Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Please Help. * Edited for more information

Ever since my 8 yr old gifted child entered this new school, his attitude about learning sucks, he already had D's in almost everything, he refuses to do homework and I am at my wits end! The teachers have called a meeting, suggested Damian be mentored by the gifted teacher as well as wanting to write up a behavioral contract, but I don't feel that this is a behavioral issue! He didn't do this last year! The teacher, in an attempt I think to change my mind, pulled his records from the previous school and pointed out to me that he had 2 conduct notices from last year...WOW two whole reports! Damian doesn't seem to care at all. Wants to learn only what he wants to learn. How do i deal with this!?

Okay. Monday morning I have a TAT meeting to see how the school can better meet Damian's needs. It is only October and already the problems are severe enough to get the schools attention. So I have a few things I need some outside input on.

First of all, does anyone know what I can expect at the Teachers Assistance Meeting? What should I bring with me? What do I say?

Secondly, What do I do with my son? Damian is 8 years old and I don't know how to reach him. He thinks, or appears to think, this whole situation is funny, but it really isn't. He isn't even trying. I don't want to say that he is bored, because I really think he will find plenty of challenges in his work if he gave it a shot, but I will say he is disinterested. He finds the monotonous reviews and stuff irrelevant, but that does not necessarily mean he knows the work. It simply means that he isn't intrigued by it, so he doesn't care to do it??? Do you understand what I am saying? I am so frustrated because I've tried so many things. He has a schedule, rules, consequences, encouragement and positive reinforcement, teachers that are at least trying to work with him, and a mom who desperately wants to make things better, but he will not meet me halfway. When I ask him what we can do to help him, he says I don't know. When I tell him that this process requires that he help us so we can help him, he smirks and walks away. When I asked him specifically what we could do to help him through math (an area where he is highly gifted but not achieving) he says, give me a calculator? He doesn't want to write unless he can do it in cursive. He seems to care only about learning about dinosaurs and science stuff and tosses everything else aside with a smug look on his face. I don't know what to do. Have any of you ever experienced this? I am beginning to think that perhaps the tests are wrong and my child is really just a smart ass? Please help!