Unhappy with gym teacher's choice of words

[TurtleDove]

Finally, as a former gifted kid (and my mom created the gifted program in her school district),  this is beyond a gifted quirk.  I have never heard of or seen this.   The majority of gifted kids range from perfectly normal to more mature than their peers.  I am in contact with many of my friends from those years and we are all responsible and levelheaded.  There were only a couple of disturbed kids that I remember...one was a kid that I keep execting to show up on a s@x offender registry.  So for the love of Pete, please don't cast this as a gifted thing.  And please let the principal know that the teacher is painting this as a gifted thing.   Gifted kids don't need any more stereotypes piled upon them.   

POD.  I am glad you have decided how to handle this, OP.  I hope your son is able to stop the slapping.

[Twik]

I really, REALLY do not thing that the OP's son be described as "disturbed". He's got a perfectionist attitude, and is at a stage of maturity that he shows his distress with himself by a physical tick. That's something that might be helped by a behavioural therapist, but only in the sense that it would help him with the basic problem, which is his distress at making mistakes. It's a far cry from calling him "disturbed". It is indeed just a "quirk" for a kid who's taking things very seriously (fairly common in kids who are "mature beyond their years").

If you have never seen or heard of it? That's random happenstance.

[Moray]

Having attended specific "magnet" schools for G&T students for the entirety of my academic career, I'd like to think I'd have encountered at least one person who does this if it's really that common, especially among "mature beyond their years" children.

I don't believe that "disturbed" is the right word, but it does speak to poor communication and coping skills. That's not a personal failing by any means, but it does need to be addressed. This kind of behavior is much more common in toddlers or other not-quite-verbal children. It's not socially appropriate for an older child, and I hope the OP's son learns some more productive ways to deal with his frustrations with himself and the world around him. Childhood is tough enough already without (literally) beating yourself up.

[TurtleDove]

I really, REALLY do not thing that the OP's son be described as "disturbed".

I think the behavior is disturbing, both for DS and for those who witness the behavior. Sort of like the difference between calling DS stupid and saying that his behavior is stupid.

[hyzenthlay]

Having attended specific "magnet" schools for G&T students for the entirety of my academic career, I'd like to think I'd have encountered at least one person who does this if it's really that common, especially among "mature beyond their years" children.

My youngest did when he was the age of the OP's son.  I'm not sure he ever did it at school, but at home it happened on occasion.

Both my kids are gifted, and I've been told by various teachers through the years that perfectionist streaks that the kids need to learn to manage are not unusual. The gifted kids I know may seem 'mature' in terms of conversational skills and breadth of knowledge, but I've rarely met ones that seemed particularly emotionally advanced.