Lucy has always been a smart child and although I have never officially had her evaluated for being “gifted and talented” she has ranked high enough on other assessments to know that she most likely qualifies for the label.  Lucy has many of the typical characteristics and qualities of a gifted child. She has an excellent memory, strong observation skills, strong verbal abilities, a deep vocabulary, and an exaggerated sense of curiosity.  Recently, I had a friend point out how characteristics of gifted children are very similar to those who have Asperger’s. I nervously laughed because these two diagnoses are frequently confused.

One of  the more common traits of a gifted child is their propensity to ask questions, and not the normal questions of childhood, but an on-going stream of consciousness that would make the most astute scholar scratch their head.  Many children grow out of the “why” stage at around age 5, but that has never happened with Lucy.  Lucy doesn’t ask what time it is she wants to know how the clock works.  The other night she and I took a walk around the neighborhood and within minutes I realized that she was in a question mood.  We didn’t really have a conversation as much as she rattled off the following questions in quick succession until I could no longer bear it and we went home.

“Why can I see the moon during the day?”

“Could the moon crash into the Earth?”

“If the moon crashed into the Earth would it destroy part of the world or the whole world?”

“How does the moon spin around the Earth?”

“Is it always sunny on the moon?”

“Does God have a wife?”

“Does God have relationships?”

“Do you think God works out?”

“Do bugs get sick?”

“Do bugs throw up?”

“How many sections does an ant’s body have?”

“What does heaven look like?”

“Will I be able to eat anything I want in heaven?”

“Is there candy in heaven?”

“Can I stay up as late as I want in heaven?”

At some point Max barked “Lucy! Stop asking questions!” to which she sweetly replied, “Mommy, says asking questions is good.  Mommy says that I should never stop asking questions.”

Yes Lucy, keep asking questions, just try not to ask them all at once and in sequential order.