Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Thank you, thank you, a million times thank you

I am literally in tears tonight after receiving an email that DS9 was accepted into DYS. Thank you to everyone on this message board for helping me get to this point. I joined the message board a year ago because we were having so many troubles at school with my son. I have spent hours reading posts on these boards. It took 10 months after finding this message board to finally realize that we needed more help. We finally gave in and spent the money to have DS privately tested in January.

When DS was identified as gifted in kindergarten, we were happy. We thought that the school would meet his needs. DS showed signs of unhappiness in first grade, but truly rebelled in second grade. Throughout it all, I just couldn't understand why the school wouldn't love having a child who so clearly had a passion for learning. At every meeting with his teacher and at every conference with his principal, I kept emphasizing that my child was not the problem that they thought he was. I used the posts that I read on these boards to try to advocate for DS in any way I could.

When I started reading the stories on this board, I didn't even know that there was such a thing as being in the 99.9%. I certainly didn't realize how different that could make a child. I think that I thought that gifted was gifted and the schools would meet the needs of every child, no matter what.

For all of the parents who contribute answers to this board, know that there are other parents reading those posts and learning from them. You are helping some of us so much. Navigating the school system has been such an isolating journey for me as a parent. Yet I have found comfort in the stories on this board, knowing that children like mine did actually exist. I feel hopeful tonight that I am going to be able to figure out how to help my son.

So thank you, thank you, thank you.

I feel your relief.

Just remember, your child's DYS membership is NOT a cure-all... it is not a panacea.
It IS another potential flow of information, and source of support.

Here's an invitation to please stick around and help other parents with the "Gifted 101" stuff!

I feel your pain. I don't expect DYS to be a panacea either, but after years of having our preschool focus exclusively on my child's weaknesses and on how much he is "delayed" every time he didn't fit in, it is definitely wonderful to have a resource for dealing with one of his areas of "strength."