please comment
will be helpful for newbies

DYS has helped to speak with our school about my children's needs that I felt were not being meet. They helped with resources, and guidance in making educational decisions. I was able to contact another parent from a potential school and hear about their experience.

Yannam- Do you have any gifted educational, social or emotional needs that you would like support with?

Hope this helps.

my DD needs educational support

I have enjoyed the educational support and resources provided through our family consultant, and getting together with some other kids who have some things in common with my DS5. Kids his age are not able to play the games he does and do the things that he can, so it is nice for him to see that there are other kids out there. I also enjoy meeting with and being able to talk with other parents. I enjoy seeing what has worked for them and share our joys and struggles. We are relatively new as it has been less than year since we have been in DYS...but so far we can definitely see the benefits.

I have two kids who meet the testing minimums for DYS and I just want to chime in and say that I have similar questions, but have been hesitant to ask for fear of sounding negative.

I'm pretty good at researching stuff, what specifically does DYS do that I can't do for myself? Wouldn't many schools tend to view their involvement as butting in? I would imagine most schools have not heard of DYS. Is DYS more geared towards parents who have not had good educational opportunities themselves (and might have more difficulty evaluating choices), or perhaps need financial aid for testing or enrichment?

And, most importantly, does anyone have any privacy concerns? I admit, I have an active imagination and tendency towards paranoia, but do I want my kids in some database for brilliant children? Anybody read a thriller novel called Gray Matter (joke, sort of)?

I apologize for sounding negative about an organization that is obviously viewed very favorably by most here, but other than putting me in touch with other people what exactly do they offer that I can't do myself? Please realize that I understand they could be very valuable for someone who does not have the time or inclination to research things. I am asking if they offer annything to a family with a parent who is a pretty meticulous researcher already. Are they good at influencing schools? For instance, if we had an abrupt mid-year move is it possible they would be helpful in convincing a new school district to place my kids in a sought after gifted program immediately?

I would like to mention that I think this discussion forum is a terrific resource and I am thankful to DYS for their sponsorship of it.

ETA:

P.S. I originally wrote this before the two replies above were posted. This information is very helpful.

i doubt they provide financial support! but I am not sure

We haven't spoken with our FC beyond the initial howdy-do, but it is reassuring to know that such a person/organization exists when the need arises.

I do look forward to networking with the other families, and believe that DYS makes this easier.

Lastly, the "seminars" that DYS arranges for students & parents are an excellent benefit. Earlier this year, I participated in a seminar about developing math talent that was absolutely superb.

I have to go out the door, but I wanted to quickly address the privacy concerns.

IMHO, they are RABID about protecting the privacy of the kids. Keep in mind that the Davidsons had their own PG kids, so this is not some abstract situation for them! As a result, the organization not only protects the names of the DYSs, but there are strict rules about DYS families not revealing the names of other DYSs. I can tell you that my son is a YS, but I can't tell you if someone else's child is. We could (and I suspect would!) be booted out of the program for breaking that rule!

Honestly, I wouldn't worry AT ALL about privacy, and I generally worry a lot about it!

I have done a lot of research on my own so information provided by our consultant was not really new to me, but for some schools resources coming from a family consultant who has worked with kids of similar ability may mean more than coming from a parent. Our family consultant offerred to give resources to our school and to talk with them, and the school is not really interested. But then there have been times when the school has asked questions about what other kids like him do for math, or what other kids have done before regarding acceleration and schooling. So that has been nice being able to actually correspond with other families and find out what they have done and what has worked (or hasn't worked) for them. And I have yet to do the seminars yet...but have heard lots of positive things.

About the privacy issue, some choose not to be listed on the database. I am not concerned about the privacy issue as I feel pretty secure in how it is set up.

I do enjoy the benefits of DYS, but for those of you who choose not to apply or if your DC is close to meeting the criteria but not close enough to get in...it isn't the end of the world. There is lots of support on this forum and plenty of other resources out there available.

gratified said a lot of what I would say...but I will add. One thing I would keep in mind for PG kids is that the situation can change radically from one year to the next. When our child was early elementary age and joined the program, I didn't think we would need to use the services. I wasn't even really sure why we were joining. As he's gotten older I have been appreciative that when we needed to access support it was already in place. The biggest benefit for our family has been access to other parents and kids through online forums and gatherings. Having that support has been helpful for us.

I was sort of thinking along those lines. If/when it is ever needed, it might be needed in a timely manner.

