@mnmom: You hit the nail on the head. My husband has a chronic illness which impacted his height, so he was always the shortest. He was in his "age-appropriate" grade, in a 2x/wk pull-out gifted magnet, and there was a lot of "go at your own pace" material in the classroom. Intellectually, my very brilliant husband was just fine in elementary school, but when kids started being interested in boy-girl stuff that he wasn't ready for, it was difficult for him. Being short was tough too.
My experience is different. I started kindergarten at 4 1/2, but was still bored to the point that by 2nd grade I was reading books under my desk, not participating, etc. I didn't really study much after that until medical school. Socially, I didn't do well either. I always blamed it on the acceleration, but in retrospect, perhaps I should have been accelerated another year.
So we each have our own perspective on this. DH is very involved with DS, and certainly deserves an equal say. When I had DD5, we divided the work so that I had the baby and he had the toddler, and it's stayed that way to a large extent. DS and DH are very close.
So as far as grade skipping goes, perhaps the IAS would convince him, but I doubt it. He's not concerned about 3rd or 4th grade; he's concerned about what happens when the other 5th-6th graders get into boy-girl stuff, and the boys get all alpha-male, and DS would be about nine and out of the loop, not invited to boy-girl parties, etc. DH has said he'd rather homeschool than skip, but I can say affirmatively that DS would be dead in ten minutes if I'm the one homeschooling.
As far as the ADHD stuff -- Ginity, thanks for the phrase '2Eishness' -- love it! I'm a pediatrician, and very comfortable with the medications, which I write for every day. I am NOT my kids' pediatrician, and their pediatrician isn't convinced about DS's need for that -- plus, a major side effect of the stimulants is decreased appetite and growth slowdown, which would be of particular concern to us. I'd personally like to have a little ritalin around even to use "as needed" for tests, etc. Might get the Vanderbilt scales filled out and give that a try. Even just for standardized tests. Will get the workbook; have used 123 magic with a lot of success too; I'd recommend it highly.
To the sports issue, he's in gymnastics, which is ability-grouped (yay!). The gym coach understands my kid better than anyone, it goes well. Wish he could be his teacher.
Does anyone have experience with pull-out to a higher grade for one subject, like reading? The school doesn't have specialist teachers for science or anything like that.
