Dear Aeh,
Thank you so much! I was starting to feel really embarrassed about posting the question!
I did not know how much background to include, sorry. I was not given the report or the scores as these are only made available to enrolled students/families. Although we went through the whole prelim process, we ended up homeschooling, so did not get a formal report.
Some additional info in case it helps:
DS is almost 6.7 months old now, so you are correct. She told me the only difference with their test was that, they used an age of 6.0 years for the WISC, but used his actual age for the SB-5 which was 4.5.
This was apparently initiated because my son could tell they were using a different book/box? for the other boy and my DS noticed immediately! The SB-5 we had to do about 2 weeks later if I recall correctly.
They were very excited about him and told us he was "gifted" which is how I came here in the first place! Then we learned that gifted means so many things!
We came back to the US last year but we were prioritizing his medical first so we are just now attending to his other needs. We were hoping he would outgrow some relative weaknesses we are seeing, but now at 6.7, we can no longer attribute certain things to immaturity.
At the time, I have to admit, we thought we were being "groomed" as customers, as we did not think DS was gifted. This was/is an international school that was advertising enhanced/advanced curriculum and by Asian standards, was very expensive.
When we sent him for his 1 week readiness tryout, our manny had this specific story - there were about 6 kids in the class. They were studying phases of matter (which DS already knew at that time), when they started with just "solids", DS stood up, spread his arms to his sides, looked at the teacher and said "solids?" but I already know that! He burst into sobs and said "I'm so bored!!!" I want to know about new things!". He was increasingly getting frustrated during that year and we were hoping Kindergarten would save us.
So they took him to arts and crafts and tried to distract him there until it was time to go home. All the rest of that week, he just wanted to play because he said he already knew what they were teaching. He was into dinosaurs, siphonophores, bacteria, etc.
We are waiting for the neurological eval which is still at least 5 months away (although we've waited 2 years, 5 months seems too much all of a sudden), which is why I braved the "exposure" to try to get more info as I prepare background notes for the testers.
I have looked here from time to time, always wondering about what if DS is really gifted? I was afraid to think like that because he has weaknesses which made us think he probably is not.
So, in case it helps, here are some of the things he can/can't do:
1) Read and comprehend up to around 10th/11th grade level paragraphs used for "comprehension" tests on DORA (home proctored online test)- I'm not kidding, he can read and understand almost anything. New vocab words DO have to be explained though. He also likes to read books like Magic Treehouse, Goosebumps and various other adult books we have at home but font size is an issue. Adjustable font is required. Waiting for the new Kindle.
2) He can perform the majority of all math up to 5th/6th grade, algebra, etc.Per DOMA (math version of this home test). and we've only been doing about 2 hours a week of formal book lessons. He also knows basic algebra and knows PI and PHI! We try to slow him down as much as we can, but he likes the videos.
3) Spends hours on minecraft, internet and youtube "rabbit holeing" watching people talk about math, science and anything else. Can play video games like skylanders very well.
4) Can climb certain things very well, can dance shockingly well, can sing a little, can do cartwheels.
CAN'T DO
1) Can't write well, can't write without pain and fatigue.
2) Can't spell without lots of practice and support - transposes letters, etc. (Vision issues are related to print size)
3) Can't catch small balls but can catch bigger balls.
4) Can't push tricycle pedals, can't walk on balance beam.
5) Very clumsy, bumping into corners, trips on his feet, spills drinks all the time (thanks wow cup).
6) Trouble with fine motor like buttons, snaps, opening containers, eating salad with a fork is very difficult for him.
7) Can't follow directional instructions and will look nowhere or wrong place, etc.
Because of these various things, his ped referred us for the eval. suspecting some type of developmental challenge.
The biggest problem we face is trying to find out where his ceiling and floors are so that we can tailor his lessons better. We are literally confused as to whether to push him to do more or to do less? Is it hot housing if he likes to do stuff? Do we stop him if he's been watching math videos for 3 hours straight? Do we push, if he gives up writing or spelling after 5 minutes?
To be clear, we are homeschooling because we don't think a regular teacher would have the patience for our little chatterbox at this time. He might self regulate better as he gets older but right now, it would be hell for both of them, frankly. Also, there is the sticky point of which grade level, etc. Not even factoring medical issues in that.
We are part of a 2 hour/weekly home-school group, but it's mixed age, so he tends to be friends with the older boys. His skype pal is 9 years old. He has gym and swim class, but just dropped out of drum lessons as they were very difficult (although he loves percussion with his hands.)
So yes, any feedback on the scores could be very helpful as we have at least 5 months of waiting and I'm sure a few more months after that to get a report.
In particular, we'd love to know if anything jumps out about the scores? We are wondering about some type of coordination disorder and if he would be actually considered gifted based on the scores?
Sorry this was so long!
Thank you again so very much, I noticed how helpful you are to so many, may you have tons of good karma!
Grateful,
Lucky
