Hi! We are fairly new to this world. DS5 has qualifying scores for DYS and I am considering applying.

I have read the information available online regarding DYS, but I'm curious about your personal experiences with the organization.

Would you please share why you chose to apply and how this organization has benefitted you and your child?

Thanks so much. I look forward to your responses.

Excellent question!
We have not applied for our own reasons, but I would love to hear others perspective.

DD is in and I think it has been helpful, in resources and info and also a potential school possibility (if other things don't work out). Also, it's no skin off your back to not use what is offered, so I think it's win/win.
Also for us we don't have any gifted programs in our schooling situation so we are happy for this help. I notice some on this board have great education options and I am envious.

If you use the search feature, you'll find several past discussions on this very subject. DS has been in the program for almost 2 years now, and I consider it an invaluable resource. I've met several people "locally" (think big area, LOL!) and the online "btdt" camaraderie for our more extreme accommodations has been like life support to me. I am not nearly as alone as I first thought, even if we are doing things in our school that "no one has ever done before".

DS made a few friends at last year's annual event, but I'm hoping that as he gets older he'll continue those friendships year long. (He's not one for long distance stuff at the moment.)

Their advice/support has been somewhat helpful with the schools too, although I think more as a big name standing behind my ridiculous claims and requests, rather than as tangible assistance. That depends on the willingness of the school though.

I'm grateful that we heard about the program, and glad we pursued it. I felt incredibly alone before then, but keep in mind too that I hadn't known about places like GI back then either!!!

The most valuable aspect of the YS program for our family has been the community. My dd8 has found real peers. She was telling me just this week that she feels so different from her school friends. With her PG friends she feels normal and happy.

As a parent it has been invaluable to learn from other parents' experiences. I also needed to have others with whom I could share the joys and struggles of raising a PG kid. Prior to my dd being accepted to join the YS program I felt like an alien. One of my reasons for having my dd tested was to prove that I was not crazy. I remembered the first time I got on the YS parent board. I cried reading the posts because I finally did not feel so alone (or crazy) anymore. This was prior to the creation of Gifted Issues board, which I wish had been available when my dd was younger.

We are fortunate to live in a large city with a sizeable group of YSs. We have a local list and operate a small co-op. We have regular group activities for the kids and adults. We are even in the early stages of planning a school. For the most part, the families in our local group were connected through the YS program.

We have not been to a gathering or needed advocacy assistance though I do ask my family consultant questions on occassion.

We're brand new, and I already love the sense of team that I get from DYS. We're all in it together and I'm making new virtual friends who have the potential to become friends IRL. Not having to censor yourself with people about your kids is so nice! That and the help with advocacy and/or homeschooling curriculum are the big draws for DYS, I think.

There are also cool programs like online colloquia for parents and kids and mentoring available. Plus I think just having free experts available if you need help with anything is a big relief. It is to me anyway.

You haven't lived Summer until you can have those same discussions IRL!!!! It's hard to come back to earth though afterward , putting that "censor" that Kriston speaks about back on.

We have been there only for a few months and it has been priceless. I got to meet real life people with similar kids and similar problems. People who know what I am talking about. You don't have to censor yourself, you don't sound like a crazy parent there. We got together with a few local YS families, which is beyond great for both DS5 and me.

Living with PG kid can be isolating. I felt very lonely before that and all of the sudden I keep meeting more and more families with gifted kids (not necessarily YS kids). One thing leads to another. It's really changed my life. Don't get me wrong, both I and my son had lots of friends even before, but not the kind of friends who would really understand. KWIM?

You get lots of support and information from this board and most likely your 99.9% son will fit right in. You won't get to talk to the people in person though, your son won't get to play with their kids. It makes a huge difference, not to mention that this is a public board and you need to watch for that as well.

There is also Davidson's support and experience, they have that. It's helpful to talk to an outsider who understands your problems. They also offer mentoring, which we don't use right now, but it may come really handy a few years down the road.

I say if you have the numbers go for it. The application is long, but you only have to fill it out once and then you are set till he is 18. The service is free and you can use only what fits you.

Good luck

Good point about the privacy factor LMom, when the crap hit the fan with our legal issues last year, that was the only place I could truly vent without fear of "lurkers". Anyone can build such a support system though with time, if you troll enough boards, LOL!

I think it helps that you know the people you depend on in DYS will be around.

I've made friends on public forums--including this one--who are active for a time but then disappear. But if someone is committed enough to fill out the DYS application, she's probably going to stay at least a little involved and not disappear. I'm not one who forms real friendships very easily IRL (lots of acquaintances, not many I consider friends), so losing someone I like is pretty wrenching for me, even online. There's a security there that I like. It's a minor point, but one that matters to me.

The community and counselors have also been great for me. It's so interesting to hear from you all that those are the greatest benefits, too. My 2 YSs and I are very anxious to get to a gathering (it'll be 2009 for us) to meet others because we do not live in a big city with lots of YSs. DS9 enjoys reading the profiles of other YSs around the country (especially those his age), their favorite things, activities. He likes the monthly challenges on the bulletin board. Sometimes he "chats" but not much. He has only taken one colloquium but wasn't driven to do the readings and then his participation in the discussions slacked off (I think it needs to be a topic he's passionate about rather than mildly interested in). I've taken several colloquia and have thoroughly enjoyed "meeting" and "discussing" things with experts like Miraca Gross, Jim Delisle, etc. Very neat opportunity to have questions answered or suggestions made from the big names. The counselors have helped me a LOT as both sounding board and with real recommendations (that's how our class subscribed to ALEKS). There's more, but I have to go now.

