My DW and I are looking for a bit of guidance with our DS(9) who we think is (at least)2e.
First, we are very new to this. We always knew he was smart, sensitive and asked an endless number of questions but we recently had the psych-ed done (still awaiting the final report). His IQ came back as 119 with the psychologist noting he could tell when he would "slow down" on some of the subtests and referred to possible inattentive ADHD but no dyslexia or ASD. Don't remember the GAI. Of course, the final report will be more telling. I believe the IQ is higher than the results indicated as I have always been a gifted learner (MENSA, not Triple Nine Society :-)) and I believe he is more intelligent than me. DW and I have ordered a variety of books recommended on this forum and have read a bit about Dabrowski's theories on OE.
Other than being very similar to him when I was a kid, he is quite unique to us but may be quite common for others on this forum:
- He is an old soul
- From the time he was talking, he was putting sentences together
- He is usually very nice and thoughtful
- He has an advanced sense of humor (gets and delivers sarcasm)
- His teachers have all loved him (we have been lucky as they seem to "get" him)
- He seems to be well liked at school but does not have any close friends
- He has gravitated towards very soft things like blankets and pillows (has eczema and horrible environmental allergies (allergy shots from age 3-7)
- He loves to read non-school subjects
- He is fairly athletic and loves to ride his bike and fish
- He prefers talking with adults
- He has no problem walking up to adults to ask them questions (i.e. asked me for permission then walked up to a guy on a fishing pier to ask him the trick to using a cast-net (DS had one for a couple months and noticed the older guy was good at it))
- Very interested in trying new things (ex. Cast net, sleeping outside in his ENO hammock overnight, seeing how a telescope works, etc�)
- Good eater, not picky at all
The challenge:
- EXTREMELY negative self-talk (Ex. "I'm an idiot", "I suck", "I'm a loser" , "I'm so stupid", "I wish I were never born", "everybody hates me", "I don't belong in this family")
- Meltdowns that disrupt the entire family (DD(11) and DS(6)(usually at home, occasionally at soccer practice or basketball practice but never at school) (almost never in the summer time)
- Anything that does not go the way he planned in his head can cause a meltdown
- He HATES school (going to school, homework (writing / spelling), math facts and anything timed. Existing school is parochial and very structured. Some grades have fallen this year.
○ Not currently in TAG and not sure the schools TAG program would be the right challenge
- He always wants to do what he wants to do. Makes parenting a bit challenging.
- Seems to have anxiety in a variety of situations (years ago, he would stay attached to my leg at birthday parties, basketball practice with 30 kids and adults, etc�)
- Highly sensitive (high highs and low lows)
The questions:
- Approaches that others have tried for emotional sensitivity / anxiety
- How have others made the decision whether to medicate inattentive ADHD / Anxiety
- Any specific posts on this forum you would recommend we search.
We had considered moving him to an "experiential learning" school but hate to move him away from his existing support structure (teachers that know us, "get" him and can work with him).
Any help is appreciated.
