Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy need advice

hello everyone i was wondering if anyone can help me, i have an 8 yearold boy who is in the 2nd grade he has gifted classes for math. that is the only subject the school offers for 2nd grade. anyways my is gets a's on his reportcard but at the same time he is distracted all the time. i do not know what to do. the teacher says to keep him off the tv and game systems, but what does she know we do not have a game system and he watches tv at from 7 to 8 and most of the time it is discovery channel. so i am lost as fars as doing something to keep him focused any ideas? anyone? thank you, kristi

Hi Kristi,

What does your son say about it? How does he feel about school? What does he do in the classroom when he's "distracted" ?

the teacher asks him what he is thinking about and he like has no answer he is like off in lala land. if someone elese is doing something he will watch them insted of paying attention to himself and what he needs to be doing.he has not said that he does not like school. in the mornings there is no fight to get him up and ready. so i am just not sure. my idea is to have him read and than tell me about the story maybe that will help him pay attention. but i do need more ideas. thanx kristi

Most likely he is just plainly bored but can't put it into words. Strive for his classes to be more challenging, ask teacher to give him more difficult work to do, see if it helps before you let them label him ADHD.
Ania

I second what Ania said. If he's getting all A's but is distracted, he's probably bored. Does his teacher say he is distracted in all of his classes or only certain ones?

Hi Kristi,
So glad to hear from you. It sure sounds like your son is having trouble focusing - and I checked your old posts - this has been a concern of yours for quite a while.

First question - has your son's participation in the gifted program affected his spaciness in anyway?

Second question - have you made any headway with figuing out "how gifted" your son is?
Here were some of my ideas from back then for finding out:


Ruf levels are from a book by Dr. Deborah Ruf Loosing our Minds, gifted children left behind.

You can get an idea of "how gifted" your child is by doing a talent search from one of the universities or by looking at Davidson's YSP page.
http://cty.jhu.edu/ts/index.html
http://www.ditdservices.org/Articles.aspx?ArticleID=252
Or you can look at the individual tests and see if it says "superior" or "very superior" -

Truth is that there is a wide range of giftedness and a wide range of how people divide up levels of giftedness. What ReallY matters is meeting your son's needs. They will always be individual, no matter what the test says.


Third I think having him read and practice talking about it is a very good idea. My son also had a lot of trouble talking about things that weren't his ideas. It did improve with time. Watch him closely to see what kinds of questions he can answer in depth. For my son, compare and contrast two books would lead to more talking than tell me about this book - ya' know?

Best Wishes,
Trin

Well,
I've been getting rumblings from the new school lately, so haven't had the energy to post much.
But I did look up the lyrics from that song from begining of "The Sound of Music" where folks are complaining about "Maria" - I don't know how she solved her problems, but I had to laugh:

She climbs a tree and scrapes her knee
Her dress has got a tear
She waltzes on her way to Mass
And whistles on the stair

She's always late for chapel
But her penitence is real
She's always late for everything
Except for every meal

How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Maria?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o'-the wisp! A clown!

Many a thing you know you'd like to tell her
Many a thing she ought to understand
But how do you make her stay
And listen to all you say
How do you keep a wave upon the sand

When I'm with her I'm confused
Out of focus and bemused
And I never know exactly where I am
Unpredictable as weather
She's as flighty as a feather
She's a darling! She's a demon! She's a lamb!

She'd outpester any pest
Drive a hornet from its nest
She could throw a whirling dervish out of whirl
She is gentle! She is wild!
She's a riddle! She's a child!
She's a headache! She's an angel!
She's a girl!

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

Does that about sum it up for you to, dear?
Trin

that is too funny, i was looking at my sons test and he falls in the superior range. the levels of gifted would be a level 1 almost a 2 i think by like 1 point. i asked him if he liked school and he said yes he loves math he said. he does not like writting.he said it is boring. so i think maybe for extra homework or something i will let him write about something he enjoys like fishing and he will need to write in detail. that is what his teacher says he is lacking.but anyways back to trying to keep his focused is there any exercises or something i can do at home to help him stay focused when he needs to be even if it is not his interest. is it just a boy thing? still need some ideas. please thanx, kristi

How do you feel about asking for a grade skip? He won't "learn to focus" unless he has an interesting enough environment to focus on .

I would try to get him to learn to type, with good form, from a computer program such as Mavis Beacon. Once he can type, his writting will improve dramatically.

I would encourage you to let him "talk" stories into a tape machine, or with you typing them. I have yet to meet a young boy with Superior IQ (which I believe puts him at the 99%, ok?) who's little fingers can keep up with his big ideas!

I would also sign him up for the Regional Talent Search. He'll take a test that compares him to other gifted kids, and you'll get an idea of how much of an outlier he is.

Good luck,
Trinity

ok i will try the typing that sounds like a good idea. i have not thought about that before. it is hard to keep up with these kids i have an older daughter too who is in the superior range and she has no problems she just does her own thing which is mostly reading. my son on the other hand is very much an outdoors kind of kid (fishing, biking, rollerbladeing ect....) so i think the typing will be good. thank you for your help kristi