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Hi. I have posted here before about my ds5.

A brief history is that he is very very active, defiant, rude and totally, totally out of the box.

He started school in September and although I have always had trouble managing his behaviour he has got worse since then.

If he is occupied and busy in meaningful activities he is fine but he is so fast at everything that nothing seems to challenge him. I bought some star wars lego for christmas which is for ten upwards hoping that that would take a few days to do and he whizzed through it in about three hours and that was that. The same with some k-nex and the telescope, human body book, calculator. As soon as he masters something which he does first or second time he does not want to do it again.


He is not good doing anything with me, as he does not listen or take any advise and I just seem to wind him up. At the same time he wants me beside him all the time, just in case he needs me and won't wait. I don't think this is good for him and discourage it.

He baits me constantly, the latest trick is to follow me round copying everything I do and say. I can't tell you how frustratuing this is.

Anyway I do have a sympathetic g.p who after much hoop jumping etc is prepared to send him for assessment.

This assessment lasts two days and is very thorough. They test everything, adhd,aspergers, development disorders.

I had him tested on wppsi at four, but he did not cooperate and although had a 16 and 19 the rest were lower. I wonder if the first two were the first two tests administered and then he lost interest. He got a 7 on the symbol search as he just totally mucked about and tried to change the task. Does anyone know the order the subtests are administerd in or is that priveleged info not to be disclosed.

My question is this. He is five years and four months, should I hold off the testing until he can be tested on the wisc? Or should I research someone to administer the sbv? I seem to remember that that favours the mathy kids, which I believe he is. Also it changes from subtest to subtest to keep the interest high? He is very stubborn and emotionally young and does not always cooperate.

My fear is that this testing might show nothing and that I will have to wait again to test. I know in my heart that he is very very bright, but I need to know exactly where he is to sort something out at school.

Anybody know where I can get the sbv done in England?

Any advise gladly recieved. Thanks

DS4.5 is like this and i sympathise entirely.

Have you tried the NAGC for tester recommendations? Or http://www.bps.org.uk/e-services/find-a-psychologist/directory.cfm . I believe that Joan Freeman uses the SBV, she is in London you can email her though http://www.joanfreeman.com/mainpages/consultancyreq.htm, she responded to me within an hour. I'm not sure that your GP will pay her prices though (pm me and i can tell you )

Hi Rachibaby,
I've very excited for you that assesment has been approved. This is a significant departure from standards, yes?
(what's a g.p.?)
I do keep hearing that he is too old for the WPPSI, but I've never heard that a child of that age is too young for the WISC.

What age of readers does he compare to?

I do think that getting someone who is familiar with the more extreame end of gifted will be key, a child of his description is ripe for 'Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis.'

I wouldn't wait for an assesment, though, because it seems like you and the school are jumping out of your skins.

Favorite books:


Sylvia Rimm has written many books on 'Child Management' - and while I find her advice difficult, it's been quite useful. She has written a lot,and is a bit repetitive, but perhaps to start with 'Smart Parenting: How to Raise a Happy, Achieving Child.' I find her most satisfing book to be 'Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades: And What You Can Do About It' - which seems a bit 'ahead of the game' for you, but in it she lays out the whole picture, from babyhood on that creates these unwanted behaviors, so if you want to read something meaty, I'd point to that one.

You may also want to look through the parenting articles on Hoagie's Page:
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/parenting.htm

And of course, I'll remind you that self-care is just as important to Mums of difficult gifted kids as it is to Mums of difficult 'special needs' children, and encourage you to keep trying to nurture yourself and get a moment off. He sounds so delightful in so many ways, that I'd rather you be a bit selfish and get some of your needs met so you can enjoy him more than just martyr yourself here. To some point it just can't be helped, but do try, ok?

Best Wishes Dear,
Grinity

A G.P is a General Practioner...the first port of call for health issues in the U.K

Thanks for all your replies.

It is a significant departure from the norm for the G.p to refer him for assessment and I am very very lucky. However I am a nurse and luckily know how to navigate the system. I decided early on never ever to sit across the table from a professional who knew more about all this than me so I have researched thoroughly for about three years now.

The G.P has met my son on several occasions and recognised early that he was exceptionally bright and presented significant management issues. He has been very supportive through all this and we have worked together well. I am very grateful. The problem is he seems to meet no criteria for adhd, aspergers or anything else. He just is too bright for his emotional age and is an extrovert and the strongest willed person I have met.

I just need to know how bright he is and if there are any relative weaknesses. Should I ask the G.P. to hold off until he is six?

I have read the misdiagnosis book and he definetely does not meet the criteria for adhd or anything on the autistic spectrum, I have worked with asd for over twenty years and he has far too much imagination and social skills to fit that. I am terrified though that his behaviour mimics adhd so closely at times that he is ripe for misdiagnosis. Engage him in something challenging to do and he is fine, just too quick and insatiable. Perhaps it will get better as he matures emotionally? He just seems off in his own little box miles away from anyone elses box.

Thanks again

Thanks again

My Bad!
So RB - how close to 6 is your DS5?
So Dottie - is it bad to take it early? What do they do with the results?

RB - When you read 'Losing our Minds' by Ruf, what level does he strike you as?

Dottie (or others in the know): I'm sure this has been covered elsewhere, but since it's on topic for the thread now I might as well ask. What are the relevant considerations in choosing between the WPPSI and the SBV for, say, a 4:6 year old?

Off the top of my head I'd have guessed that there are at least two kinds of issues: how the child scores and what the scores reveal.

As for the first, as you say, although there are "ceiling issues" for the WPPSI, the child can still get "ceiling scores". But do the ceiling issues with the WPPSI make it harder to get ceiling scores (because they require something closer to perfection)? I don't mean this as an instrumental issue - the question isn't just which test will give a higher score. But if the high score is measured simply by level of perfection, then presumably it's measuring the wrong thing.

As for the second, I suppose a mathy kid (like our DS) doesn't really get tested much in his paradigm areas on the WPPSI, but might get more exposure there for the SBV. So a score on the SBV might better reveal his talent than the WPPSI. Or do I misunderstand what goes into the tests?

Any help from the wiser among you appreciated. One of the schools we're looking into seems to require the WPPSI, but I think they might be persuaded to accept the SBV if we could make a good argument for it. I'm not sure whether it's worth the work, though.

BB

Hi

Im on a public computer and have about ten minutes before I have to pick up ds from school.

When I read "losing our minds" my ds came in solidly within level three. In fact it almost felt like it had been written for him. He had some fours and a few five behaviours, but I am convinced he is level three. Although he was doing some of the higher level stuff, my gut feeling says three.

I estimate he is probably hg, but not hg+ like some I have read here. But who knows, I certainly don't.

Every time I think he might be just bright, he comes out with some question or comment that just stuns me.

He is five years and four months.