Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy When Child Doesn't Appear Bored In School

Thanks so much to all of you for redirecting me to my child's needs. That is the fundamental starting point, and I will do well to remember that.

We went back into the school system based on promises of acceleration, regularly updated IEPs and interest-driven GT programmes. His achievement tests were scheduled for mid-last year, of which he only completed the math portion because he refused to write for the language portion (he has some fine motor skills issues, so he did the math mentally). He tested at the grade 4 level with some gaps, but I can see that the mismatch has widened because he only became interested in math after the test. The school/authorities want him to complete the language portion before assigning his grade level, and we are awaiting the test date.

The biggest issue is that "waiting a few weeks" from their perspective is agony for my son on a daily basis, and my frequency of calling them has risen in line with the sharpness of his complaints. Unfortunately, I was turned down yet again yesterday for higher level material. The teacher is unprepared to differentiate in the meanwhile and advises that we wait for The Test Date. I am given to hope that we will know this within the next week or so.

The stories and suggestions that all of you have made are very helpful. I am learning that if acceleration takes even longer to happen, I can suggest the type of differentiation he will like, such as negative numbers, exponent fun. Better yet, I'll show them his home-work so that they can allow me to provide the material. Or yes, he can make up his own algebra problems, which he loves to quiz us with.