My family has been involved in the YS program for just over five years. I don't mean to sound like a Davidson cheerleader, but they have really been tremendously helpful to so many people in so many ways. I'll try to outline what they offer:

1. We've received personalized attention from our family consultant. It's been great to have someone out there who is an advocate who actually knows our children. Our current consultant is relatively new and so far we have only exchanged a few calls and emails, but I believe that if we had a crisis involving the YSs, he'd be there for us.

2. We have access to world class experts through the parent and YS online seminars. Families can also arrange for private consultation with some of these folks.

3. The kids can connect with true peers. You don't know how much this can mean to them until you see it for yourself.

4. The parents can connect with true peers too! I have learned so much on the listserves and through talking to different parents. I've met many wonderful people through our involvement.

5. The financial aid can be very helpful. DYS helped us pay for chess camp one year, and they assisted with oldest son's college tuition before he turned 18.

6. IT"S ALL FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What else do you get for free these days?

I will add that I was negatively impressed by people who described DYS as "cultish" and the fact that the program used to be more structured and require detailed plans for YS progress. I did not apply as soon as I might have. I wish I had just gone ahead with application when I first heard about it. You can always drop out if you don't find it to your liking, but very few families have left since the program's inception.

hth-

And why would they? I have to say, I have seen zero downside and TONS of upside to DYS!

I would love to attend a gathering someday, but I find some solace in the fact that we have a large, active local group. This Saturday is our biannual Mom's Night Out. We gather at a hotel and stay up all night talking. There will probably be 10-20 moms in attendance. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend on Saturday because of other commitments but we are having one of our major group events later this month at one of the local universities so I will get some good PG parent time then.

Thank you, all, for your responses!

I will definitely apply...after taxes are done, hehee.

I think, perhaps, the main benefit I can see at this point in our lives is addressing my feelings of isolation. And you all have given me some other great reasons, as well, to apply.

I appreciate your time and candid responses.

Thank you!!
Allison

Has anyone applied using the portfolio method? My son's achievement scores are high but not his IQ scores (possibly due to a couple of low subtests, or possibly just low). I am considering applying anyway with a portfolio, but don't know where to begin. He hates writing, so that's not really a good option (some of you have heard all this in other threads). He's in 1st grade but it very high in math and high in reading. But, how do you show examples of his work in reading? Or math? Any ideas?

I think I've posted so much on this board in the last week that I'm becoming obsessed!! As many others have said, though, it is so nice to have a place to talk about these things and ask questions.

Welcome Squirt! (Dottie's right -- that's a fun name!)

As I understand it, the portfolio method is for applying when a kid has only one score -- either IQ or achievement -- and there are other reasons not to pursue the missing score, either financial difficulty, or age, or ??? I'm not sure I remember this fully, but I believe the application requests submissions of all scores obtained, which would make it hard to apply by portfolio while having IQ and AT scores. I suspect, and I know others may disagree, that the DYS considers their standards to be minimum so I doubt a portfolio and scores that don't qualify would work. There's nothing to be lost in trying, certainly, except that the application is long. (And if I'm wrong, someone please tell me -- cause I have a kid who has ceiling AT scores and a sooo close FSIQ that I'd love to get into DYS!)

We did apply by portfolio (for a different kid than the one mentioned above!) and included all the scores we did have and a bunch of work done in class (K) -- just stuff he'd done while no one was looking in journals and math problems he'd invented for himself in a journal. The school wouldn't do AT on a kid that young (believing they lead to falsely elevated scores) and we didn't want to pay for it. A year later, we had to do private testing to apply for a special public school program and so finally got AT scores, but it was nice to apply earlier and he was accepted by portfolio.

It is good to have a place to get answers! I spent a lot of time here when I was trying to figure this stuff out last spring and summer and I thank the regular posters, especially Grinity and Dottie, for everything I know about testing and advocacy!!

J

Gratified is right. You are asked to submit all the scores and it's highly unlikely they would accept him if his IQ score was lower than what they require, especially since his scores are not close to the cut off. I may be wrong, but I think even if you get accepted by portfolio these days you are required to get the additional qualifying test scores within next 6 months.

You can try to apply, but I think his chances are slim. Lately there have been a few cases where the child did have both qualifying scores, but Davidson asked for additional information/portfolio.

Also, Davidson isn't the only show in town. Squirt, there's EPGY stuff your son could do if he's into working on the computer, there's CTY, and so many other opportunities out there...Hoagies has a pile of things for supplementation. I'm sure the people on this board have a piecemeal approach to helping their kids. Keep encouraging him with the math, that's for sure!

Thanks for mentioning that calizephyr.

My DD8 has FSIQ on WiscIV of 148 and WIAT achievement was 99.6. She didn't have 99.9 on any of the subtests, which stinks because if she hadn't scored in the 70th percentile in spelling and listening comperension she would have been in the 99.9th for reading subtest.
Unfortunately she was not accepted but I was told she could re-apply in 6 months if she had qualifying achivement tests.
So our experience is the portfolio wasn't enough to have her be accepted even though the achivement scores were so close.
As much as we would love to have the support, we've done really well with other available resources.
This board has really filled the need I have as a parent of extremely gifted children for support.
So, stick around Squirt!

Neato

Spelling actually lands in the "Written Language" composite, if that makes you feel any better. Listening Comp lands under "Oral Language". On the WIAT, the reading comprehension composite is comprised of the following three subtests.

Word Reading
Reading Comp
Pseudoword Decoding

Yes, these tests are quite confusing for me!

She scored 99th in every subtests except those two, so I'm guessing she would have had the 99.9 in Oral language as she scored 99.9 on another subtest in that category, had she not been in the 70's in listening comprehension.

Oh well

Thanks Dottie.

Neato