I am looking for guidance. My 12y/o is gifted and has ADHD- mostly with signs of disorganization and distraction at times. Although he walks a fine line into boredom He was in Montesorri thru 4th gr. Since 5th grade, he is in public school in WI. I am frustrated with the curriculum. I feel that advanced should not mean more work, it should mean a faster learning pace as the children placed there should theoretically grasp concepts faster and therefore be able to move faster. Reality is that it is task oriented and repetitive. My son gets bored and they blame it on disorganization. It is likely a combination of both. His class test scores are generally A's. He starts each quarter doing well with best intentions, then tanks mid quarter. He has brought it back up to a 3.0 each quarter ( from C- F grades). What I keep finding is he does not hand in or "forgets" to do assignments that he describes as tedious and repetitive. He has recently described himself as lazy which is new. He is always seeking knowledge no matter what learning medium. In his computer class last quarter I found him at an F level mid quarter. He had not handed in 5 assignments which were to circle words that are related to computers... rather boring and something a 1st grader could do... easy A if you like to do tasks. He handed them in, did some extra credit and within a week he was up to a B+. Other classes are the same only different assignments. It is as if he is not feeling challenged. He complains that he does not understand why he has to keep doing the same thing over and over. The teachers say that you have to show the work so as to show mastery... and this is the advanced programming. He aces the tests, but their idea of mastery is a multitude of assigments of the same. He looks forward to tests as they are "fun". My son tests in the top 1% on the usual tests and tested a 23 on the explore and is 22-23 across the board. Next year they have 3 advanced programming options: Science, Comm Arts, Math. They base placement for next year on both testing and grades. Testing is not an issue as he tests consistently off the charts. My son is accepted into Science and Comm arts and per the principle, the thought is it may be best to have my son in only 2 advanced classes as he may be overwhelmed with 3 due to the amount of work. Focus is on task. Then I get an email from the spectrum/ gifted teacher who asks whether he should only be in 1 gifted class- science as she would like to see him be successful.... They just do not get it. My son can and does do the work when it is interesting and challenging. The state suggested IEP for 10% of the gifted whose needs are not met in either the regular classroom or through enrichment. I just can't afford a private school and I have to work so I can't home school him. I am wondering if there are any other parents out there that are dealing with similar situations. A child who is gifted and has ADD(mild) is challenging to parent... What is the most frustrating is the school sees that he is gifted and that he has great potential.... but they do not challenge him... instead they throw more work at him or write it off as that he cannot handle the work. Hegets bored with the amount of repetitive task work, they chalk it off to his Add and disorganization. Yes, he needs to organize better and he is working on that and it's getting better as he matures... but that is too easy of an answer. It is such a cookie cutter approach. Like trying to fit a shining star into a round hole. He just says the grades aren't important, it is more important that he learns something new- he meets that need by watching educational channels and research outside of school. I was searching the internet for gifted programming, when I stumbled upon the Davidson Acadamy. Wow... this looks like what he needs... I need to investigate. My son has never fit in with his age group.. always with either those a few years older/ adults or with kids lots younger... so it is a big decision to leave his friends. I need to be sure. He meets the criteria in regard to testing... problem is I don't think his school sees him as he truly is... and would they give + accalades? Need to have references. I have this vision that his teachers would not do that as of course they want him there for funding, just stay within the progamming lines. I am looking for other parents who are dealing with public schooling of a gifted child with ADD. What have you found works? What about Davidson Academy for a gifted child with mild learning disabilities. Are there other programs which would work from a child such as mine? I just hate to squash my child's mind in an attempt to conform.
