My DD is 9 in 4th grade and in her previous school boredom definitely was taking its toll. She's not as bored in her new school and they do a nice mix of things for learning in the classroom. However she still wanes over the course of the week though at her age she has learned to manage herself behaviorally (sp?) much better. For her it's definitely 2E with writing specifically and still sensory issues which we continue to work on. Talking about them to her to reduce her anxiety of not understand what's going on, and having her "outsourced" to understanding qualified people here and there (they're not easy to find) like riding therapy or art therapy also helps.
One thing that I'm learning now that made sense logically before but I didn't understand the importance of was how much the sensory issues contribute to or interfere with learning and socializing. Sensory issues really need to be addressed if present to help the child along, they do learn to manage them but need support to decrease the downside of the effects when out in the world.
I'm sure you're right that the child is gifted. Why doesn't the mom see that? Are there others in the family who are bright but don't have challenges and she is comparing him to them? (That's the case in my family because the cousins are all "above average overacheiver" types for whom school and any gifted enrichment pull-out type programs are designed for and have been a perfect fit and support to them. That's what's defined as "gifted" in my family.)
It sounds like maybe the combination of misfit issues in the school environment, both for his gifts and his challenges could be the source of the problems. But as other posters noted, you have to find out more details.
Good luck to them. I'm glad he has an advocate in you - come back if you know more, you'll definitely get sympathetic "ears" here!
