Thank you so much for the link. The article in many ways describes my son.
You asked if I still thought he was gifted. That's actually hard to answer. I know this will sound terrible given the relative merits of IQ tests, but hearing that he had an IQ of 106 and having lived with so much academic difficulty for the last 7 years really colors our perceptions. Especially when compared (although we try very hard not to compare) to the experiences of all the other people in the family. Still, he absolutely understands advanced concepts of history and science(his favorite subjects) and social studies, and, like I said, he's reading and comprehending a few years above grade level. If I read to him, by the way, he has an excellent memory for details that even I don't remember and he always seems to know what's going on around him even when it seems like he isn't paying any attention.
His handwriting is not great, but certainly improves when he writes in cursive because joining the letters in a word together means that he automatically leaves spaces between words. In print, spaces and capitalization are inconsistent at best. He can study a spelling list for a week and get 100% correct, but otherwise his spelling is atrocious, even the basic words. He doesn't like to write at all and when he does write he tries to say it in a way that uses as few words as possible. He tends to speak this way, too, and seems to often have great difficulty pulling the words he wants out of his head. However, when I ask him questions, and I'm patient and ocasionally prompt him with words, he can answer them with complex thoughts that show definite understanding. Also, by the way, he has always had an advanced vocabulary. He seems to be able to learn by listening quite well (when he is not distracted, see below) and watching a video is like speaking directly to his brain.
Another trait of his is that he is very easily distracted. He is definitely not hyperactive, though. Very tactile (can't keep his hands off things), yes. Can't sit still, no. I always thought of it as him having all his feelers out and that he was very observant of everything around him. My nephew says he has a party in his brain, which is so true. But, when it comes to working quickly and efficiently, it is a problem. It usually takes him 1.5-2 hours to do his math homework -- not because he doesn't understand the problems, but because he keeps getting distracted. His work on even the simplest problems is often peppered with careless mistakes. Math word problems, on the other hand, are usually pretty difficult for him, which makes sense given their short written format.
Anyway, his whole educational experience has been quite disheartening and I have shed many tears. I just want to figure out if there is a way to help him so things at school aren't so hard for him. Everyone has always told me that when he gets older and school is more about thinking and theory that he will thrive, but he still needs to be able to show his knowledge.
Thanks, again, for listening and for any other thoughts anyone else might have.
