I had planned on waiting to send it off, but I just couldn't hold on to it, so now it's en route to Nevada. We had qualifying scores in 2 different categories on both achievement and IQ, so hopefully that will be enough. How important are the answer to the questions?

DS7 just doesn't seem PG, he's not a self taught math wiz and he doesn't write much. He just asks questions, lots and lots of endless questions that make my head hurt. Then he takes the answers to those questions, twists them and turns them in his head and comes up with connections that make my right eye twitch a little. That's pretty much how I answered the questions (ok, I left out the eye twitching part!), so hopefully that is something close to what they're looking for, lol.

I just have a hard time thinking that he's really *that* gifted, you know? But, if DYS is willing to help us make sense of what we're supposed to be doing for him and help him find his place in the world, then they call him whatever they want!

Is anyone else applying for this month?

Good luck, mamaandmore!

We will get ds7 scores back on Wednesday. I am hoping that ds scores are high enough b/c I too would love DYS to help us make sense of what we're suppose to be doing for him and help him find his place. Unlike your ds my ds is gifted in math. As a 2nd grader he has been moved up to 3rd and is working on 5th grade math. Of couse this level of math depends on what curriculum you are looking at and 5th being on the lower side.

Kathy

Some of the questions sounded to me like, "Has your child cured cancer yet?" or "What is your child's position on the latest international nuclear non-proliferation treaty?"

I had to honestly write, "Nothing like that here, sorry!"

And as for the "exhibiting prodigious talent?" question, I was totally stumped. His scary-skills in reading & language aren't really something that will get him on the Tonight Show, and he's not going to participate in a Math competition @ Berkely anytime soon, either.

So who knows. Although, I am tempted to answer: "Well -- he's only seven, so when he stops teasing his sister, maybe he'll get crackin' on that treaty!")

I got the preliminary WJ-III results right after testing yesterday, but don't get the full report until Tuesday (Stupid Labor Day holiday!) His verbal achievement looks to be as strong as his WISC-IV, but we need the "official" answer before finalizing our application.

Thinking that waiting a whole five hours for his preliminary results on the WJ-III were stressful ('cause it was only a couple of hours on the WISC-IV!)... I imagine the answer from DYS will take a tortuously long time to arrive.

Hi mamaandmore,
We are applying for this month also!
I am so nervous..

Good luck!

Oh good, I won't be biting my nails alone! Good luck to everyone!

Kathy- it sounds like you guys will have an easier time of answering the questions than we did! DS is working several grade levels ahead in math, but he didn't teach himself, he just moves through things at lightening speed. So, it's just enough of an ability to make it hard for us to keep him in a math curriculum, but not enough for me to highlight it as a talent!

Dandy- that's how I read the questions, too! I had initially decided not to pursue IQ testing for DYS because the questions made it seem like they were looking for a different kid than the one I own. Once we had the scores though, I called DYS to ask exactly how they expected me to answer the questions for a 7 year old. The guy was really nice and said that they took age into account and that they aren't looking for kids this age to be doing calculus or curing cancer. He also said we don't have to justify the scores with the answers to the questions. I think the questions are more to give some depth to the kids, since they are more than just some numbers. I kind of side-stepped the "prodigious talent" question by saying that DS is more of a thinker and giving examples of how he does hands on problem solving just to see what works or doesn't work.

Really? I just looked at the current application and I see they seem to the be same questions they have been asking for years. I really didn't get the cure cancer vibe even a tiny bit. I just got that they were trying to find out beyond the numbers what is this kid like. It is perfectly fine to honestly talk about kid stuff. I don't think it is too much to ask to describe how the kid seems to learn.

Sorry -- I'll add a little more drip to my sarcasm in the future.

But part of this (for me) came from an article at their site that discussed differences between EG & MG kids. According to the LOG-chart-du-jour, my wundkind falls into the PG column, so after reading that article I looked at his scores again and thought, "Nope - not my kid."

Remember, I'm dealing with N=1 for a sample size, so everything my son does is average. I don't easily recognize "surprising depth" or "prodigious talent" as such.

After speaking with his doctor -- and seeing what he's been able to do with a WOT in a couple of areas -- I'm anticipating some incredible accomplishments (relatively speaking) once he's no longer constricted by the lock-step curriculum.

mammaandmore - best of luck!

Hi mamaandmore,
Good luck to your DS. Hope your (home)school year is shaping up well.

Good luck!

I remember that wait! It seemed like forever but honestly, they went pretty fast. Best of Luck!!

Just sent off our final DYS application.

Fingers duly crossed.

Tick-tock... tick-tock...

Dandy

Good luck, Dandy!

I got the email today that they have his completed application and it will be forwarded to the review committee on the 14th. They said it will take "at least 3-4 weeks".

Does that sound right to those who have been through the process? I thought it was 4 weeks at the latest.

Good luck to everyone who is applying! As for how long it takes, their estimate was accurate in our case.

That's odd -- I just sent the application today ...and I got a call from them saying they'd call me back on the morning of the 14th with their final decision.

OK... Maybe that wasn't as funny as I thought... sorry.

I'm not a very good "waiting" kind of person -- and I've never really bought into that whole "Patience is Virtue" line.

Maybe if I call them every day... followed by some regular email...

Dandy - Just not used to your dry humor yet! Doesn't translate over the internet very well. Your emoticon in the posting icon should have given me a clue.

Rofl Dandy!

Ok, it took me a minute, lol. I'm with you on the waiting! Though from what I understand, they just recently started emailing confirming application receipt and then their decisions, so we have less waiting than other people did.

*druming fingers on table* soooo...is it time yet??

Makes me twitch a little, too, knowing your kids and knowing that my kids are like your kids. I never though of us as a PG family either. Actually makes me lol a little, considering how awful all the adults in this household were in school.

But seriously, DS really needs the support that DYS offers, whatever our feelings about the PG label are. He is miserable and under-challenged in the PS classroom. HS'ing challenges him academically, but he is not getting the social interaction with like minded peers that he needs, and when you do find someone for him, we immediately quit homeschooling (you drive us to it ;))

I feel confident, that with two qualifications on the IQ, two on the achievement AND a really glowing personal recommendation, your DS will have not problems qualifying. And one more thing, don't stalk the mailman too much. It will make him nervous, seeing you glaring at him from behind your curtains. He might report you

Finally got the psychologist's report in the mail, so we're overnighting our DYS application today...

It seems like the last batch got their notifications on the last day of August (or the first of September?). October 1st is 3 weeks from today. So hopefully the wait will be closer to 3 weeks than 4?