Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Unsure how to help Bored Creative"Gifted" child...

I'm not sure if I should be posting in this forum at all (I'll explain below), but would appreciate all advice. To make a long story short, I think my daughter fits in the "creatively gifted"/creative thinker mold. I don't think gifted classes are right for her.

I just had my parent/teacher conference with my 7 year old daughter, who is in second grade. She is doing well grade-wise (A's and B's)
and behvavior-wise, but her teacher is concerned because it is hard to get her to focus and she is constantly daydreaming. She is completely zoned out, but when asked a question, she understands the material completely,even when it appears she is not listening. Doing schoolwork is like torture for her, even though she is able to do it with little difficulty. She consistently works well below her potential. Her teacher said that she seems to be capable of gifted studies, but since she shows zero interest in academics, she doesn't feel that would be right for her. I agree with the teacher. My daughter loves things like art and writing


Some history: I have been concerned about my daughter since pre-k. Back then, my concerns were more over her behavior. She had been in a Montessori-based environment for most of her life, and when she entered public pre-K, she was bored and started acting out. She was defiant and lacked focus. She refused to do work or participate in group learning. We moved her to a private Montessori based environment, and the behavior immediately stopped. She learned a lot, got the challenge she needed, and seemed to love learning. Her teacher thought she might be gifted since she learned difficult subject matter so quickly. I was relieved, but worried about what would happen in Kindergarten since private school is not an option long-term.

In Kindergarten, she again started having the same behavior issues she had had in pre-k. I worried about her having ADHD so I had her undergo a (very expensive!) neuropsychological evaluation. The psychologist did not believe she actually had ADHD, but felt that she was just immature. She also had IQ testing but the results of that were likely affected by my daughter not taking parts of the test seriously. Although the psychologist used the term gifted when referring to her, my daughter's IQ puts her in the "bright" category, but not the gifted category. On the academic testing portions, my daughter completely checked out and was uninterested. Just like in her classes, she scored far below what would be expected based on the other testing. One interesting thing that came out of it for me is that the psychologist found that she seemed to be a highly creative thinker, and needs novelty and intrigue to perform at her best.

Because of the unclear results of the IQ testing, I am unsure if my child is actually gifted. However, I am not as concerned about whether she meets the definition of being gifted as much as getting her the most suitable education for her needs.

Does anyone have a child like this? I think her teacher wanted to get her more testing for ADHD and possibly a 504 plan, but I think the psychologist was right in her assessment that she does not have it.

Do I need to get her further testing either privately or through the school? I am just very confused about how to proceed. It seems like she would qualify for a 504 plan since her grades are good so I'm not sure what can be done at this point.. \

Sorry for the rambling. Would appreciate any advice or insight!

Welcome!

Generally, I am an advocate for testing only if 1) there is a functional question to be answered or problem to be solved, or 2) if it will provide access to resources. In your DC's case, it sounds like the teacher is describing functional problems to be solved, with unanswered or unclearly answered questions. So yes to #1.

If further testing is advisable, given that the recommendation is coming from her classroom teacher, it would make the most sense to have the school conduct testing. It won't cost you anything out of pocket, and it will be maximally likely to be accepted by the district. Having good grades may or may not be a rule out for an IEP, depending on your state regs.

ADHD takes many forms, especially in girls. The previous assessment (done when she was very young) ruling out ADHD may or may not be accurate, especially as what appears developmental at a very young age can become clinically significant if it persists into older ages.

Thanks so much aeh for your very succinct and well-reasoned response. This sounds like a very sensible course of action. I just need to let go and trust the process.

I sure hope we get an answer one way or another. I've gotten so many conflicting opinions on my daughter I will be happy when we are able to get a definitive answer.

Maybe read this book - Upside Down Brillance by Linda Silverman. It may or may not be helpful but check it out.

Don't use the word bored to teachers. They take it to mean the child needs more work not more challenging work. They also take it as a personal insult.

This should be at the top of every article written for parents who are wondering if they have a gifted child! Innocently using that word started us down a very bad path with one school. To be fair, I think they would have been awful to DS anyway, but maybe not quite as much.