Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Doctor shopping for 2e?

I am running into an interesting dilemma and I am curious to know what others think…my EG 7year old continues to struggle in school that basically manifests itself in underachievement. Full testing work up at 6 says no 2e. We have followed through with all recommendations of the report which have proved to be very helpful except enrolling him in the G&T program in school. I would like him in the program, but school won't admit him due to the fact that although he is EG, he isn't demonstrating it in class and isn't scoring high enough on the standardized tests. Many (parents who have gone through the same thing and some teachers and educational consultants) have suggested that I doctor shop and get him a ADHD diagnosis so he can get into G&T and get additional pull out services to help under 2e. While I know the accommodations he would get with the diagnosis would help him now, I am obviously concerned with the long run ramifications of such a diagnosis.

Do you believe your child has ADHD?

22B…no I do not believe he had ADHD.

What tests is he not scoring high enough on in order to get into the program? Are his scores much lower than you would expect given what you know from his earlier testing? If so what do you suspect to be the reason for the difference? Was his earlier testing high across the board or did they vary a lot? Did his previous tester have experience with 2e?

Sorry, that is a lot of questions.

I would not want to label my child as ADHD unless he actually had it. Have you talked to your son about the importance of doing well on the standardized tests and his regular work? In your situation, I would focus on improving his testing ability. Get practice tests, and make sure he understands that he has to "show what he knows" if he wants to get more challenging (i.e. - less boring) work at school.

I had to have a heart to heart with my kindergartener last year about paying attention in school even when it was mind-numbingly boring, and trying his best every time, because he was vastly underachieving at school. It was creating issues for him as it was prohibiting him from moving into different reading levels, and being stuck in the same level was starting to cause anxiety issues at school.

It had never occurred to him that if he answered the questions incorrectly that it would actually matter in any way. He really thought it didn't matter, and didn't want to take the time to do it correctly as it was "so easy." He was just trying to finish as quickly as possible. Once I told him that those tests were being used to determine the level of work he would receive, it made a big difference.

I guess I'm confused by "pull out" services. What does this mean? I can see accommodations, but what would that help if there are no ADHD symptoms to accommodate? Which accommodations are you looking for and what would they help if there is no disability involved? Unless he is failing, I don't think he would be eligible for an IEP or any pull-out services. 504's provide accommodations, but no actual special ed services.

My DD has ADHD and it seems to be pretty severe--even medicated she is incredibly slow in school with processing speed issues. We have a medical diagnosis but the school is resisting even giving her a 504. They say that since she is not "failing" there is no need to do anything. I think if I get pushy I could probably get a 504 but any accommodations would be very limited, like giving her more time on spelling tests, not having to take the timed CogAT again, etc. Even if her IQ ends up being above the cut-off, she still needs achievement test scores in reading and math and teacher recommendations in order to be eligible for the highly gifted magnet school (unless her composite is over 139, in which case achievement testing can be below the 98th percentile). An ADHD diagnosis and 504 or IEP doesn't remove these qualifying criteria, they just may be more flexible in terms of how they test a child--like substituting timed tests with a different test.
I would not get a bogus ADHD diagnosis. For one thing it makes things more difficult for kids who actually do have ADHD (it's like crying "wolf"--pretty soon no one believes anyone has ADHD anymore), and also, I think it may hurt more then help. I am being very cautious even with a child who DOES actually have it because I fear there will be some bias against her--i.e., them not wanting 2e kids in the program, thinking it will be too difficult for both themselves and the child.

Instead of looking for a fake diagnosis,I would look for help in understanding why he's underachieving. This could include further testing by someone who's expert in this particular issue; and looking for LDs that were missed the first time.

It might help to spell out the specific nature of the underachievement for us.

The good news is that you have a group of parents who have probably seen just about every variant of it which can exist in a 5-10 yo HG+ child.

Thank you all for your feedback. I have tried explaining the nature of the testing and he truly is trying, but just can't integrate the knowledge and stay focused not he task at hand b/c he is too busy thinking about Ancient Egypt, space and other such things. Basically his testing shows a marked discrepancy between his IQ and in class ability which classifies him as "underachieving". He tested at EG but ceiling a bunch of tests so the tester told me he is most likely PG. Either way, his in class ability is about 1 1/2 years above grade level. This would be fine if he was attached to the class, motivated to succeed etc. which he is not.

The G&T program is a pull out program that you have to take a variety of standardized tests and score 2-3 years above grade level (depending on the test) to get into. The G&T program would be a good fit b/c it is all small group group and focused attention on diving deeper in a subject but also does a good job "calling kids out" when they only put in 50% effort. The ADHD diagnosis would give him the same small group pull out and some 1:1 "calling out" that he desperately needs. The short version is he needs a smaller class setting that is more focused on his learning needs. Right now we don't have a school choice so I am trying to make the best of what I have. Since the G&T program won't let him in, others have said that the ADHD diagnosis will get me the same small group and individual attention that he needs.

ITA.

I realize he's been through a psyched eval, but I'm curious about a few things - did the eval include visuo-motor integration testing or any executive function etc testing? Were your ds' IQ subtest scores consistent across different subtests or were there peaks and valleys? He's underachieving in school - was that also reflected in his psych ed eval achievement testing, or were all of those subtest scores in a similar range to his ability scores?

You asked about stealth dyslexia in a previous post and noted that there had been some questions about vision... do you feel those questions have been entirely ruled out?

polarbear