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His parents call him a sponge, but you may think he’s ... A pint-sized prodigy
The first of his abilities was TALKING BY 6 MONTHS
BY Natalie Lariccia
STRUTHERS
With his brow furrowed in concentration, Christopher Dominick hovers pensively over his wooden map of the United States puzzle. The 50 puzzle pieces — which represent the states and fit neatly inside the map — are scattered about the couch, and the map is a blank shell.
In a matter of seconds, the inquisitive 2-year-old begins to fill the spaces, reciting the name of each state as he carefully and correctly places the pieces in the corresponding spaces.
And, that’s not all. This little bundle of action then begins to belt out the lyrics to “Fifty Nifty United States,” effortlessly rattling off the names of all 50 states in alphabetical order.
As Christopher laughs and claps his hands excitedly, his parents, Julia and Nicholas Dominick, giggle nonchalantly. It’s not that these Struthers residents aren’t surprised about Christopher’s unique abilities. It’s just that it’s not really that unusual for their son to shine when it comes to his intellectual abilities.
It all started when Christopher was nearing his first birthday, and Julia said she began to observe Christopher staring at the letters “C,” “J” and “D” — his initials — that were suspended from a mobile above his crib. “He had this look [on his face] like ‘what’s that,’ and I just decided to tell him what they [the letters] were. ... If I can teach him what C, D and J are, then he can learn the whole alphabet.
From there, to him it was just a natural evolution,” Julia said. At that time, Julia — now a hostess at Longhorn Steakhouse in Boardman — was a stay-at-home mom, and she spent hours introducing Christopher to new concepts such as shapes, animals, letters and numbers. Eventually they progressed to puzzles of the United States.
An avid reader, Julia also spent hours reading to Christopher. “I figured if I can teach him that a circle is a circle, he can learn that California is California. He is like a sponge. We read more than we watched TV. We would read book after book, just all day long,” Julia said.
Julia said Christopher has always exhibited advanced capabilities.
He began speaking around 6 months. At merely 10 months, he had about a 30-word vocabulary, she said. Julia worked with Christopher, teaching him initially by pointing to letters. As Christopher progressed and began recognizing the letters, they started sounding out the letters and eventually the words.
This learning evolved into Christopher’s ability to write, a skill he’s been working on since he was about 20 months old. Now Christopher can write nearly the entire alphabet and some words, including “mommy,” “web” and “Ohio.”
“It started out with abstract drawings, and then I was able to see actual letters. Then it kind of evolved into my writing the alphabet over and over, and then he wanted me to hold the crayon and write it [the alphabet] with him,” Julia said.
Nicholas and Christopher play a game — often in the car — in which Nicholas rattles off the spellings of words and Christopher — hardly skipping a beat — recites the word back. They also play the game in reverse, with Nicholas spouting off words such as “cat,” “dog,” “horse” and “ant,” and Christopher spelling the words.
Julia and Nicholas receive many compliments on Christopher’s intelligence, from Christopher’s pediatrician to strangers they encounter while running daily errands.
“Anytime we take him out, there’s always someone saying, ‘Wow, he’s so smart.’ People are always asking me how old he is — he’s got an exquisite memory,” Julia said.
Although they aren’t quick to brag, Julia and Nicholas attribute some of Christopher’s smarts to good genes. Several of their family members exhibited high intelligence, and Julia — a trivia buff — landed a spot on the popular trivia show “Jeopardy” in February 2009. “I was always a little book nerd. I suppose we’re not that different,” Julia said.
They also think that their close-knit family structure, support from Christopher’s grandparents and consistent sleeping schedule help keep him on track for success.
Most importantly, Julia said they want Christopher to enjoy the experience of being a little boy and offer him any opportunity to continue to excel.
For now, she and her husband are planning to focus on one big learning project — potty training.
“He’s a normal 2-year-old, and we decided that if a little boy can spell ‘diaper,’ then he shouldn’t be wearing one. ... I really just want other parents to know, really, that if you don’t put a ceiling on what kids can learn, it’s unbelievable what they will learn. Why not give your kids the opportunities that you never had,” she said.
Nicholas, meanwhile, says Christopher is the big shining star in his life. “He is a joy — the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve wanted kids since I was very young. I came from a family with a ton of love and care, and that’s how I want to raise my son,” he said.