DH was young for his grade and then skipped and in some sort of gifted program (no idea what the criteria were at the time or what he actually scored/did to gain entry). I cruised along in school and was in a high achieving program in high school. Years ago I would have never said I was "gifted" but the more I read and discover about my kids the more I have to admit it probably isn't just DH's gene's to blame
I ended up finding this board a few months after we tested DS back in 2013. We've since tested DD and retested DS to get a better handle on his 2E challenges. This board has been an amazing resource along the way. We aren't in the U.S. so DYS isn't an option but at least we have this board. Having a place where our challenges are "normal" has been amazing. We have a very quiet more local board but parents there are either 1. not dealing with what we're dealing with and/or 2. just worried about which private school they should pick in a city hundreds of miles away. This board is much more relevant and interesting to me.
This whole path has also dragged me into becoming an advocate at our district level. Prior to this, I would have run away at the thought of navigating the political minefield that gifted advocacy can be but my passion/frustration has managed to outweigh all of that. I will also add that another motivator is that both DH and I have numerous friends and family that highlight the challenges that can accompany gifted (underachievement, imposter syndrome, drop-outs, suicide, substance abuse, mental health challenges, etc). This has become bigger than my 2 kids for me. I'm now trying to fix the system for all of them which most days seem rather daunting. I love hearing about the schools, teachers, districts, etc out there that are doing good things - it gives me hope. While the less than positive stories help remind me that I'm not alone.
THANK YOU!!!!
