Hi mom2one,

I think you have at least one bright spot in your story -- the school did the testing on your kiddo and found him to be way ahead. (Schools do not generally like/understand/accept outside testing, so having them do it themselves is a plus.) My first question is what did they say to you about the testing results? I'm assuming the testing was done either by your request or on their own for some reason. If it was to test for GTness, they must have some sort of protocol? If all my assumptions are incorrect, and you need to start at square one to get more appropriate materials for your DS, then I would recommend starting out by scheduling a meeting to discuss the test results with the school staff (curriculum person, teacher, principal, GT person). If there is a GT person at the school, I would start with that person and ask her advice about how to go about requesting this meeting.

As for the teacher and the ADD, I'd recommend getting hold of this book: Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of GT Children I don't know your kiddo, and of course it's possible that he is 2e, but how the heck do you think a kid who is not learning anything new is going to behave in kindergarten?

As for enrichment in reading, a couple of easy things you could do. You could ask if you could send in some books at your DS's level that he can read during the school day, especially if they are working on things that he already has mastered. You can request pretesting out of things, if necessary.

Is it possible to challenge a kid in kindy who is reading so far ahead? Well, yes and no. First, I'd make a list of the things that you think your kiddo can get out of kindergarten. For us, DS refused to learn how to write before he went to kindergarten, and that was a great place for him to learn it. Our DS also had no experience in the "do school" department --- being in a large group of kids, getting along with all of them, getting from room to room, etc. If you don't think there is much your DS can learn from being in kindy, I would think about checking out the Iowa Acceleration Manual and requesting a grade skip.

Sorry, gotta run. I'll try to come back later...