Gifted Bulletin Board

Welcome to the Gifted Issues Discussion Forum.

We invite you to share your experiences and to post information about advocacy, research and other gifted education issues on this free public discussion forum.
CLICK HERE to Log In. Click here for the Board Rules.

Links


Learn about Davidson Academy Online - for profoundly gifted students living anywhere in the U.S. & Canada.

The Davidson Institute is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted students through the following programs:

  • Fellows Scholarship
  • Young Scholars
  • Davidson Academy
  • THINK Summer Institute

  • Subscribe to the Davidson Institute's eNews-Update Newsletter >

    Free Gifted Resources & Guides >

    Who's Online Now
    0 members (), 210 guests, and 14 robots.
    Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
    Newest Members
    streble, DeliciousPizza, prominentdigitiz, parentologyco, Smartlady60
    11,413 Registered Users
    March
    S M T W T F S
    1 2
    3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
    31
    Previous Thread
    Next Thread
    Print Thread
    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posts: 42
    B
    BooBoo Offline OP
    Junior Member
    OP Offline
    Junior Member
    B
    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posts: 42
    I scheduled an appointment for DS to meet the psych. The doctor suspected DS has very mild/borderline Aspergers. He has traits but not affect daily life too much. How to tell DS about evaluation? I don't want him to feel there is something WRONG on him.

    Joined: Apr 2009
    Posts: 283
    J
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    J
    Joined: Apr 2009
    Posts: 283
    I hear you.

    I don't think I would tell DC yet until after the eval, and then, only tell him portions of what might be relevant.

    Perhaps just say... going to a doctor that specializes on how the brain works. We're going to see what our strengths and weaknesses are... just do your best.

    There are lots of other people with Aspergers, ... and it is just different. Would there be a silver-lining to this cloud? Perhaps mention those. ? Maybe don't give him the word "Asperger" yet...

    Hopefully someone else will chime in with better ideas.

    Take care,

    Joined: Apr 2009
    Posts: 370
    C
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    C
    Joined: Apr 2009
    Posts: 370
    I wouldn't bring up possible "diagnosis" until after the evaluation. There are so many things that can cause aspie behaviors. I did let my dd know that she was going to a "thinking specialist' because we knew that she loved to learn and we wanted to do whatever we needed to so so that she could learn even more - she was 6. Later, we started referring to the experience as her "brain test." It worked for us. DD remembers the testing as a positive experience.

    The beginning of the Mysterious Benedict Society describes some kids taking a special, IQ, multiple intelligences test. Its a good read... All the kids in the book are special somehow.


    Warning: sleep deprived
    Joined: Apr 2010
    Posts: 2,498
    D
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    D
    Joined: Apr 2010
    Posts: 2,498
    If your child is far enough along in school, they've already had "tests" and "assessments." Mine loves tests, so he didn't ask for much explanation.

    We did talk about how he has an interesting mind and by doing assessments we can find out more about what he knows and what he still needs to learn. "The people in this office are experts in giving assessments."

    If your child is old enough to know that not everyone gets these tests, you can express to him something you think is unusual about him (not something bad, just different) and say that the assessment might help us understand "your special quality of XYZ".

    I wouldn't offer suspected diagnostic terms right away-- too confusing to have it change if the diagnosis doesn't fit after all. I'd wait until it's a sure thing, and you've come to terms with it yourself, before teaching the child about it.

    Best wishes,
    DeeDee

    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posts: 42
    B
    BooBoo Offline OP
    Junior Member
    OP Offline
    Junior Member
    B
    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posts: 42
    Thanks for everybody's input. I will try to explain to him. Actually I am not too worry about the result. Labeling or not won't change who he is. In contrast, I will be happy to clear my puzzle and explain his behavior/difficulty. I have been thinking of evaluation and IQ test for 2-3 years. All of my son's teachers, my friends, even my DH told me he is fine. Only me cannot ignore his writing difficulty and slightly delayed motor skills. His symptoms are mild and his giftedness masked his difficulties. Thank this board to encourage me to search help. I'll keep posting after got the result.

    Joined: Jul 2009
    Posts: 1,743
    O
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    O
    Joined: Jul 2009
    Posts: 1,743
    Originally Posted by Chrys
    The beginning of the Mysterious Benedict Society describes some kids taking a special, IQ, multiple intelligences test. Its a good read... All the kids in the book are special somehow.
    Hope no one minds a little subject detour. But my son was about to take the EXPLORE while I was prereading that book for him. I thought he should wait till after the test to read the book, just so he didn't get any funny ideas. LOL

    Joined: Jul 2009
    Posts: 1,743
    O
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    O
    Joined: Jul 2009
    Posts: 1,743
    BooBoo- good luck to you. You are a good parent to notice his difficulties.

    Joined: May 2007
    Posts: 982
    L
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    L
    Joined: May 2007
    Posts: 982
    I told my son that we needed something in writing so that he could get testing accommodations for his mild fine motor issues because I knew it affected his speed on timed tests. We homeschool and I told him I wanted to make sure his disabilities didn't cause him to get a lower score on the ACT or SAT. He knows that he will need a high score so he can get into a good college because he won't have grades from a traditional school.

    When he told me he wasn't sure he wanted to ask for accommodations, I told him testing would still be a good idea just in case something happened to me and he had to go back to school so he would be allowed to type his assignments.

    I also wanted to know if it was really motor dyspraxia like the developmental pediatrician said it was when he was 7. The doctor didn't put a diagnosis on paper so he couldn't get therapy because he couldn't get therapy for just hypotonia. I thought we both needed to find out if it could have been his difficult birth that caused his difficulties or if it was possibly something else. I really thought we would get more answers than we did.

    My son didn't want labels. His was a hidden disability and I think now that he wanted to keep it that way and I took that away from him. He did get the feeling that there was something wrong with him. I think it was unavoidable in our case. He really liked neuroscience and had read a lot about it so we talked about the results of the test and how it confirmed the verbal giftedness but also that he dysgraphia caused by the motor dyspraxia and that it is considered a learning disability. All of his life people have told him they think he must have a really high IQ and now he has been labeled with a "learning disability" when he knows he didn't have any trouble learning, it was just trouble getting his body to do what he wanted it to. I don't know if I made the right decision to have him tested.

    Ever since my son was tested, I have been finding articles about twice exceptional people who were very successful in life. I often point out how much better his writing is than his friends who are in college. We see their posts on Facebook. I keep telling him that his difficulty is not going to cause him that much trouble if he just lets people know he does have a disability when he needs to.

    I also wanted another opinion about Aspergers because I have had people tell me they thought he must have it because of the early reading and his ability to talk like a professor when he was really young, but this doctor also said my son does not have it.


    Moderated by  M-Moderator 

    Link Copied to Clipboard
    Recent Posts
    Testing with accommodations
    by aeh - 03/27/24 01:58 PM
    Quotations that resonate with gifted people
    by indigo - 03/27/24 12:38 PM
    New, and you'd think I'd have a clue...
    by astronomama - 03/24/24 06:01 AM
    For those interested in astronomy, eclipses...
    by indigo - 03/23/24 06:11 PM
    Son 2e, wide discrepancy between CogAT-Terranova
    by astronomama - 03/23/24 07:21 AM
    Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5