Hi Zia's Mom,
Welcome!
I would apply to the YSP as soon as he turns 5, with those scores. If they need more, they will ask for it. The posted specs tend to be a bit higher than what they accept in real life, if you can demonstrate that he is working well beyond his grade level. I would start collecting "portfolio" materials now, camcorder type stuff.
IQ testing is usually a bit less accurate before age 5 in general, and the YSP staff has a tremendous amount of experience with PG and near PG experience. Also keep in mind that there are no agreed upon definitions of Giftedness or of Profound Giftedness. They do know what they are talking about. There are 1000 plus YSP families. We Moms are all (mostly all? Not Dottie, surely.) suspisious, fearful, hypercritical and hyperalert - a real PIA population. We are also warm, caring, and delightfully intelligent. ((shrug - well that shoe fits me, eh?))And it's no wonder with the treatment most of us grew up with, and have seen our children suffer through. Have you noticed how long your kid's memory is for slights?
Anyway, it's important to keep in mind what the YSP can and can't do for you.
Can't - make your schools behave
Can - introduce you to other Parents who have lived through similar stuff, and have sympathy and advice. With better confidentiality than you get here.
Can't - make your child behave (humor alert)
Can - offer Parent Seminars with some of the "big" names to help you figure you kid.
You can get lots and lots of the benifit from posting here, and getting the feedback of other Parents, but here you have to be more careful to obscure the detail, and get occasionl spam. I don't know if you will eventually get to join the YSP, but I do know that even if you do, there will always be tons of families who "just miss" and need the information as much as any of us. Is it fair? No. It's a total drag. But how much generosity do you want out of folks who are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts? The good news is that I will do my personal best to make sure that you get the best of YSP right here. I don't have the money to start a program for HG kids, but I have eyes and ears and a mind and I'm not afraid to use them.
Good luck with your attempt to place into 2nd grade. I think your child will do well, although for some kids the physical act of handwriting puts a cramp on things a bit. Many kids do well socially with radical acceleration, so don't let that worry you. And the business about out growing the planned program is very typical for PG kids. Have you read Ruf's "Losing our Minds" book? You can get an estimate in the back for how long it will take you child to get through elementary education. Of course if you find that 2nd grade is a good fit, you may be able to transfer back to the pubilc schools as a 3rd grader next year and save the money.
I'm glad that you are open to home schooling. Remember that the largest cost of school isn't the money that you pay any particular year, but the human cost of being in a "bad fit" environment is too much for some children to handle. Some have bad behavior in the classroom and collect misdiagnosis, some mask their talent and grow up misunderstanding themselves and living lives that don't fit them like an outgrown sweater.
Some people don't have choices, but if you do have them, do your best to make them wisely. It sounds like you are well on your way.
Best Wishes, and let us know how it goes with School,
Trinity
