@Kate: Thanks--that's part of the problem though, that he's been in a martial arts class for over a year. He's been spoken to by his Sensei and us, the whole nine yards; unfortunately, the behavior continues : (
I would talk to the Sensei and see if the Adults can work out some kind of plan where DS 'earns' his next week's lesson by 'playing spy' and hiding his Nija Powers succesfull for the preceding week.
I would also consider changing martial arts schools.
As for the giftedness angle - yes, gifted kids:
1) deserve to be in classrooms where there is material to learn, with peers who are ready to learn the same thing and teachers who expect to teach at that level. By doing this you raise the reinforcement value of achievement at school and your little wiggle worm will be more motivated to behave himself. Get him tested and get the tester to go to bat for you with the school to get this child's academic needs met! It's a long process so get started. Look for a local tester who can give the SB-V or Differential Abilities Scale-II (DAS-II) since you are in the WISC 'hole' until your son turns age 6.
2)
often- do everything they do with g-u-s-t-o. A great parenting book for parenting Intense kids is Lisa Bravo's 'Transforming the Difficult Child Workbook.' If you have any questions I'll try and answer them so you can ramp up ASAP. For now, try noticing everytime your child is 'holding his power' by sitting quietly, and making an appreciative comment about it. Prove it to him that he CAN sit 'strongly.'
Love and More Love,
Grinity
