Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Testing today and DS6 is PG but also 2E

... sensory processing and still a question of attention related issues. For those with PG 2e kids, do you homeschool? Has anyone had luck in the school setting and, if so, how?

How high was his score? I don't know if I would call DD PG, but her GAI was 150-155 (155 if you calculate extended norms). She has what I would consider fairly severe ADHD, in terms of how unfocused she gets when there are distractions, but does Ok in school (for the most part) medicated. I think without the medication it might be a disaster and she'd probably need an IEP and maybe an aide to try to keep her on task. She's 8.

I should add that a lot of the work she does in school is too easy, and she tends to tune out, but since she struggles with some things (like processing speed/writing) due to the 2e situation, that presents some challenge that other kids who are not 2e wouldn't have. So she says that she's bored sometimes and I really don't know how much she learns in school, but she enjoys going because of the social opportunities.

DS is a bit younger (7) and is 2e with motor challenges and weakness in verbal ability compared to non-verbal. He is esp. advanced with math, but the huge gaps that I've noticed throughout his development seem to be closing (he is becoming more "normal"). I am more worried about him than DD in terms of checking out of school and refusing to go at some point. His teacher is doing what she can in terms of giving him work at the right level but he keeps talking about school being dumb and a waste of time "All we do is sit around and listen to stuff I already know." He said today "Did you know I don't like school?" Yesterday he asked if I can home school him in the fall. I don't know how things are going to work out long term for him. He is the one with the IEP but I am actually worried more about DD's 2e situation at this point. She doesn't even have a 504 plan and we need to figure it out in the fall.

It was high and she thinks it does not truly capture his abilities because he did not hit discontinue rules for a ton of subtests, even with extended norms. She said she could have done additional testing but after 99.9%, does the actual number matter?

This brings up another question I have, which I should probably include elsewhere, but how many people share scores with others? I feel uncomfortable doing so, so at this point my husband and I have decided to just share that he's gifted with others. I just don't want the number to follow him if that makes any sense at all.

Who needs to know?

School district, yes, if there are programs this will qualify him for. You could use the score for DYS or another talent search, or to justify his placement in an above-grade extracurricular (though I wouldn't rely on their understanding of what an IQ score means).

Otherwise, we never used the word "gifted" with our 6 year olds, and certainly not with friends or neighbors. It alienates people and makes them think you are comparing your child to others.

Later we gradually gave our kids more context and appropriate words for understanding their own brains and their own challenges in school, but we did not give them their IQ scores. Likely to do more harm than good, in our opinion, since our children are not tactful. We will revisit this decision as they grow older.

We have selected family members (literally two) who know the whole story, because they really get it. We have a few friends who are our allies in advocacy-- they know too. Otherwise, this topic remains private information, like any school test score.

DeeDee, exactly. We plan to only use the term and scores with the school to determine if they can meet his needs vs. pulling him to homeschool. We are not telling friends. Grandparents know he was having testing done because he told them in conversation so we were vague. The reality is, everyone KNOWS talking to him that he's different but I do not want to label. We tested to figure out his needs and to tease out some of the 2e stuff.

IME the label becomes useful when the child shows a need to name differences. We prepped this for our 2Es by routinely talking about differences in many ways, so that they would see themselves within the "everyone's unique with gifts and challenges" mindset.

At 11, DS is getting to be pretty articulate about this. We have fought arrogance with this kid (he cannot help but notice how much faster he learns than others, and by nature he is impatient with them), but I think he's doing okay in coming to terms with all the ways he's different from others, and also like them.

ETA: in response to your original post: no, we don't homeschool. We have learned to advocate for appropriate placements, differentiation, and acceleration. It's not close to perfect, but homeschool wouldn't have been, either. My 2Es needed the social training that school provides.

I worry about the social piece with homeschooling. I am just struggling to see how they will be able to meet his needs in a K-3 building. I am jumping the gun because we have to meet with the school about results.

As far as "sharing scores" I've learned to do it for educational purposes. I have one or two close friends whose children tested as PG (higher scores than my son). We occasionally talk about scores and what they may mean.

As far as talking about giftedness, when I first got DS's scores, I was so excited that I made the mistake of bringing it up a few times. Now, I kind of wish I hadn't- I feel like every time DS acts like the seven year old he is, that folks are judging. Kind of like the hilarious Gary Larsen cartoon where the kid keeps trying to push open the door to the gifted school (sign says pull). DS has plenty of those moments:)

I've learned to know my audience.

I don't think it matters after 99.9th percentile but everyone on this board seems to have different ideas of what "PG" is so I don't even use the term. I tend to think of PG as higher scores than DD.

I forgot to say that DD was accelerated a grade (in November of Kindergarten), and that has helped with the "problem" a lot. But I don't think anyone was anticipating the 2e situation and focus issues. So it may have solved one problem but created more problems. She showed signs of ADHD in Kindergarten but most of the kids had focus issues at that point. If we had chosen to not medicate, I think the acceleration would have turned into a real problem. Maybe not in first grade, but in second and third. What the school system "should" be doing is putting kids at the correct cognitive level and making modifications/accommodations for weaknesses or disabilities, but that is easier said than done.

lol - cammom, I know what you mean. There are times when my kids look like geniuses and then they quickly turn around and do something quite the opposite to keep me grounded.

The school has the full report and we've shared a high level view with a couple close friends. We've been lucky that the ones we have chose to tell have been very supportive (but then again we have been very selective in who we've told).

Like DeeDee we've talked a lot about "everyone has strengths and weaknesses". DS is 2E and knew he was smart (and sometimes this isn't a good thing IYKWIM) but was also really frustrated with the other 'e' and at times thought he was "stupid". We did talk to him after we had the results to try to find the balance and reassure him that having challenges didn't == "stupid".