If a DYS doesn't qualify then it may be achievement rather than giftedness that counts.
Or, as "pacing" is often mentioned, it could be that his slow processing and anxiety which kept him from qualifying on the NNAT may prevent his success in a gifted program which is faster paced?
I'd be careful to not assume that "slow processing" or anxiety would be reasons to *not* choose a gifted program for a student or to assume they would not be successful in a gifted program. "Slow processing" can mean a lot of different things... and it's important to probably be more specific (OP) re whether the
"slow processing" really means slow cognitive processing, or does it mean relatively low scores in processing speed tests on an ability test like the WISC? If it's the latter, it's not necessarily truly slow cognitive processing, and depending on the reason, accommodations can easily be made to allow a student to participate in and be successful in a gifted (or high-achiever) program.
It's also important to understand what the cause of anxiety is - sometimes with kids who have a need for accommodations *or* a need for acceleration become anxious, and a simple change such as giving them the accommodation or moving them into a higher-level of challenge program resolves the anxiety.
To the OP, if your ds has an issue that impacts him on timed tests, is it something that is diagnosed or documented? If so, I'd ask that he either be given an extended time accommodation on the NNAT or ask that he be given an alternative ability test. If he doesn't have a diagnosis or accommodations and you think that he does have some type of processing speed issue, I'd focus on getting that diagnosed and accommodated.
Best wishes,
polarbear
