My DS16 has anxiety issues that became a huge problem in his 6th grade GT program. He had attacks that year like you describe. He went into therapy for them at the time. I regret having him in this class in 6th grade but it was a 4-6 program and the first two years were better. There were parts of the program that was great but the amount of homework & level of executive function caught up to him by 6th grade.
I would ask a LOT of questions both about your child and the program. Can you talk with the teacher? How much is the homework load? Does this program expect high executive function than the regular class. (Keeping track of work, reminders to turn in, groups projects with little supervision, ongoing due ever week projects.) How much group work vs individual work? What happens if she doesn't enter this program? How will the school meet her needs be met at all?
The program my DS was in was for gifted and high achieving kids. It involved a lot of group work, and since my son struggled socially this made a bad situation worse. Much of what would be classwork in another class was sent home as homework. (Most math practice & LA worksheets.) What I didn't realize about my DS at the time was that while his GAI is high, he has low average Working Memory and Processing Speed. Plus he has this quirky perfectionism where he doesn't want to write down anything wrong. This made a high homework load for everyone, excruciating for him.
Last edited by bluemagic; 05/18/15 12:15 PM.
