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    Joined: Sep 2008
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    You're very welcome.

    I hope that it is helpful. I gave it to all the team members at dd's school and told them that we were going to check off every last one of the 50 before we would consider medication!

    It was very helpful! I hope it is for you as well!

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    Hi NJmom. My son is the exact same way. He was in 1st grade in PS and teacher agreed he was very advanced in math so they put a computer in the back of the room for him to work on during math. My son was still very sensitive to all the classroom stimulation (OE). It wasn't enough for him. She then started to focus on his "weaknesses" i.e. handwriting, disorganization, etc. They started a behavior plan which sent me fuming. smile He was starting to have meltdowns everyday. Once they refused to grade skip him or test him, I pulled him out. I know this is not an option for everyone. I reread "Losing our Minds" by Dr. Deborah Ruf and researched the personality profiles she talks about (MBTI&Myers-Briggs). Here is a link http://www.personalitypathways.com/MBTI_intro.html
    It breaks it down why some GT kids sit there and tolerate mindless learning and why some do not. My son is in the "Do NOT" category. They also tried the ADHD label but our psychologist agree with me that he did not show it across the board. Yes he is high-energy but it runs in our families (DH and mine). HTH

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    Yes my son was one that can't sit there and tolerate mindless learning. Getting him to do a repetitive worksheet for homework on stuff he already knew was torture.

    FrustratedNJMOM: under the Learning Environments forum we have a discussion on HSing. Feel free to start a new thread on HSing if you have specific questions.

    Also, check out this blog http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/unwrapping_the_gifted/2007/11/a_gifted_childs_bill_of_rights.html, one of the things gifted kids want is permission to be their age!!!!

    Last edited by Dazed&Confuzed; 02/12/09 09:53 AM.
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    Everyone - thank you so much for your support and great information.

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    Hi, FrustratedNJMOM - I sent you more info in a pm. Click on the flashing envelope and you'll see it.

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    This topic is close to my heart. DS was flagged in pre-k for possible adhd. The teacher would complain about him acting out and disrupting the other kids. It was a daily battle and a year that I would like to forget. In hindsight, I would have realized that the setting was not suitable for DS. The teacher had centers of 12-24 piece puzzles and simple board books. DS was already reading, could easily do 100+ piece puzzles and had addition/subtraction fact down. In kindergarten the teacher understood DS better and she tailored a curriculum to suite his educational needs. She was a special teacher. He thrived with her. This year the teacher understands, but is unwilling to differentiate as much as the kindergarten teacher. DS has to do the assigned work first and when that is complete he can work on more advanced material. Needless to say, we have complaints of him being off-task, rushing his work and occasionally acting out.

    I have learned when teachers tell me that DS is exhibiting ADHD symptoms to ask what was being discussed when the problem occurred. Not surprising there seems to be a correlation between behavior and math time(his strongest subject). He doesn't have as many issues in subjects he is less familiar with, such as social studies.

    I did spend the money and seek a neuropsych's opinion. We never experienced any of these issues with my gt DD and began questioning if there wasn't something to all the comments of adhd. The long and short of it, is that DS personality has a "low threshold for boredom" but no adhd "at this time". The Dr. actually made the recommendation for us to work on teaching DS boredom coping skills such as "day dreaming" and doing mental math. I actually laughed when she made this suggestion. I will change his educational setting before telling him that he has to "check-out" to get through his day. Like the other postings, she said that adhd is hard to diagnosis in bright kids and that him being 6yrs old makes it even harder (the reason for the "at-this-time" diagnosis). In the end I learned that my son will have to accept being bored if he stays in most public school classrooms; or I will have to learn to hear negative comments from teachers if he doesn�t comply.

    Each year I learn to advocate a little more for my son. I struggle on how hard to push him into conforming to the norm/or what is expected in a public school setting. I just pray that we are doing enough at home to support his creative and curious personality. I come on this board hoping to gain some wisdom from those who have been-there-done-that. I wish you the best of luck. Trust your gut.

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    TxMOM - your post really hit home for me. My son sounds similar to your son but not as advanced. His 1st grade teacher kept hinting at inattention. His 2nd grade teacher made a point of saying "It's not that he's inattentive, I think he really needs more challenge." So she really got him. I know his 1st grade teacher wrote into his record about the inattention but I wasn't sure if the 2nd grade teacher got those records. Our system is K-1, 2-5 so there was a school change for 2nd.

    Anyhow, I had him tested and the psych gave lots of advice about teaching him coping skills in dealing w/ the boredom....deep breathing exercises, meditation etc. Well we're HSing now. When he came home, I was truly worried about him. His attention span was only about 5-10min of focused effort, then he would say he was tired and needed a break. But after a few months, he can now work for an hour before needing a short break. Even the psych said that DS fatigues mentally easily and he would have scored even higher on the WISCIV had he broken it up into 2days. I think it was DS tuning out in class and not being challenged which was creating the inattention and lack of mental stamina. When I sent him to K, he could sit and watch a NOVA science show for an hour, then we could read together for another hour and discuss what we were reading and then do math. Why would his attention be decreasing as he got older?

    But I got from EVERYONE, he has to learn to be bored. Now when he's at home, and says he's bored b/c I won't let him play on the computer, I let him be bored so he can learn to find things to occupy himself. But if he's spending most of his day bored in school, something is wrong and needs to change. Kids are bored for many reasons..too much challenge, not enough challenge, disinterest in the topic etc but after talking to several friends of ND kids, they never complain of boredom in the classroom on a day to day basis like my son did, to the point of stomach aches daily, headaches, and really becoming gloomy.

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