Yes, we're currently homeschooling and haven't needed advocacy support so far. But we revisit that decision every year, and I can certainly envision a day when he returns to school or needs help getting into an early-college program or something. I consider DYS to be an insurance policy in case things go that route.

I guess I would say that if you have no test scores and getting into DYS is the only reason you would want to have testing done, it might not be worth it to you. But if you already have qualifying scores in hand, it is COMPLETELY worth applying! It's totally free, so there's nothing to lose. All you're out is the time it takes to fill out the application. For that time cost, you get access to experts (both of the professional and BTDT-parent sort); social connections for adults as well as kids; financial help for schools, camps and materials if you need it; and fun Summits and Informal Gathering trips. Obviously you have to pay your own way on the trips, but everything else is FREE!

It's hard to beat services for free. The Davidsons really do just want to do what they can to support these kids.

Our family consultant has been in touch with Ds's teacher (with our permission!) and they have shared a lot of information to try to figure out some ways to help DS get over his paralyzing fear of timed tests. She was open to the suggestions of the family consultant as an "expert" but not open to mine... despite us saying the nearly exact same things!

Meetings, online conferences and tons of other resources are at our disposal. I really appreciate that it is not pushy in any way, it's just there if you want/need it.

I also know of others who have been put in direct contact with national experts that they would have had to wait months to get a consultation with. Sometimes just "who you know" is the most important!

I second or third what others have already said. We have met so many great like-minded people through the program, and DS6 has found friends relatively close by us that we would not have found without the program. Also, our family consultant helped us so much by talking with the gifted coordinator at DS's school. I think having an outsider (i.e., not a parent who could possibly be labeled "one of those parents") talk with the school personnel made a huge difference in getting appropriate services for our DS.

We put in the paperwork, although we didnt need their services as they state I think that the tests should be within the past two years. Other than being accepted, we have done de nada with it. But, we are in a very gifted friendly place, so we have no personal issues and dc has tons of gifted friends.

However, I am sure, if we didnt live where we do, we would most likely be finding out more about services and making better use of their resources.

They helped us with a behavioral problem at dd's school. Our FC was able to work directly with the teacher to sort this out. It saved us going to many meetings and dd now seems to have better work habits and social skills.

By the time my ds was accepted, we'd already pulled him from public school that wasn't working. I wish we'd had access to their services before it came to that!

Right now, we're not using any of the services for much, but I do subscribe to various email lists through the DYS program that are very helpful. And as the others say, I like knowing that our family consultant is there should we run into a situation in the future.

Hi, Mia!

Hi, Kriston! <wave>

I have been lurking again for a little while, but have been too embarrassed by my long absence to jump back in ... but I figured I had to do it eventually.

Nah, don't be embarrassed. I'm just glad to e-see you.

it looks like very few are actually using the services of DYS program
since the application is free and services are free, why not apply and see

another question- do they provide financial help, particularly for free / reduced lunch income groups??

I don't think it's accurate to say that "very few are actually using the services of the DYS program..."

While not everyone needs to use their advocacy services, it seems to me that A LOT of people are making use of the DYS community in other ways--the network of parents, the great seminars for both kids and parents, etc...

Well very few are using the DYS services because very few will qualify! But before my DS was a DYS, I used their website, articles, research, forum and data to advocate at school and to work on appropriate placement for my son. Those services were invaluable!

I would imagine that most people that apply to DYS have a plan to use their services. I am not sure why anyone would apply otherwise. It certainly isn't about prestige and being able to tell people your child is a YS or anything (I personally do not advertise this at all with others) It is more about getting the support and resources you need and about knowing that you will have that support for your child as they continue to grow and things change through the years. I know my DS5 is going to have a rough road ahead and for us that support is invaluable. And I agree, I used this forum, articles, and lots of other resources from the Davidsons before I had applied for DYS for DS5.

I heard several people were saying they use some aspect of services. Our family has benefited from getting to know other families through the network. We've learned a great deal from online seminars open to DYS parents and kids. We have made limited use of our family consultant but I'm glad to know that resources is there is we ever need to. Our child has also received some financial assistance for expenses like tuition and lessons to develop his talents. We are middle income - certainly not eligible for free lunch, but definitely found we were facing unusual educational expenses with a profoundly gifted child.

I agree. Advocacy help is one service available, and it's often the reason people apply to DYS in the first place. But advocacy help tends to be something that you need sporadically, or you need *right now* when you need it, so we get it lined up before we need it.

