Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion gifted retreat -where to draw line

This is just a rambling idea- butI would love some feedback...

I was really impressed when I saw the retreat for profoundly gifted kids in Colorado, and was thinking about maybe (maybe maybe) organizing something like that for families on the East Coast. The question is, first, would there be sufficient interest (I am basically thinking family camp at a YMCA type facility for 4 days with a gifted emphasis)? Second, where would you draw the line. Our difficulty (for our family) is there are organizations on the East Coast, which are great btw, such as HEROES in NJ for profoundly gifted kids, but our son just misses that cutoff, and I am trying to reach out to the folks(like us) who are just below that cut-off and have HG+ kids. It is tricky, as I feel that for generally GT kids there is plenty of attention and oppty. via regular G/t programming programs and the national organizations, and that there are opportunities for HG (typically 3 SD above the mean) via DYS and HEROES (for example) but that for the kids just missing that cut-off, there is not a lot (not complaining about the other programs, I am v. glad they exist), but unfortuately we cannot avail ourselves of them.

So, what about a program for HG/HG+ kids? My concern of course is that def. becomes a bit hard, and maybe better to just do some sort of family camp for G/T and see who shows up - anyone on the eastcoast or New England interested?

Thanks, Cat

Based on achievement testing, GS11 is in the HG/HG+ range. I think the HG/HG+ kids have an easier time finding peers in the local neighborhood. There will be 1 or 2 in every 100 kids who achieve at the 98-99 percentiles in each age group. It seems the extracurricular activities attract higher achieving kids. GS11 has made a lot of friends through Scouts, 4H, music, etc., that also have a range of ages involved. That opens up finding peers.
GS11 took his chess set to our fair. There's a lot of time just spent sitting with the cattle so he used that time to play chess. He found players from 9 to 29(a lot older if you count me!).

I completely empathize with the OP. My eldest, while in the range mentioned by OHGrandma on the one IQ test she took, really just does not have peers locally. I do think that she is somewhat more HG than the IQ test indicated. However, I don't think that she is PG/DYS level. She still seems radically different from most of the other gifted kids she's paired with in school and doesn't have many peers in extracurricular activities when the kids are the same age as she.

Things have been somewhat better with her grade peers being btwn 1-2.5 years older since she skipped a grade. She is much happier socially.

Back to your original question, it seems like you have two options:

* let parents self select while clearly stating that it is for highly to exceptionally gifted children and hope that it doesn't draw a bunch of high achievers and mildly gifted kids whose parents think that they are highly gifted; or
* do something like Intertel vs. Mensa -- 99th percentile vs. 98th -- set the qualification at the 99th percentile (on a composite achievement test, IQ test, or whatever you deem appropriate).

We would be interested! I am even willing to help plan in anyway. What a great idea!

I can think of two Boston opportunities for kids who miss DYS cutoffs.

1) Novermber: MIT's Splash is great for kids in Middle and High School. esp.mit.edu/learn/Splash/index.html

2) April/May: BIQ (Beyond IQ)
http://www.giftedconferenceplanners.org/Boston/index.html
a weekend at a hotel for the whole family.

Neither experience asks for paperwork, both have no cutoffs, they just offer an experiences that are of little interest to kids who aren't well into the gifted range.

I'd also recommend the family programs run by CTY
http://cty.jhu.edu/family/
and see if they are a good match for your family.

My DS14 is in YSP, and just returned from CTY's summer camp - totally delighted. Other YSP kids don't find peers there. I wouldn't rule out 'general gifted' experiences because each child is so different. Just keep you eye open for experiences that you child will group toward the younger end of any multiage groups.

If you try a general gifted weekend, and don't find it a good fit, you will probably meet at least a few other families who are a good fit, and they might know of what other local experiences exist. That's how I found BIQ. I was literally at a Davidson event, and overheard parents talking about BIQ that was set to start the next day, so I drove 15 hours straight and it was a better fit for my son than the first program.

I have a small internal joke that the higher the worry score on my son's well being the farther I'm willing to drive on the chance of getting his needs met.

Best Wishes,
Grinity

Those look like great programs Grinity. I did not see a cost listed for BIQ but I know the CTY programs are out of our price range. :-( I love the idea of the family travel programs especially. I think I need to win the lottery or get a side job!

BIQ actually does purport to focus on "highly to profoundly gifted" . No, they don't card you at the door, but I don't want people to think that it is aimed at "plain vanilla" gifted.

It is a very casual, low key weekend that has lots of loosely organized discussions and some wonderful, well respected experts. My son met a very close friend there several years ago, and they have continued to stay in touch.

Volunteers are always welcome, so if the cost of attendance is a lot for your family to afford, I encourage you to consider talking to Josh Shaine about volunteering.

What I particularly appreciate about the BIQ crowd is that there is plenty of emotional room there for the HG/PG kids who have 2E issues that affect their IQ scores enough so that they miss certain cutoffs. I don't think that I'm saying this very clearly, but maybe you'll know what I mean.

((shrugs and more shrugs))
Grinity

Grin, I had misread your earlier statement, so was trying to clarify. I hope I didn't offend you!

I agree that BIQ is very welcoming to 2e adults and kids.

Grinity,

Thanks for the terrific resources, they are very helpful. I will def. keep an eye on the BIQ program - that sounds like just what I am looking for.

My DS is fine with age peers, until he starts to talk about chemistry, or math, or mindstorms, and then, well you all know what happens - either the other child's eyes glaze over, they think he is odd, or they make an effort to understand but just can't keep up and he ends up getting frustrated. Luckily, he has a few friends in our area who are in a similiar situation, unfortunately their focus tends to be less in science/math.

Honestly, alot of getting together would be for me. I just can't talk about my DS and his issues much around here - not to mention it is so hyper competitive in our district that it generally leads to unpleasant comparisions or assumptions.

Cat