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    Joined: Jun 2018
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    Currently, my son is 8.5 years old. A couple years ago, my son refused to continue going to Kindergarten halfway through the year. HIs first half was going great, seemed to be no problems. Academically or socially. Then he became very anxious, scared to go, refused to go, and I decided to homeschool the rest of the year until we could figure out what was going on. That was 2.5 years ago. We have continued to homeschool, a very relaxed and child-led version. (Along with his 2 younger siblings). He is a voracious reader. And loves to play, act like a "normal" kid. Legos, youtube, minecraft, the usual.
    Over the past couple years, we recognized he has some major anxiety, and started having full blown panic attacks about 6 months ago. The panic attacks seem unprovoked, similar to My own personal panic disorder. We started some counseling to help him/us cope and deal with his anxiety. The counselor suggested we have an "assessment" done to get a better understanding of him, and rule out any "issues?". A psychologist gave him the WISC-V. His test results were as follows:

    VCI: 142, 99.7%
    Similarities: 19, 99.9
    Vocabulary: 16, 98
    Visual Spatial: 135, 99%,
    Block Design: 16, 98
    Visual Puzzles; 16, 98
    FRI: 144; 99.8%
    Matrix Reasoning:19, 99.9
    Figure Weights: 16, 98
    WMI: 107; 68%
    Digit Span: 9, 37
    Picture Scan: 13, 84
    PSI: 98, 45%
    Coding: 9, 37
    Symbol Search; 10, 50
    GAI: 147, 99.9%
    Ancillary Scales:
    CPI: 102, 55

    WIAT-III:
    Subtest:
    Spelling: 106, 66%, average

    (She gave him a spelling test because he told her he wasn�t sure how to spell his last name. We do have a last name that is difficult to spell, and he is not in school writing it every day. But I must admit, I am very surprised he didn�t score higher in the spelling test,he spells very well IMHO. Maybe it was timed? Felt too testlike for him?

    My husband and I were surprised. Of course we considered our child bright, but what parent doesn't? But the Psychologist seemed to suggest, he's not just "bright", but really really gifted. How gifted? Does this explain his anxiety??
    Honestly, I just do not understand the results, and the psychologists recommendations were just as confusing.

    (�It is recommended that he and his parents re-evaluate his school arrangement based on academic and social-emotional needs.�)

    Do I need to get more testing done? Is he gifted as well as having a learning disability? Are the discrepancies in the testing due to parts of it being timed? He HATES being rushed/timed. Do I simply need to be working on certain skills with him? Should I continue on our path or relaxed child-led homeschooling (almost unschooling)?

    I asked the counselor at our next meeting, if we needed more testing, and she said, �no. doesn�t look like there was a recommendation for more testing. He�s very bright, which explains much of his anxiety, especially considering he identifies his 3 main anxiety triggers as : death, time, and space. �

    I guess I�m hoping for guidance as to where to start. It was suggested by a friend, that with those scores I should try to get him into the Davidson Institute. Which is how I ended up here. Will the Davidson Institute help a homeschooler?
    Will he be accepted without academic test results?

    Thank you to anyone who can take the time to help me with any of this. I just want to do the best for my son, of course.

    Joined: Apr 2013
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    Welcome! smile

    Here is a link to help you learn more about the Davidson Young Scholars (DYS) program and DYS qualification criteria.

    Other resources which may be of interest include:
    - Gifted Homeschoolers Forum (GHF),
    - SENG - Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted
    - Hoagies Gifted Education Page

    Anxiety about time may be performance anxiety... related to fear of failure, perfectionism, procrastination, fixed mindset. Here's an old post with links to other information.

    Anxiety about death may be related to existential issues... gifted kids become aware of many truths before they are fully capable of processing them emotionally. On the forum, you will find old threads discussing death.

    Joined: Apr 2014
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    Welcome!

    Answering some of your specific questions, more or less in order of appearance:
    -no, spelling is not timed. It may be that your surmise that it felt too test-like explains the result, but maybe not.
    -Yes, he could easily be described as exceptionally to profoundly gifted, and yes, it may contribute to his anxiety, but you also report a family history of anxiety disorders, so I would suspect multiple contributors.
    -You may or may not want to explore more testing, depending on what questions you want asked, and what you will do with the information. It is absolutely possible to be both gifted and learning disabled (twice exceptional, or 2e). Data that are suggestive (not definitive) of possible LDs would include his relative weaknesses (still in the Average range) in working memory, especially the phonological loop (auditory memory), processing speed, and spelling.
    Timing did affect his performance. PSI is all about speed, and he scored in the Average range on both tasks. OTOH, BD, VP, and FW are all also timed, and he did quite well on them, though it is still possible that they are low estimates, given that the other fluid reasoning task, MR, is a standard deviation higher.
    -If he is happy, learning, and growing as a whole person, then I see no particular impetus to change how you are teaching him academics. If you find specific skill deficits, then work on those. For instance, addressing the anxiety with something skills-based, like CBT, might be a consideration. While many therapists may think he is too young for it, I think it would be worth a try, with a child this strong cognitively.
    If, OTOH, he does appear unusually distressed, frustrated, or avoidant about certain types of tasks, then it may be worth further investigation.


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    Joined: Jun 2018
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    Thank you.

    Joined: Sep 2018
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    My daughter has a similar score profile in that she has high values in everything except coding. We are not sure what it means, and have "kept a pin in it" for that information. We have gotten advice it could mean "slow processing", OCD, AHDH, or "bored with that test".

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    PS Also the anxiety is something that can go along with being gifted, e.g. there is A LOT to worry about in the world but ONLY IF you stop and think about it, and that is something that he will need help with. I would not count on it improving without intervention. Best of luck.


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