Several parents of kids with disabilities were very open with me in describing their experiences and helping us navigate the school politics in pushing to get DD what she needed. At first, what she needed was gifted placement and a subject acceleration. The information I needed to make it happen came from parents of kids with severe learning disabilities, still struggling with basic math and reading. I am eternally grateful for their openness about their situations and their experience with the school administration.
As a result, I have taken a rather open approach in describing the placements of my kids and what it took to get them there. I am open when people ask me. I don't go around the school telling everyone what's going on with my kids, but if a parent is venting about their child's needs not being met, I will interject with "did you know that the gifted program requires..." or "if you want your child to skip a year in math, there's a form to fill out in the office and they will test your child." "Be aware that the school uses 'acceleration' to mean skip a year, and 'differentiation' to mean giving your kid stuff at their level in the classroom.""If your kindergartener is already reading at the beginning of the year, you might need to let the teacher know what books your daughter's been reading so that she can be appropriately tested." Things like that.
I don't particularly talk about having taken DD to a physics lecture at the university, though.
