Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional 2e - school not responsive

Hi everyone I am new here. I have known my son was "gifted" since he was a small child with the high vocabulary, long attention span, interest in very unusual things, etc. But he has also had problems along the way with skipping words while reading, reversing letters, problems lining number up, etc. He was tested for the gifted program and scored very high in the verbal comprehension area,138, but much lower in the other areas with an over all 120, so he did not "qualify". I have just recently figured out he has a visual perception/tracking problem and he is now receiving therapy for this. I had a meeting with the school today to explain the 2e situation and why I believe he is gifted (the high score which would be used for gifted criteria elsewhere) and also learning disabled (the visual problem) and how I felt this had definitely hurt his scoring as he scored lower in the areas where the visual perception would hinder him. It was like hitting a brick wall. I was asked why I needed to have him labeled; and that obviously if he does have a problem he would not be able to keep up in the gifted class; and that I am just guessing that his visual problem is what caused him to score lower, etc. Now I have the options of just going away, which would not hurt him in the slightest, or pursuing this further with others higher up. I'm not sure what to do. He gets good grades and I am getting him therapy for the problems so is it worth it to pursue??

Again, I don't think this would hurt him if I don't pursue it but it also doesn't seem right that the school system doesn't recognize 2e kids needs. I kind of feel like I need to advocate just for the sake of educating if nothing else. But I don't know if it would be worth the time and effort. I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!

Thanks for the warm welcome! He is 9 years old and currently in 4th grade and tested at the end of 2nd grade. It is a long story, but I have been working on this for about a year and a half. The rules seem to have changed mid-stream for how you get admitted to the program. At any rate, I finally know what is going on with him with the visual disability and all, so I am excited to finally have that figured out.

The GT thing is just a pull out for 1 hour a week. He has lots of friends in there so he would like to be in there also. I don't think he feels under challenged at all because he does struggle with things due to his visual problems. He has a wide interest in lots of topics and I guess I was hoping the GT program would give him some extra, different kinds of stuff to do that would excite him. Also, with all the struggling he has done, I would love to have his intelligence celebrated. It would be good for his self esteem.

He is in a magnet school and it is an excellerated program already. He is making straight A's currently so he is being able to compensate for the visual problems (and he has a wonderfully understanding and accommodating teacher). That is why I am not sure it is worth pursuing. I don't know that the program is that special to warrant any further effort on my part. If I truly thought it would be wonderfully beneficial I would fight on, but I'm just not sure. But like I said before, somehow this just all doesn't seem right. The teacher today seemed to know less about 2e kids than I did, and I've only just learned about it and began researching it a week ago!!!! That seems wrong somehow.

Why do schools not recognize the high verbal score?? From what I read on the internet this is a good indicator. However, she kept saying he was obvious advanced in the verbal area but not in other areas and she wasn't receptive to the idea that the visual perception and tracking problems could have been the cause of that. I was very disappointed in the response and the lack of understanding to be honest.

I'd appreciate your take on the situation. Thanks!

I think I will definitely quote your school saying that the verbal is the best indicator!!!! :-) It is crazy how they just say whatever they feel like. I'm glad you finally got your daughter's abilities recognized. Sounds like you had quite a struggle too.

I took in a plethora of articles today and it was still just "he doesn't meet the scores" and all the other insulting things I posted earlier. I was definitely not "heard".

I will have to keep thinking it over but I probably will have to pursue it a bit further. If only because I want some answers as to what our system's policy is for 2e kids. Thanks so much for the best wishes!

Ah, so she still had to "meet the scores". I have a feeling my son wouldn't be able to do that at this time based on his visual perception problems. He has had achievement testing done and he needed 3 out of 4 above 90% and he had 2 above and 1 at 88% and 1 at 78% (math - where he struggles most), so he didn't meet that either. But they aren't low enough to show up as something being seriously wrong. His ability to adapt has been amazing to me. I just worry for the future as things get harder. But hopefully his therapy will help alot.

Anyway, I am thinking of e-mailing the supervisor of the gifted program and just see what is done for 2e kids here. I have a feeling the answer will be nothing, but at least I will have asked. It is amazing to me that gifted kids have to fit in a "box" in order to have their "out of the box"ness celebrated. 2e's aren't going to fit in the box most of the time. So are they undeserving of having their uniquness recognized and nurtured also? I don't get it at all.

