Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion THREAD FOR CANADIANS!

Is there anyone out there from Canada? I'm specifically hoping to identify people on the East Coast to see what your experiences have been with schooling your gifted children. I'm from Newfoundland and Labrador and am finding it difficult to find even the most basic resources here for info. on testing, schooling, etc. Of course, I'd be interested to hear what you have to say even if your not from the East Coast. I just find that so many contributors to this forum are from the States and I often find it hard to relate, but this is the best forum I have come across in my virtual search for a good gifted discussion.

I agree, this is the best forum that I have come across as well.

We live in Halifax and I sympathize with your lack of resources. Our province does not have any gifted associations, nor are there any programs within the school board for gifted children. I have searched for a long time, but there are no local resources and I have yet to find any parents around here to chat with. We are flying blind with the help of a great psychologist and a very accomodating elementary school (only 180 students, which makes a difference.. DD's class has 19 students).

We were waiting for the psych ed. assessement to be done through our school board, but gave up after more than a year of waiting. We paid to have it done privately just this past spring. I wish I had great advice to offer you, but I am struggling here as well.

I still have 2 more years before my son will need to be registered for school, but I'm already scoping out some different schools to see what they offer in terms of gifted programming. We haven't put my son through any testing yet, but I still don't even know where we would go if we wanted to do it now or later on. The lack of resources is disgusting! I know several people who work within the schools and they have very little advice to offer, as even they don't see any addressing of the needs of gifted kids.

Good luck to you!

I'm in Canada as well, eh.
I'm in Ontario and basically all funding for gifted programs has been cut. My ds fell just below (2 pts) the CAT testing at the end of grade 2 that would have required the school board to go ahead with pyschological assessment leading to an IEP. We've been fortunate so far to have great teachers who recognize his need for more of a challenge but severe stress and anxiety at the start of this school year has lead us to invest in a psychologist on our own to help him with coping strategies. Pretty much the answer we've gotten over and over again is basically that the school board is so overwhelmed with students working below the "norm" that all resources are maxed and waiting lists are long enough for those students. Our son sadly falls at the other end and they're just not as concerned about these students.

JavaBean,

While we're not actually dealing with the school system yet, this is the same kind of feedback I'm getting from those I know within the system (teachers, board members), that they're so busy trying with kids on the other end of the spectrum that the gifted kids (of which there are very few that I have heard of) just fall through the cracks. I'm not sure exactly what we're gonna do when he gets in school and maybe all this will be for nothing if he's tested and winds up to be NOT gifted, but I have my doubts that's gonna happen, so I'm trying to be prepared for the harder route. We haven't even been to see our family doctor yet, mainly because I'm not sure what she will be able to determine about my son in a 10 minute visit, but I guess that'll be the first step.

Any other suggestions of what to do at this stage?

It's good to see other Canadians out there, but unfortunately we're all experiencing similar problems. I guess the gov't has to step up and start to recognize and accommodate the gifted kids with as much time and money that gets spent on the kids who need help.

I'm from Ontario. There is a message board that you can join which has a Canadian perspective. Most of the members are from Ontario, but not all. The message board is for the Association for Bright Children of Ontario.

Most Ontario Boards will recognize an evaluation done by a qualified psychologist, and can be pushed to provide some sort of differentiation, if there is no gifted program available. They tend to start in grade 4 or 5. Apparently, there is a shortage of school psychologists in Ontario, so the waiting lists are getting longer.

We may be moving to Vancouver, B.C. Any thoughts /ideas about gifted programs there or what school districts appear to be more accommodating towards gifted kids? After my first initial search I feel that the programs for younger elementary school kids are somewhat limited. Any thoughts on homeschooling in B.C.?

Both of my daughters were born in Ottowa although their memory of Canada (if any) is pretty vague. We left Canadian snow for California sun some 15 years ago.

One way to deal with lack of gifted resource in Canada is to vote with your feet. However, this may not be an option for many parents. If you can't move, then I would suggest that you work with school and teachers to explore other opportunities such as extra homework, subject acceleration, grade skipping, etc. When the kids are old enough, get them tested and join the programs like CTY and YSP (most of these programs are open to Canadians). They can participate in on-line classes, summer activities, competitions, etc.

Things are usually better when they get into high school. More options open up such as taking class in college, AP classes, and dual enrollment. (Not sure whether Canadian HS has AP classes or not.) Again, a lot summer camps, internships are open to Canadian students.

If you are thinking to send your gifted child to US universities, you probably need to plan years ahead. As I understand, the way that American universities admit students is quite bit different from that of Canadian universities. It is more holistic approach rather than mainly based on grades and test scores. You also need to save a lot of money. We received 1st USC (education saving plan) check for my older daughter who is at a private college now. Just around $3000 which is enough to cover one tenth of cost. Better than nothing but not much better.

Some Ontario school boards have pretty good gifted programs. A few are cutting them, that's true. The Toronto District School Board has gifted programs starting in grade 4, and they continue to grade 12. Ottawa/Carleton has excellent gifted programs, although they have waiting lists for some schools. Halton District School Board is going to expand its primary gifted programs this fall.

I would check the websites for any school boards near where you plan to live to find out what gifted programming is available. JavaBean, are you in the Kingston or Niagara area?

Licorice26, I thought that the Vancouver School Board provides gifted programming, although I don't know what grade it starts in.Primary Gifted (grades 1 to 3) is pretty rare in Canada.

Some high schools offer Advanced Placement courses and other schools offer the International Baccalaureate. Again, you need to check the Board websites for what is offered.

Hello fellow Canadians!

I don't have much to add to the discussion, but I like the idea of a Canadian thread! I am a member of the ABC Canadian site (Association for Bright Children) but haven't seen too many helpful resources there yet. I haven't gone on the members discussion group though, so maybe I should check it out.

I am from Quebec and my kids' first language is French. There is no gifted programming in our province. I have been looking at the neigbouring Ottawa school boards, but got the impression that the French school boards in Ottawa don't have gifted programming for elementary, and not much for secondary.

We are thinking of either private school or the IB program for secondary.