His giftedness was identified in an assessment that revealed an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of 132, an index considered above average. The boy is already familiar with seven languages, which even differ from the alphabet used in Portuguese, such as Greek and Russian.
The family, who lives in Tapiraí (SP), even planned a move to Sorocaba (SP) so that Gabriel could study at a school aimed at gifted children.
To g1, the mother, Kelidy Novaes, says that, however, financial conditions led the family to seek a scholarship, but, to date, no institution has offered the benefit.
"It's still a plan for us. Now, what's holding us back the most is my work. I'm in the second of three years of probation. The plan is to leave here only in 2028", he comments.
However, the woman, who is an elementary school teacher, reports that Gabriel continues "the same way." For her, the boy always surprises with questions considered "strange" for his age.
"He always comes to us with new things and strange questions. These days, he asked me why Jesus died on a cross, why no one helped carry it. He mulls over things like that all day and I have to give an answer, otherwise he won't be satisfied", he says.
In addition to the unusual questions, Gabriel also became a fan of figures of speech, especially irony. According to his mother, the boy likes to make ironic comments and then make it clear that he was being ironic.
"He likes to understand the senses, about what people are trying to say with just their facial expressions. Now, he has learned what irony is and acts like that all the time, but then he says it was ironic", he reports.
In addition to emotional and communication skills, the boy developed the ability to perform complex mathematical calculations for his age, such as potentiation and square root.
Despite this, he continues to be enrolled in a public school, where he studies with children of the same age group and lives with classmates who follow the learning expected for their age.
"He's made a lot of progress at daycare and the teacher says he's much better at socializing. Our biggest fear is that he'll stop being a child. The teacher is trying to do her best for him, but due to the limited age range and because it's a public school, she can't prepare the square root," he says.
Before, going to school was seen by boys as a tiring obligation. With the teacher's support, however, the school routine became easier. For the mother, the biggest change noticed over the last year was precisely in her son's socialization.
"I signed up for preschool, he got to know the school, but he wasn't excited at all. His teacher was there and helped a lot, along with the psychologist. He's making a lot of progress, playing a lot. I was happy when I saw him playing with a car", shares his mother.
As the school is unable to offer activities compatible with Gabriel's level of knowledge, his mother takes advantage of her experience as an elementary school teacher to encourage new skills at home.
Activities include math exercises, reading books and logical reasoning games.
"I do extra math that he asks for, logical reasoning, games. We set up activities and I taught him how to research. We went to a place, collected several plants that he was interested in and started doing Google searches using images, to understand the scientific name", he says.
The family also often takes Gabriel to outdoor environments, where he can explore his curiosity, develop creativity and expand his knowledge.
"I took him to the waterfall so he could analyze the soil and water temperature, and it was an interesting experience. I try to cover the emotional parts, buying games that show emotions and everything else. I have to supply what, unfortunately, the school can't offer", he adds.
The father, according to Kelidy, also plays a very important role in the child's development. He is mainly responsible for "child's games" in his free time.
"He teaches Gabriel how to become a star, play football, fly a kite, ride a bike. Everything 'messy' involves his father. He was very afraid of heights and his father made him lose that. I do the cognitive stuff, and the father plays the children's games", concludes the mother.
Another positive point highlighted by Kelidy is that Gabriel was able to make friends at school. At home, his mother reinforces that, despite having different knowledge, he must always respect his friends.
"The teacher has put students to play with him, precisely so he can learn how to wait and learn to talk. He has been very happy with this. He understands the differences and has improved a lot. Even though he knows how to do things that other children don't, I don't see him putting others down", he points out.
Gabriel even helps students with new learning. Recently, he helped a colleague write her own name, something the girl didn't know how to do until then.
"He asked her if she knew how to write her name, and she replied that she didn't know. Gabriel asked her to sit next to him, while he dotted the girl's name for her to write over it. He also did this with the words 'father' and 'mother'. He was always very cute."
Gabriel was accepted into Mensa International, a society that brings together people with high intellectual performance and is considered the oldest organization of its kind in the world.
At the time, the boy's mother told g1 when she began to notice that he had unusual knowledge for his age.
"I'm a teacher, so I always wanted to teach him things. When Gabriel was one year old, I printed the alphabet to stick on the wall, but when I put it up, he was already saying the letters in Portuguese and English. I confess I was surprised, after all, where did he learn that? The number nine, for example, he only said 'nine'. He learned the pronunciation in English first."
The mother explains that, after this situation, the boy started to surprise the family even more. In one of the moments, he was caught by his family watching and humming a video that, in the subtitles, was a language unknown to his relatives.
"I took a print of the video, played it on artificial intelligence and it said he was singing in Russian. After that, English, Portuguese, Greek, Armenian, Russian and Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) came along", he says.
When the family began to investigate the possibility of Gabriel being gifted, they discovered that the boy had a mental age of approximately six years, that is, twice the age he was at the time.
"He also communicates with formal words that are considered unusual even in interpersonal relationships involving adults, with diction far beyond what is expected for a child of just three years old", says Kelidy.
According to Mensa Brasil, there are a series of characteristics in children that can identify giftedness. They were defined by the Special Education Secretariat of the Ministry of Education (MEC) in 2006 and, among them, is the high vocabulary repertoire for the age. Check out the list:
High degree of curiosity;
Advanced vocabulary for your age;
Leadership and self-confidence;
Great interest in a subject and special dedication to it;
Great memory;
Creativity;
Ease of learning;
Early literacy;
Excellent performance in one or more subjects compared to peers;
Ability to adapt or modify ideas;
Ease of making insightful observations;
Persistence when pursuing a goal;
Behavior that requires little guidance from the teacher.
According to the community, the concept of giftedness is considered controversial and is unstable, that is, it can change over time. In any case, a series of tests and consultations with specialized professionals are necessary to investigate the situation correctly and in more depth.
"The assessment must include, in addition to intelligence tests, also a complete and detailed anamnesis, including questions about the parents, the child's pregnancy conditions, the birth and its development up to the date of the assessment, as well as the professional must make use of other neuropsychological tests, according to the characteristics, complaints, symptoms and behaviors reported by the parents, the school and observed by the professional, in the office", he adds.