I haven't used the advocacy services, but I consult with our family consultant regularly to discuss our plan for DS8's education.

We just got back from a get-together with a number of DYS families. It was educational for the kids, social for both parents and kids, and informational for parents considering possibilities for early college maybe down the line. Without DYS, we wouldn't have had such a great experience.

We have used the online seminars and have enjoyed them.

We have good friends we met and stay connected to because of the experiences we have had through DYS.

Not using the services? I use them virtually every day! I just don't use all of them every day.

And the peace of mind I get from knowing that we have advocacy help on-tap if we need it? As the commercial says: PRICELESS!

I agree with what has been said.

Being in the DYS program also is a reminder to me (a non-gifted adoptive parent) that my child does indeed have unique needs. It helps me to not go into "gifted denial" and start second-guessing my decisions for him.

DYS is my strong arm of affirmation, especially when my friends just don't understand why programs like IEW worked for their children, but (for reasons I still can't put my finger on,) was a failure for my rapid learner.

just some thoughts.

is there any undue dis-advantage of being minority and low income groups in selection for DYS
second question- is it worth spending money for tests listed in IQ category (my DD has a eligible test in ability and but > 99.9 %tle score in IQ test (not listed in the list of eligible test for DYS)
any research on long term problems of grade skipping?? I know it is great to go to college early, but any research on these kids performed better than their less gifted kids ?
apologies for being pessimistic........the problem is negative aspects of this gifted education rarely become come to limelight

I know personally of at least one family that has used a non-listed IQ test with listed achievement testing to be qualified and accepted to DYS. So it may be worth submitting anyway with what you have.

If you read Nation Deceived and the Templeton report, you'll discover that while there are minor complaints in the long run about grade skipping, all the research supports that acceleration has more long term positives than negatives.

I greatly appreciate the networking on the DYS Parenting and Classroom forums. I have learned about so many opportunities in my home state that I never knew existed. And I am very thankful to be able to compare notes, so to speak, about the issues of raising DYS kids and all the sorts of idiosyncrasies that we have to deal with. There isn't ANYONE else I know of who could provide that kind of insight like another DYS parent can.

These are great questions, Yannam. I have seen very good results from the Iowa Acceleration Scale people, and you can read more about this on http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/acceleration.htm. There will be exceptions for the most part - I remember a pie chart saying 98% of candidates are happy with acceleration (or something to this effect), which implies a 2% failure rate.

Personally, it beats me because my son is still young and college is far from my mind. But what I do know is that most of our kids con't fit into the school system even at an early age, and it's something that we try to deal with now. Poor learning/stimulation in the early years can lead to a rapid buildup of bad habits that are hard to get rid of later (my son daydreams the whole day in class - I can't see how that will help him develop learning habits for when he really does need them later on).

Maybe the trick is to focus on what your child needs for now and to use whatever IQ results you have to get her the services she requires. I know you have an issue regarding getting another test - no easy answers here. In our case, I just want to do what we can now in response to my son's clamouring and hope that the future will fall into place as we go along.

There are also ways to deaccelerate once a child hits a level of challenge that is more appropriate. Taking 5 years in high school rather than going on to college early, for example. Or taking a gap year to travel, do volunteer work or to start a small business. I have heard of a number of kids who took a year of high school in a study abroad program, and the foreign language made the work significantly more challenging for them.

These sorts of possibilities don't work for all accelerated kids, of course. Some kids just need college-level work very early. But I think it's smart to consider all the options, and not to assume that you and your child are trapped on a treadmill that allows you no latitude. There is room to do things differently if you look for it. Creative thinking is helpful!

Versus the long term problems of sitting in classes which are completely too low level, bore you to tears, surround you with children who are not your peers and leave you with little motivation to go to school?

I have two children who have both been grade level accelerated, and one of them subject level accelerated by 3 years. Both will go to college one year sooner, but otherwise are finally challenged and enjoy school. It's been all positive.

I strongly suggest you read A Nation Deceived. It's free to download: http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/Nation_Deceived/

also you should spend a minute on this page:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/acceleration.htm

Hi Yannam. My dd has been a DYS for only several months and we have already used many of the resources and benefits that come from it. We recently had a phone consultation with a renowned expert for example. IT helped guide us with some challenges we are having.

One of the best things is that you can ask those questions you posed to both your FC (family consultant) and tap on the previous experiences of many families who have been there, done that.