Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Help - meeting teacher tomorrow morning!

Hello,
I have 2 questions. The first is more pressing because of a meeting I have tomorrow.

DD 6 was just tested on Saturday and I think the results explain alot. However, I was so overwhelmed that I cannot remember something important the psycologist told me. Can any of you help?

She did the DAS and her results are:
GCA 153
Verbal 157
Non verbal reasoning 131
Spatial 140

The psycologist said the big difference between Verbal and non verbal could indicate a processing disorder. What does this mean on a day to day basis in the classroom. She mentioned something about this may mean DD may not like to write (she doesn't!) - why is this? Should I ask the teacher to do or not do something specific in class? The teacher is fabulous and will work with us I am sure (she taught DS 8 a couple of years ago - he just qualified for DYS).
My second question is this: the psycologist also stated that it must be difficult for DD to be DS's sister. He is very bright and loves to be open about it. He loves being top of the class and is very competitive. DD is very smart too but is much more subtle. She tries to fit in and not let people see her abilities. Eg she has in the past pretended not to be able to read or to write properly so she fits in with the other kids.
She thinks that she is 'not good' at things because she compares herself to her brother. Eg She cannot do square roots of large numbers like him ..but she's only 6! I don't think he could at that age either. I regularly let her know the 2 year difference between them means that she cannot possibly know what he does and that this is okay.
How do others handle this? How do you help a younger child feel confident in their abilities?

Aly -
Sorry I didn't see this in time to help with the meeting...how did it go?

Grinity

So have you started your DYS application for little sister?

Qualifications pages says:
Standard Score 145+ (99.9th percentile) on at least one of the following sections: General Conceptual Ability, Verbal Ability, or Nonverbal Reasoning
Looks to me like she qualifies on both GCA (the overall score) and Verbal ability -

All those scores look very strong to me, even the weakness in nonverbal reasoning would still be classified as top 3% in any classroom. Sometimes kids do have 'bottlenecks' that bother them internally because the gap is annoying, but at 131 it would be hard for me to think that is the case unless I saw something in the real world that pointed to it.

from Wiki:
I would ask the tester to calculate working memory and processing speed scores, as these are the clusters that typically are causing bottlenecks in gifted kids.

As for not likeing to write, that is very common in HG and PG kids, as there is always a bottleneck at the fingertips until typing skills come in. Also at age 6 it's harder to see things from a teacher's percpective, so little gifties bristle at having to do things like 'take the question and flip it into sentence form' - sometimes going so fast makes it hard to break things down into step by step.

As for the sibling thing - it sounds like DD is very high in EQ, which is an important talent and also needs to be developed, but yes, it's very important that she be with academic peers ASAP. A wonderful teacher is worth sticking around for, but do get the gears in motion for a skip next year. That will show her that you believe in her academic ability - actions speak louder than words.

Smiles,
Grinity

Hello Grinity,
Thanks for your in put. I will apply for DYS for her but was wondering if I should wait to do the WJ until she has been back in school a few weeks so she's in more 'academic' mode. (We had a great summer with lots of fun and travel - but no math or writing!).

It makes me feel better to hear that lots of gifties don't like writing. I saw that you recommend that I develop her EQ - any ideas on how to do this?
The teacher meeting went great. DD has skipped a grade into second and the teacher is wonderful. She listened to all my concerns and seemed very in the know about HG kids and issues such as processing speed and not wanting to write. On the first day of school, she gave everyone a math sheet and ofcourse DD just sat there while everyone else made a start. The teacher understood the problem immediately (even before our meeting). She sat down with DD and told her that she knew that the sheet was too easy for her but she would still have to do it and then she could move onto more interesting problems. DD then decided to participate. I think it's going to be a good year!

Wow, I think so too!

I guess I would 'reframe' those frustrating moments when she is 'hiding' into pointing out how good a job she is doing on the EQ front.

"I saw that you didn't show what you know because you wanted to protect Jill's feeling. You pay close attention to how Jill feels and act kind to her."

I'll bet a dollar that your DD would burst into tears after about the 7th time you do something like that. Once you take the role of appreciating her strength in holding herself back, she'll have the space to feel the other side of her coin - that there really is part of her that wants to be free to be herself. But it's hard for her to do that until you 'hold' the good part for her.

that's just a hunch, but it's worked well for my DS.

I like the books on
ICPS - I Can Problem Solve: An Interpersonal Cognitive Problem ...
www.researchpress.com/product/item/4628/ - CachedICPS - I Can Problem Solve, An Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-Solving Program, Dr. Myrna B. Shure.

there are a whole bunch aimed at parents of different aged kids, so you'll have to hunt a bit to figure out which isn't too 'young' for your DD.

But I still want you to think about another skip in the future, as the best way to keep a 'blend in-y' kid from underachieving is to place her against a background where she can achieve without having to stand out socially. Not this year, because a great teacher is such a gift, but to think about for the future.

Hugs,
Grinity

You could apply with the IQ and a portfolio now, and if they need a WJ she'll already be in academic mode. ????

I would suggest that the tester figure out not just whether that V > NV split is statistically significant, but also how uncommon it is within the high-ability (GCA>120) population. It's in the norming tables. (I can do it, too, but this is the tester's job and part of what they were being paid for, and it only takes a few minutes.)

Standing on one foot (ie, not looking at the norming tables), I'm going to predict that it is statistically significant but common in the high-ability population and probably clinically irrelevant. We're not all good at everything -- it's normal to have strengths and weaknesses. That's why there *are* subtests.

Without other data (real-world and testing data) to suggest that it's an actual processing deficit, I think it's a huge leap to assume that this is a problem.