It will be interesting to see what the reply will be. Maybe I'm not giving them enough credit. We'll see!!!! :-)

I am in the process of composing my e-mail to the supervisor. I have to write, think about it, let it sit, think about it some more and write some more. :-) I just want to make sure I say what I want to say.

I think that is so wonderful that your school found another 2e on their own!!! That does show that they do care and just needed educating, and then they were able to run with the information. Good for you and good for them! That was my biggest problem with the teacher I talked to. She obviously did not know what I was talking about but was totally uninterested in hearing about it. I would hope these educators would want to do all they can to serve the children that they teach. You have given me hope that maybe others will be willing to at least listen to me. I am also hopeful that the supervisor of this entire county's gifted program will at least be familiar with 2e and can direct me in what steps are being taken to help this particular population of gifted children.

You have been so supportive and I really appreciate that. I don't know anyone else with a 2e (although I am sure I actually do know them but they haven't been identified) so no one else really understands what I am going through. It helps to talk with some else that has been there. Thank you so much!!!! :-)

The e-mail is gone, now to just wait. I honestly don't think it will do any good but maybe I can get a few answers. Sounds like you have lots of other stuff going on with your kids. My sister skipped a grade back in grade school and I've known one child now that skipped a grade but they don't seem to do it as often as they used to. Has that worked well with your DS?

My son is no where near needing to skip a grade. He isn't nearly as advanced as many of these kids being talked about on this board. But he is advanced in certain areas and I would liked those nurtured. I guess we'll see if the school system has anything they can offer and if not, I will just keep providing the opportunities myself. I'll let you know when/if I hear something back.

Thanks!

No oil here, sadly. The supervisor replied with a "he doesn't meet the scores" reply and totally ignored all my questioning about the states recognition/alternative testing/etc. for 2e kids which is what my e-mail was about. I didn't even ask for anything for my DS I just gave her a quick overview of what we have gone through and asked for general info about how 2e kids are identified and helped in our state. I guess that means they aren't. Sigh.....I did e-mail her back asking for further clarification but I don't think I will get anything.

Oh she did say he had a VERY high verbal score and hopefully his achievement testing would be higher in the future. Doesn't sound like she's getting the whole visual tracking/perception issue does it??

Oh well, I don't know where I could go from here. I'll have to give it some thought. Brick wall after brick wall. I'm just so disappointed in these educators, although I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe I'll come up with something else to do. But what??????

Thanks again for your encouraging words. I hope things continue to go well with your children, it sounds like you are doing a great job finding what is best for them.

As for the scores, I guess we'll see!!! :-)

Hi EandCmom,
I wanted to welcome you. I really enjoyed the book "Uniquely Gifted." It was the first "Gifted" book I ever read. I think you might enjoy it - sort of like having a great party where everyone attending is an expert on some aspect of "2E."

I'm glad that you are making space for yourself here on this board even though your son doesn't remind you of some of the children here. In my view it's all about meeting the educational needs of the child that wouldn't be met in a regular classroom. I don't care how severe the need is - or how many subjects it is in - a need is a need is a need!

I'm so glad that you have a school which gives all the children an accelerated curriculum. Sounds like a pretty good fit to start with, which is something to celebrate. I'm hoping that the visual issues clear up with the therapy - that would be so wonderful.

Smiles,
Trinity

Hi Trinity! Thanks for the welcome too.

I got a call from the supervisor today and she was WONDERFUL and she got what I was saying and she understood where I was coming from and I finally felt heard!!!!! Of course, our state doesn't have any alternative criteria to help right now but she was hopeful after he has been in therapy for awhile, his scores might be such that he would qualify. I don't really care about that at this point but it is nice that someone finally got what I was saying!!!! And was interested and wanted to know more!!! :-)

I have already ordered "Uniquely Gifted" from my library and I am really looking forward to reading it. I am so thrilled to finally understand what is going on with my DS and can't wait to learn more. I'm a researcher (I research EVERYTHING)so I would love any more suggestions if anyone has any more.

Thanks!