I introduced myself over in the general forum so I hope it's OK for me to jump in over here!

DS (3rd grade)took the WISC IV in January '09 at 7y7m. When we were called in to meet with the school, I was given a "Gifted Written Report" which now seems pretty vague to me. I was only given 3 scores from the test. It lists his Verbal (144) Perceptual Reasoning (139) and General Ability (151). We were presented with a GIEP which is pretty much resulting in extra accelerated math worksheets being sent home when remembered.

I always knew he was a bright kid but now I'm absolutely terrified that I don't know what to do. I actually hesitated having him tested and sat on the consent forms. (That must make me sound like a horrible Mom, but it's the denial thing. He's an only so I can't compare him to other kids...all kids are like him!) His current school wasn't meeting his needs before I was presented with his scores and now I have the school saying that he could possibly thrive someplace else. Maybe that's their way of saying they don't know what to do with a kid like him.

I really need help. I'm looking into quitting my PT job to either HS him or possibly do a VA until we get our feet wet. I just feel so lost. Is there a support group for parents? I actually can't sleep at night over this. I think I'm driving myself crazy!

I've been reading through posts and there are so many confident people here. Did you ever feel scared out of your wits over you kid/s? As I've learned through previous posts, I know I can only do what's right for today and I can't plan his whole schooling years out...that's helped a lot. I think I'm just looking for a place where we might belong. It feels very lonely here right now!

Oh wow. You sound just like I feel. Glad to know I'm not the only one ;-) I'm new here also and my DS8 is an only - so I totally get the 'all kids are like him' right?

I'll be following your post and responses because I'm sure some of my own questions might be answered. Good luck.

Hi ziggy.
It doesn�t seem so long ago that I experienced the same uncertainty. My son hadn�t even been at his school for a full year before I was counseled that he might be a good candidate for home school!

If you are in or near a large city, chances are good that there is a parent support group. Ask the individual who administered the test or find a PhD who specializes in gifted for guidance.

What does VA stand for?

VA is Virtual Academy, or cyber school. I'm in PA and there are a lot of options for cybering. I think starting out that way might give me some confidence.

Are you HS'ing now? I'd love to hear how others got through this tough time!

Ziggy....Congrats on having a "wicked Smart" son. We've all been where you are now. Take a deep breath and take one step, just one. I got that advice on here and it works. Look at today and what's best for your DS today. Then take that step.

Try not to look too far ahead, because you can't predict anything a year from now. Whether you choose h/s, afterschooling or whatever make the best choice for today.

Post your questions here, there is some really good advice available from people who understand where you're at.

No, I have never HSed, but in hindsight, think it mighthave been the best solution, at least until middle school. Home schooling for me would have primarily meant finding opportunities for him to learn and directing him to a computer site or driving him somewhere.
That is what I do now. Since last fall, my son has received financial aid to attend a college prep 6th-12th grade school. He has been allowed to take math one grade ahead this year and will add science subject acceleration next year. He is the singular exception in his class of 100. I appreciate that the staff of his school approached our requests for subject acceleration with some skepticism that he could clear �their� standard, but without a predetermined decision. This is the best conceivable situation for him as I would no longer be useful to him as a teacher and he prefers to interact with his instructors more than on-line courses permit.
He definitely would have progressed much faster had we substituted virtual classes for the slower pace of elementary grades though.

Have you considered applying for the Davidson Young Scholars program? Members have an educational consultant assigned to them to help you find an appropriate school placement.

Yes! We are still working on our application. We are also waiting for results of the WIAT test he took but I guess I could still apply with a supporting portfolio. Once again I'm sitting on the application in fear of rejection...then what? I think too far ahead...

As embarassed as I am to write this, I'm a little relieved to hear you say he doesn't fit the DYS requirements to a "T"! We'll definitely wait for the WIAT scores before submitting, but I'm really considering pulling him out of his public school soon, like by the end of the month. Is the school still required to give me the results of the WIAT testing if I pull him out? Heck, if I knew they'd cooperate and still give me his scores and the recommendation from the GT teacher for the DYS application, I'd pull him out tomorrow!

I don't think I have a FSIQ score. The report is so vague, and the only numbers they gave me were the ones I mentioned above. Could they have only administered part of the test? I'm such a newbie to all of this, excuse my ignorance!

Congrats on having a "wicked smart boy" - as they like to say out here!! Sympathies also - but really - we must retain attitude of gratitude and joy I say. I still think having a disabled/challenged kid is far more disheartening to cope with!!

Barging in here, can you ask to get a quick copy of the WISC scoring sheet from his file? (for example, I have a copy of the scoring summary sheet from when dd did the wisc privately; I don't remember what it's called, but it included her subtest scores - a one-page document)

Well, what I really want to know is, is it common to have difficulty getting copies of scoring reports from schools? and if so, what is their excuse? DS6 had the WJ yesterday, I believe, not that anyone told me and it was hard to get DS to fess up... (his smirk gave it away when I asked; his IEP meeting is next week and while the psychologist promised to give me a copy of her written report before the meeting, I really want to get my hands on the actual numbers so I can come here to ask questions of our friendly testing gurus . Bummer of course is that he was on the sick side and the night before he had been up during the night several times.)

