Hi, everyone. I'm new to this forum, but it already feels like home! I have two HG daughters (ages 6 and 9). The stories I've read all sound so familiar.
I just sent in my older daughter's Young Scholar application last Friday. It's out of my hands now, but for some silly reason I feel so nervous about it! I guess I'm just looking for someone to tell me what I already know-- that regardless of the outcome, we will be OK and that there are still plenty of other resources out there for parenting a kid like her!
She was tested by Dr. Deborah Ruf on the SB-5 with a 144 (which I know is 1 point below the cut-off). Dr. Ruf assessed her at a "high level 4". Her achievement scores are very high, though, and above the Davidson minimums. (EXPLORE as a 4th grader: English 19, Math 17, Reading 18, Science 18, Composite 18; WIAT-II scores also over the 99.9%)
Does anyone familiar with the program have any comments or suggestions? I'd appreciate any words of wisdom!
Sincerely,
Joy
Welcome!
Did any of her subscores cross that 145 level? FSIQ is not the only score that can qualify a kid.
And FWIW, I was terribly nervous about the app, too.
You're not alone!
I just looked up the details... I didn't remember that the 144 was the verbal only...
Her SB-5 scores were Verbal: 144, Non-Verbal: 137, FS: 142, Abbreviated: 150
WIAT-II scores were Total Reading: 151, Total Mathematics: 147, Total Language: 154, Total Oral: 160, Total Composite: 155
Thanks for the warm welcome, Kriston!
Good luck - your DD has some great scores! And yes, whether she gets in or not, the good news is she's still your same wonderful kid, and you know that she has these confirmed special educational needs so you'll be able to help her along the way. And this is a great forum full of families like yours, so welcome!
I remember being a bit nervous when we sent our DYS application in for DS5. I thought maybe he wasn't really all that gifted. (But it turns out he was.)
ps - i sent you a pm. go under my stuff, and click on messages.
Welcome Joy...!
I was so nervous it was ridiculous! I think a big part of it is letting go of that last little piece of denial. I agree with Dottie, in that achievement seems to present a clearer picture.
Good Luck!!
Oh, one thought now that I see the specific scores...
If they say "not quite," (and I'm not saying that's what I think they will say!), then you might want to retest on the WISC. Rumor has it that the WISC is a bit kinder to verbal kids and the SB-V is a bit better for visual-spatial kids. Value that for about as much as you paid for it
, but it might mean that the WISC would show your DD's abilities in a better/truer light, more in line with her achievement scores.
MY DS is visual-verbal (prefers words to pictures, but needs to see them to get it), and he did a good bit better on the WISC, though there were some extenuating circumstances on the SB-V beyond that, too. But it is something to consider...
Hi Joy,
I'd say I wasn't nervous, but I certainly wasn't confident that DD would be accepted.
My feelings were that if she was a child that would benefit from the services of Davidson, they would be the best ones to tell me that!
Good luck! Now the long wait.........It can be a real nail biter!
Hi, welcome Joy - and St. Pauli, congrats to your ds!
I was just curious about the 'abbreviated' score - maybe Dottie or someone else will know, is that similar to a GAI from the Wisc?
Thanks for your encouragement, everyone. I appreciate your insights!
Joy
The wait is over... she was accepted! I am so happy for her, even though she really doesn't understand yet what this is about. Anyway, just wanted to shout for joy!
Sincerely,
Joy
Congratulations to you and your dd!
Hi, everyone. I'm new to this forum, but it already feels like home! Joy
Welcome home Joy,
Congratulations!
Grinity
Hi Joy,
Congrats to DD!
Neato
woo hoo! congrats to joy and dd.
YAY!!! Congrats to your DD!!
Yay!
Congratulations!
Congratulations!!!
congratulations.
can you give me some info on Dr. Ruf and why you chose her. I've heard her name but am new to all this so trying to learn who the "players" are. also, Did you already know about your child's gifts before seeing Dr. Ruf or just suspect?
thanks
irene
Great news
We live in Iowa and the closest specialist we could find was Dr. Ruf, in the Minneapolis area. I found her name on the Davidson website, so I felt pretty sure she would understand the issues at hand with our daughter (who was 7 at the time). We also have family there, so it made sense to take the trip to see her.
Basically, we were having trouble finding a good school situation for our daughter. At the time we got her evaluated, she was in second grade at our neighborhood elementary school. It was obvious to us that she needed considerably more challenging work, but her teacher didn't see (or didn't want to see) the true extent of her abilities. The school administration just kept telling us that they didn't have enough "data" to make any decisions about changing what they were offering her. At that time, the TAG program didn't officially start until third grade (although they did pull her out for advanced reading in K).
So basically, we took her to get tested to "prove" to them what we already knew. In the end we still had to get her out of that school and send her to a nearby public school that was more flexible with us. She skipped third grade and went straight to fourth in the new school. (We had trouble there, too, and ended up moving her yet again at the start of fifth grade.)
Anyway, getting her tested was a very positive experience for us. My younger daughter was also tested last year with Dr. Ruf.
HTH,
Joy
This is pretty OT, but is there a reason you didn't feel comfortable testing at the Belin-Blank Center in Iowa City? I'm just curious because we plan on testing DD there eventually and I don't want to waste the money if it's not worth it.
We did go there for one test (I can't recall which one at this point) but we really didn't get any feedback or help at all. I know they have a great reputation, but for some reason we just didn't get what we needed there. At that time we also were just beginning to look into the whole issue, so perhaps it's that we didn't ask the right questions?
Thanks.
Congratulations---- I'm sure that DYS will be a great resource for your family!