Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy SET versus DYS pros and cons

I thought that I would get this thread going for the Mid Atlantic folks.

Would appreciate input and any thoughts - ideally from people with experience of both.

Any takers?

I am grateful that SET and DYS are both helpful resources that are provided free of charge.

What has impressed me about SET so far has been the personalized outreach. Within the first year, we received a personal email from the director to come in and meet with her over the summer if/when we have time. Their counseling office is staffed with highly qualified/trained personnel if your child ever needs assistance and they will provide college recommendations. Then we received a number of mailings that while not personalized (other than with your child's name/address) was targeted to fit your particular child's (i.e., scholarship opportunities) age/grade. I think that SET membership is low enough that they can afford to give individualized attention. SET also tries to keep tabs on their members by having the kids provide an update each year. The Imagine magazine and SET newsletter are also nice resources/references.

DYS has great seminars for both parents and kids and both my kids and I have taken advantage of many of them over the past years, although not within the last year or so. DYS also stands ready to jump in and help you advocate for your kids with the school administration. In fact, it appears that they have many form letters ready to go in typical situations and they have responded really quickly both times that I approached them (once for DS before 4th grade and once for DD beginning of 8th grade). Their staff, in my experience, tends to be on the young side but very friendly/approachable. The only issue I had was lack of access to a copy of their correspondence with the school - although I could have requested a copy from the school but that seemed a bit odd given DYS was our advocate. Obviously, DYS also has all the other resources like the Summit, THINK and online courses but we don't have the personal experience to comment.

I'll add that SET is overtly interested in ongoing research, and has followed participants over decades.

Thank you both!

Our DD just received her first issue of their Imagine magazine today and their pre college newsletter.

DD has been having quite a difficult time if it this year because she has become very isolated socially in her tiny rural middle school. This is exquisitely painful to witness as she is a very social person. She has several friends amongst the boys in her grade and even sits with them at lunch times apparently but she is acutely aware of her shunning from the other girls. Were it not for her friends that she made at CTY and one girl who unfortunately left her school she has no female friends in her grade.

At times she displays serious angst over this. A CBT therapist who has been able to reach her in the past is now being shut out. Even I am slowly being frozen out of the picture which is alarming. I am currently the one with whom she has always opened up to but I am not a professional or even close to being a decent amateur at this. I think that I will reach out to the folks in Baltimore to see if they have any local recommendations or ideas. My well in this area is almost dry...

Tacking on a tangentially related topic - does anyone have relationships/insights to CTY to understand why all ceremonies have been cancelled?

I understood postponing last fall's Grand Ceremony, explained by construction at the facility. But now the reschedule for the Spring has been cancelled and, more interestingly, all regional award ceremonies have been cancelled. It's hard to accept that "scheduling/facility challenges" occurred at every one of the dozens of locations that haven't had issues in the past.

I want to avoid jumping to negative conclusions, but I'm concerned about what this means for the program. It reminds me many "adjustments' to the final C-MITES summer courses just before the program was disbanded.

Are you suspecting that the CTY programs will be canceled?

I would be truly shocked if that happens. I think the CTY program prints money for JHU.

I don't have any insider information. It is my personal opinion that CTY will have to make some adjustments to some of their offerings to remain viable in the market. Unlike 10+ years ago, there are now many many alternatives that are arguably "better" based on the price/benefits matrix. My district (major metro area/county) stopped accepting CTY courses for credit or placement some years ago (6+). In the math area, AoPS is miles ahead, a fraction of the cost, and has been infiltrating the elementary market as well. Many community colleges and some universities have stepped up to the plate and have programs in place for high schoolers and even late middle schoolers. For example, CTY recognizes that its summer camps may be too restrictive for the high school set and advises that parents/students contact them to determine whether it would be a good fit before enrolling. I know that we ended up applying for admissions at the local community college for our then 8th graders, who ended up taking summer courses there before 9th grade. It was very cheap and a far more challenging alternative for them plus they earned college credits. While their classmates may not have as high an IQ, they were far more educated/experienced and the executive function and maturity demands were extremely beneficial for their growth. One child had a college professor (in another unrelated field) and a professional writer as fellow classmates in her upper level writing workshop.

I'd be shocked too, given how long it's been going. But I was shocked that C-MITES was canceled. The story just doesn't add up - I was curious if anyone had actual data beyond my speculation. Something's happening.

If I had to guess, I'd say it's a budget issue - I can buy construction cancelling the grand ceremony, and the turnout I've seen at the regional one may cause them to fade/become virtual.

I certainly hope the summer camps and talent search continue. I've never really looked closely at the online courses as, noted above, there are better and/or cheaper options.

Have you seen the list of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) resources in various posts of this recent thread?
Both professionals and workbooks are mentioned, including:
https://www.amazon.com/CBT-Toolbox-Children-Adolescents-Worksheets/dp/1683730755/
https://www.amazon.com/Think-Good-Cognitive-Behaviour-Workbook/dp/0470842903/
http://s3-euw1-ap-pe-ws4-cws-documents.ri-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/9780415399784/Verduyn_depression.pdf

I have seen other similar events created/cancelled based upon gifted funding legislation, specifically what categories of activities the available funds could be utilized for (for example: teacher training, direct benefit to pupil, academic/educational classes/camps, increasing the representation of ethnic minorities).

I think a lot of the people think the CTY award ceremony as silly. I know we were not interested in going even if it is offered this year. This may explain why going forward there may be less of them?