Hello
I'm very new here; I've been lurking for less than a week, but I'm so happy I've found these boards. Please bear with me since I haven't yet picked up some of the lingo.
My 7yo (2nd grade) son seems to have given up on school/learning on a whole. I'm a Mensa member who gave up in 4th grade, so I was on the lookout for signs of my son losing interest.
A bit of background: We recognized very early that my son seemed to be ahead. He began speaking very early, and his vocabulary was huge. By the time he entered K, he was reading on a second grade level, could tell time, add/subtract, etc. More importantly, he loved to learn. He would come home and work on 2nd grade work for the rest of the evening.
Despite my asking his teacher for more difficult work, he sat there for a year socializing while everyone learned their ABC's, colors, etc.
First grade was more of the same. He was in a 1/2nd split class, but placed in a lower 1st grade reading group. At one point, I had to take his books to school and show his teacher what he's reading at home, but she didn't believe me. She kept the books and had my son read them to her the next day. After that, he was moved up to the highest 2nd grade reading group. Shortly after, he was testing around 4th grade level. By the end first grade, he tested at late 6th grade reading level/early 6th grade comprehension. (Does that correlate with Comprehension subtest score?) --He holds conversations like an adult.
So, now we're in second grade, and his teacher told me she's placed him in the third grade reading group "to challenge him."
Midway through first grade, he no longer wanted to learn at home. But now, we battle from the time he gets home from school until the time he goes to bed for him to do his homework.
He sees his classwork as boring and 'for babies.' My son is very strong willed, and if he doesn't want to do something, good luck trying to get him to do it. Really, the only things he's interested in at the moment are: astronomy, computers, dinosaurs and star wars.
I took him to a child psychologist because I've been noticing fits of rage/crying over simple things. She said he's perfectly well adjusted, but just frustrated and bored. She encouraged me to get his IQ tested, and set one up with her colleague.
His WISC-IV scores:
Verbal Comprehension
(Scaled scores)
Similarities 15
Vocabulary 13
Comprehension 13
Perceptual Reasoning
(Scaled)
Block Design 14
Picture Concepts 17
Matrix Reasoning 15
Working Memory
(Scaled)
Digit Span 7
Letter-Number Sequencing 11
Processing Speed
(Scaled)
Coding 10
Symbol Search 13
Composite
Verbal Comprehension 121
Perceptual Reasoning 133
Working Memory 94
Processing Speed 109
FSIQ 121
GAI 132
She mentions in her report that my son was constantly moving and had difficulty staying in his seat. She said he was lying on the floor (he told me he crawled under her desk). "He was highly distracted and it was sometimes necessary to repeat task instructions to ensure understanding." She also said that he answered a lot of very simple questions incorrectly. (This is the behavior I see when he's not interested, minus the laying on the floor. Is it something more than disinterest?)
My son told her that he forgets easily, but I'm not sure it's a true statement because my son has no trouble at all remembering/focusing on things he's interested in.
The tester, who specializes in disorders like ADHD, discussed my son's results with me and said his scores (and observed behavior) are common in children who have disorders similar to ADD. She said that she could not make a diagnosis because she didn't do that type of evaluation that day. By the time I left her office, I was convinced that my son had ADHD or some other disorder. After thinking about things for the last week, though, I'm not so sure.
Here are some questions I have:
1. My very outgoing son (who talks to every stranger on the street) became very shy upon meeting the tester. So much, that it jarred me a bit. I've never seen him like that. (He didn't know he was there for a test and was looking forward to playing games.) He was still acting shy upon leaving, also.
If his shyness persisted during the test, could it affect his verbal score? I ask because of all the scores, I was very surprised by his verbal score. Our family and friends would pretty much bet that Verbal would be his highest score. --Something doesn't add up there.
Further, he tends to ignore me if I try to ask/teach him something he's not interested in. He just blows me off and gives me a random answer--in the event he even does answer, that is. I would assume this type of behavior could affect his Verbal scores, correct?
2. While my son does have high energy and is quite intense, stubborn, etc., I have never been aware or heard of him lying on the floor or crawling under someone's desk in public. My son is very good in public, and is a people pleaser. His teachers say he's a well behaved student, and they've never seen any behavior problems with him, etc.
I don't think the tester is lying, but I'm at a loss as to what was going on with my son that day. When he's tired, he's overly hyper. He had adenoid issues that were interfering with sleep. However, I asked the tester how she knows this is a behavior disorder instead of medical. --I mentioned he has a current thyroid problem (lab work is way off) that hasn't been treated. She told me if it were thyroid, the one on one environment would help him concentrate, but it didn't. However, I have the same thyroid problem and a lot of concentration/memory problems. One on one does not help me. So, I'm not sure where she's going with that. Does anyone here have a clue?
3. I've done research here and elsewhere since his test, and I now understand that Working Memory and Processing Speed are normally lower in gifted kids. Is that possibly what's going on here?
4. I've been researching various disorders like ADHD, Aspergers, etc. While some things do fit, those same things also fit for gifted children. For example: intense interest in one subject for a period of time, also, his handwriting is atrocious. My son maintains eye contact and his social skills seem fine. He has a lot of friends, despite the fact that he keeps telling everyone how smart he is.
My son seems to not be able to focus, for example, on spelling (he finds it boring). When I tell him how to spell a word and have him repeat it back, he says he doesn't remember. (Again, not interested.) However, he focuses just fine on multiplication--and has no trouble remembering, even short term. He has no attention problems when it comes to dinosaurs, black holes, red giants or white dwarfs. He can tell you how many moons each planet has and countless other facts I certainly don't remember. Why? --Because he remembers.
The tester told me not to change his school situation (subject acceleration- public school) because it would overwhelm him given his 'issues.' She did say that once these 'issues' are dealt with, she expects his scores to increase "across the board". She wrote in his report that his current score does not reflect his actual potential, and expects that it's a significant underestimate of his optimal capabilities. However, my son has since (finally) talked to me, and told me that he wants harder work in school. He promised that he will do his homework if that happens.
So, if any of you are still with me, please help me figure out what's going on with my son. I don't want to put him into the wrong environment, either way. I don't know what to do at this point. I will say that I'm terrified of him giving up. I apologize for the length of this. It's nice to talk to people who actually understand!!
Thanks so much!
Holly
