Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School US- what to expect for 2e student?

hi We've recently relocated to the US for my husbands work. We are in Souther California.

Our son has Aspergers and is gifted. His first WPPSI he got above 99.9 and he was recently retested (in order to enter school) and we are awaiting his results (Ive been told he scored wiin the gifted range)

We have signed him up to a school which has a gifted clustering program but only from year 3. He is high functioning but will have support in class. He is just about to start kindergarten.

He was reading Harry Potter at 4 years old with full comprehension, doing simple maths algebra at 2. He gets eaily distracted but despite his challenges is very advanced academically.

He has completed half a year of kindergarten already in our home country and he was tested on the achievement tests to be in the 100th percentile.

I am not too concerned regarding extension or pushing for anything crazy. I guess I just would like to know what to expect? Is he going to be expected to learn the ABC again?

I havent told the school he is gifted beause I dont want to place expectations for him to live up to, but they are going to know as they have requested the WPPSI in order to work out what special education requirements he needs.

While teachers, programs, and schools may differ... in general children are most often expected to reinforce skills learned/mastered long ago and wait for same-age peers to catch up... rather than being provided appropriate instruction, curriculum, and pacing, matched to their ability and readiness. This is where advocacy comes in. You may wish to read all you can about advocacy, and keep lists of your child's accomplishments including a list of books read. Collecting selected works in a portfolio can also be helpful over time.

Is this a public school? In order to close the achievement gap or excellence gap, some schools may define "free and appropriate public education" (FAPE) as having all children working at the norm for their chronological age. These schools may not endorse a goal of having each child working at his/her ability/readiness, if the child's ability/readiness exceeds the norm for his/her chronological age. These schools may tend to conclude that if a child is working on par with same-age peers, or is ahead of same-age peers, than no accommodations or supports are needed because in their view the child's ASD (or other LD which causes the child to be 2e) is not "impairing" their access to what they deem appropriate education. For information on advocating under these circumstances you may wish to see the wrightslaw website and read the book From Emotions To Advocacy.

How old is he?

I'd disclose your reports. Not as a "he's gifted," but as a "we've had concerns about his development, and here's the information we have." Do it as you request and IEP evaluation for him. You'll want to start that asap as it's a long process.

How old is he? With a half a year of K already, I wonder if going into first might be appropriate. Certainly bring with you a report from the previous school of what he's already mastered.

thank you both for responding. He is 5 and a half years old. The school is a public one. They want an IQ test I assume because of his ASD, nothing to do with his giftedness (that they currently have no idea exists)

The school has agreed to him having full time shadow support (provided by us, our choice of person) in class with him.

There is likely to be an IEP put in place but I assume this will target his ASD needs only.

The school has been given so far, his ASD assessments and his IEP from him old school (which did include extension goals)

Im not sure what to ask for, if anything. I dont want to start a big fight about extension (because his social and attention goals will be a big learning step for him and he'll be supported) but at the same time I dont want him sitting on the rug learning the alphabet. Iwant him to know that school is a place to learn, not to be told what you already knos.

I dont think there is a hope in hell that if they leave him for a couple of years the other kids will catch up - that just wont work. Everything he has learnt so far in life is self taught. He learns without adult instruction, there is no stopping it. Its like a train that keeps on moving!

We cant skip him yet because we only want him at school half a day so he can spend the other getting behavioral intervention.

Is getting proper extension a difficult thing here?

The proper extension is surely a reasonable expectation, but it will likely vary radically based on the philosophy of the administration and the ability of the teacher to adapt.

I know less about ASD interventions, but it would seem as though your concerns about his engagement with the material is valid.

I would bring it up at the IEP meeting. Bring it up in context of the goals.

That may depend, in part, on what you mean, specifically, by "a proper extension". If you can articulate your expectation in the concrete, practical terms of Who-What-When-Where-Why-How ( 5Ws ), this may help. Thinking in terms of 5Ws may also help decode any gifted program differentiation or buzzwords. For example, a few possible questions for each dimension:

Who: who is involved? your child alone and/or in a cluster group of children with similar ability/readiness (from same grade or a mixed-age group from multiple grades)? with a teacher, a volunteer parent, or working independently?

What: what will be taught? advanced curriculum in one subject area? several subject areas? working one year ahead? several years ahead? or going into more depth/breadth with enrichment activities? what are the learning goals?

When: when will the extension take place? frequency? duration? once a week? for 20 minutes?

Where: where will the gifted program take place? in-class? or pull-out?

Why: why do children participate in this gifted program? have children demonstrated a need for extension by means of qualifying IQ/achievement which signals ability/readiness?

How: how is the material delivered? mode/media used? worksheets? computer-guided learning? specific books?

You may wish to check your district policies (often found online), and also read up on advocacy. The Davidson Database has many resources listed. This link includes several: http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10291.aspx

I have a kid with aspergers who was very advanced at reading and math before starting kindergarten. It is encouraging that the school said they will give him a full time aid. I am amazed at that. So maybe your school is better funded and will look at your child as an individual.
We were not expecting the school to actually teach him anything at first, but we sent him for the experience and social stuff. By first grade we had to pull him out to homeschool him. The school environment had turned out to be toxic for him. Very negative social interactions with some quite aggressive kids in a chaotic classroom. And yes. In kindergarten he was expected to sit quietly for rug time and learn letters and basic words with the other kids. Excruciating after a while. He was eager to participatebut very fidgety and the material was terribly boring. We made the best of it for a while, but it didnt work out.

That's not to say that it can't work out for you. The school has his weaknesses well doccumented, now, make sure they also document his strengths. Half day is nice. I wish first grade was half day too, and second... Full day was such a time waster.
So, document his strengths. And, the full time aid may be a saving grace for him