finding math talents

Sara, who is 5 years old, listens as her 32-year-old father comments that today is her grandmother's 64th birthday. "Grandma's age is just twice my age," he observes.
Although outwardly Sara does not seem to react to this information, her mind is whirling. A few moments pass, and then the young girl excitedly replies, "You know Dad, you will only be 54 when your age is twice mine!"
Sara has been intrigued by numbers and numerical relationships since she was very small. At first this could be seen in the way she liked to count things and organize groups of objects. She showed a fascination for calendars, telephone numbers, dates, ages, measurements, and almost anything else dealing with numbers. Sara learned and remembered this information quickly and easily, but what was even more amazing was the way she played with and manipulated the information she was learning. She would carefully examine each idea and eagerly search to discover new, interesting, and unusual relationships and patterns. Although Sara has had little formal instruction in mathematics, at the age of 5 she has acquired an incredible amount of mathematical knowledge and is amazingly sophisticated in using this knowledge to discover new ideas and solve problems.
Sara is an example of a young child who is highly talented in the area of mathematics. Like most individuals with this unusual talent, Sara exhibits characteristics and behaviors that are clues to her ability. Some mathematically talented people radiate many or obvious clues, others offer only a few, or subtle ones. Recognizing these clues is often an important first step in discovering an individual's high ability in mathematics. It is difficult to believe, but many people with a high degree of mathematical talent have their talent underestimated or even unrecognized. Their clues have gone unnoticed or ignored, and the true nature of their ability remains unexplored. If Sara's talent in mathematics is to be discovered and appropriately nurtured, it is important that her parents and teachers recognize the clues.

  

Information fromhttp://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/tag/Digests/e482.html