Possibly approach the school as in "its in your self interest to share as much info. as possible with me" - because you as parent want to help out your child as much as possible. It seems daft for them not to share - and I wouldn't mind betting that you're covered legally. I know in VA you're covered to see school records in regards to special ed and in general - so would think testing falls under "general file" anyway.

Snowgirl - real interesting that you son has IEP and they tested without even telling you. Does this suggest your school cares about both sides of the 2E equation and was proactive!!?! Keep in mind - like Dottie said the other day - the results are just "how they do on the day and time in question".

Ironmom - it's neither as good nor as bad as that. I knew he would be tested, just not when. I only guessed it was yesterday since he hadn't had the test recently (she wanted to wait till he turned 6, which was just a few weeks ago), and she's only at this school two Wednesdays per month. With the IEP meeting next week, I figured it had to be yesterday. And no, they don't really care about 2E (though they might say they do). This was only because he gets speech and OT, and apparently in K they like to do a thorough assessment for any IEP, so he was getting the WJ, both IQ and achievement, in order to look for any learning disability issues. Not to apply to the gifted program, though certainly IF the score qualified we could use the test (the district has a self-contained full-time gifted program but the requirements listed in the on-line handbook are probably a bit too strict for my asynchronous little DS6, in terms of constant achievement two grade levels above, possibly in all subjects). So while I'm dying to know the results, I'm trying hard to not get my expectations up, to take it all with a very large grain of salt. I'm hoping to do private testing, maybe in another year, though I don't really have an excuse at this time and I don't know if I can get DH to agree to the $ (since his twin brother and older sister also deserve more testing).

Thanks for your thoughts on getting the report.

They may have only done the VCI and PRI to get GAI. This is a valid for placement purposes in order to save money. You may want to ask about administering the WMI and PSI for diagnostic purposes if 2E is a concern.

http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=2455

Oh okay. What is the disability? - I have little time to get through "every single thread" - or are you deliberately not saying for privacy (which is fine of course). My DS6 just turned 6 too. I have to say though - that compared to other mom's I know in VA that need speech and OT for their kids it sounds like your "area" of the world is being very proactive in giving him a full and entire assessment!

Speech and fine motor, I guess, are the only disabilities at this time, knock on wood. I don't think there's any official name for that. The psychologist said that they like to do a full assessment during K, looking for any other learning disabilities. (Now I can see why the district is running out of money. We're in CO.) So it won't be like this every year. I was really surprised when this psychologist called me a couple months ago about giving consent for this test. At first I was hoping for a freebee IQ test until digging around a bit and thinking some more and realizing that it may not be an accurate picture of his IQ because (1) his speech and fine motor issues do occasionally get in the way, (2) his personality at present - he's more cooperative with strange evaluators than he used to be, but it'll be easier when he's a little older I think, (3) he's a late bloomer in general so he may not be done developing yet, and (4) I guess the WJ cognitive assessment is better at finding LDs than giving an accurate IQ score (which is fine since that's the reason he's getting it anyway). So I'll have to go back and read this when I am crestfallen over his score next week LOL. I will do my best to remind myself that regardless of what the scores show at the moment, I do believe he's likely to have a higher IQ than his gifted sister. And I can't wait to lord it over DH, who years ago used to make bad jokes about what the future held for DS (and I'd say, you just wait, he'll be performing surgery on your brain one day).

Sorry for hijacking the thread, I'll stop now

Welcome to the board! We just had a long discussion about homeschooling on this thread. Check it out

http://giftedissues.davidsongifted....ng_all_homeschoolers_help.html#Post40815

Hi, new user here; I've been lurking for a while but wanted to ask about this. I'm curious - how do you know Davidson doesn't consider GAI?

Thanks!

http://www.davidsongifted.org/young...holars___Qualification_Criteria_384.aspx

They accept Full Scale, and/or Verbal and/or Nonverbal

Dottie - May I PM you with the WIAT results? I'm still a bit skittish posting all his scores!

Just to give some evidence for the 'other side', so to speak, I know of at least one application with FSIQ / VCI / PRI too low, but a qualifying GAI, that was accepted.

Sorry if this seems to be pressing a minor issue - my point is just that scores that are just below the stated cutoff shouldn't keep parents from applying.

Yes, your last post was clear - don't worry! And I certainly don't know whether it was the GAI that made the application successful. The rest of it may have simply outweighed the various ability-test scores.

About the reverse scenario you imagine - I haven't heard of something like it, but it's certainly possible, for example in the case of an underachieving gifted kid. And I would think Davidson would take that possibility into account in reviewing applications with borderline achievement scores.