Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Should I apply to Davidson or wait?

I think that's really what your ds needs metis; IEPs are meant for students who need individualized instructional support in addition to accommodations, and it sounds like your ds doesn't have any holes or weaknesses that require individualized instruction, so a 504 will be a-ok for him I did want to add, though, in case another 2e parent is reading this and wondering about their child who might need individualized instruction - it's not impossible to qualify for an IEP even when a student is achieving above grade level. BTDT, it took a ton of advocacy, but it is possible for students who need it.


It's been my experience that schools often look at 2nd/3rd grade (age 7/8) as some kind of magical ladder rung, which once a child is there, they feel confident enough to say he/she is either gifted or dyslexic, or ready to be tested for LD or whatever... and in the meantime, students who could really benefit from early help and accommodations are missing out on opportunities for learning not only in the areas of their challenge but in other areas too where the impact isn't so obvious. On top of all that there can be a very real hit on self-esteem when a child is struggling and not receiving help.

There is a chance your ds may be impacted by asynchronous development and perhaps you're seeing signs of perfectionism, but I'd be very careful to assume that's what you're seeing - but I'd be more inclined to think that's a possibility *if* you hadn't mentioned the other things you'd mentioned - difficulty with zippers, buttons etc. Those are the kinds of skills that perfectionists seldom worry about.. but they are skills impacted by fine motor coordination. Those were some of the early signs in our ds that he had developmental coordination disorder - I have no idea if that's an issue with your ds or not, if it's something else impacting fine motor, or if it's all not much of anything, but I think that since you are seeing difficulty with fine motor challenges in multiple areas, it's not too early to consider having him evaluated by a private neuropsychologist. You are getting some help through school now, and that's all good - but I think if you polled us 2e parents as a group, the majority of us would tell you that by far the best thing we ever did in terms of understanding what was impacting our children and how to really help them for the long term, you'd find many of us would tell you to make that neuropsych appointment now.


And that's one more reason I'd vote for a private eval now - because you've got him grade-skipped and he needs the skip to keep him intellectually challenged. The writing demands aren't going to get any easier, and he's going to be noticing the differences more and more as he sits in class working and sees what his classmates are able to do that he can't.

I would also suggest you get him typing at home asap - even if you find out ultimately that he's not dysgraphic and doesn't need it, it's a skill all of our kids will ultimately be using anyway. My nt kiddos were typing their essays and project reports for school (at school) by the time they were in second grade.



metis, this sounds SO much like my ds with DCD. Don't be too discouraged by it - if it is DCD, it will get better with lots of time and lots of repetition and gradual maturity. We coped a lot in the early years by doing things like having ds wear elastic waist pants with no zipper, velcro shoes, things like that. But oooooohhhh... it took so long getting ready for school because he was so slooooow getting dressed. Much better now - it does get better

Best wishes,

polarbear









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