm in a good place now. Sometimes I'm sad because I could have done university, if .. yeah if. If I ever win the lottery, I'll (pay off my mortgage) and start a new studies. Don't know what. IT. Just because I belong here, and have always belonged here. My mind is a processor that was underclocked for a long time, and I feel like it should be put to good use before I'm done with this life.