I've posted a few times in the identification and testing forum, but I haven't yet in the general discussion forum. I have several amazing kids, and my oldest 2 are close in age. DD1 has always "shone" in terms of her abilities, and was identified as GT by our former school district at age 4. She is now 10, and has been very successful in school...teachers love her, she is a quick learner, and she not only gets straight A's, but high A's consistently. She has participated in the GT program which currently means she attends a different school one day a week. She loves it and thrives there. DD2 has always been in her sister's shadow. She is almost the complete opposite of her. Very very quiet, does not always do her best work, gets straight A's, but some are borderline and recently received her first B, and teachers consistently do not "get her". Her current teacher actually told me "I've never had this dynamic with a student before". In spite of all of this, I have always thought that DD2 was gifted, and have advocated on her behalf since kinder (she is now 8 and in 3rd grade). Her scores on the Cogat and wisc had been borderline (although her nonverbal on the Cogat was always higher than 130), and our district is very strict about the 130 cut off.
Fast forward to today. Our district administers the Cogat to most elementary students whether you are already identified as GT or not. Both girls scored higher than 145 on a section, so the district gave both an IQ test. I was expecting them to both do well...however my oldest scored lower than I expected (FSIQ around 130) and the youngest scored much higher than I expected (FSIQ higher than 150). I was and am in shock. We decided to do private testing for the oldest, and she took the SB. Her results were close to the school score with a FSIQ in the 130's.
I am happy for my younger daughter that she scored so high, and I have always known that she was gifted. But it's just shocking that she's that much higher than her sister (who I always thought might be highly gifted). Her teachers are shocked because they can't get my daughter to open up and communicate with them well, so they don't always know what she is thinking or if she understands the concepts they are teaching. I think they are having a hard time believing that this quiet, non communicative person is highly gifted.
We now have the option to apply for the highly gifted school in our district. It is a lottery, but even if she does not get picked, she will now be able to attend the regular GT program like her sister.
If anyone has any suggestions on things to read that might be beneficial resources to pass along to her future teachers please let me know. EVERY year her teachers have told us how difficult it is to know what's going on in her head. Also resources on intense, sensitive, sensory, GT kids would be great too. I've already read "raising your spirited child" because all of my children are strong willed. What other books would you suggest? Thank you for listening and allowing me to vent a little.
Last edited by dtbell; 04/22/16 06:03 PM.
