I am about a year into realizing that my DS7 is HG+. It has been a whirlwind year that has caused significant changes in our family. The greatest challenges have been around schooling, which was completely unexpected to me when we first started poking around and figuring out DS's educational needs. Three years ago, if you told me that my son would be accelerated a few years in a subject at school AND homeschooling - I would have laughed heartily!
DH and I have been wondering - what is it like to parent a child like this in the teenage years? I have some experience parenting a NT teenager (complicated story). She is pretty well behaved, goes to school, sees her friends. The drama is minimal. We don't have to advocate for her at school, because her needs are largely met. With a HG+ child, do we assume that things will not be as smooth? (I know, I know, every child is different, every family is different, etc. But, the more that I read about PG kids, I am trying to anticipate the possibility of having a very intense parenting experience well into the teenage years.)
It's also important for me to mention, that DH and I are thinking about having another baby. So far, we have 3 little ones and all 3 appear to be HG+. These children really ARE children with special needs (of course, nothing like having a child with a disability). So, we're trying a bit, to look into a crystal ball and figure out what these HG+ kids are like as they get older. Impossible, I know. Years ago, we thought that we would have 4-5 kids. But now with these 3 HG kids, we're thinking maybe we should not have anymore! Of course we love them to pieces, but we want to be sure that we can meet their needs. We are wondering if having (potentially) 4-5 HG+ kids, if they would not adequately get the attention that they need and deserve.
Anything that you could share about parenting a HG child in the teenage years, or parenting multiple HG kids would be greatly appreciated!
