This forum has been the easiest way for me to locate like-minded parents with children facing similar constellations of needs. Because we're located outside the U.S. and aren't eligible to participate in the DYS program, this has been the next-best resource for our family in supporting my DS' growth.
My son hasn't been tested, mostly because he's young and has had his needs met to date primarily through homeschooling. Should the need arise, we'll go the testing route. At this point, I'm comfortable sticking my neck out and saying that he's some flavor of GT and following his development. From an early age, his developmental milestones met or exceeded those of both parents, both of whom were ID'd gifted as children.
"Giftedness" was never really an explicit part of my identity as a child or youth. At that time, access to related information for families was limited, schools were more open to grade-skipping, and my parents were chiefly focused on meeting needs as they arose rather than anticipating needs down the line. Within our family, I was operating within the norm, and so my concept of unusual needs was culture-bound. It was taken for granted that most of the children in our extended family were accelerated, often multiple grades, and went on to intellectually stimulating careers. My parents advocated effectively to ensure I was in a supportive environment, and life went on.
An interest in the concept of giftedness has only really come onto my radar as a parent to a bright little man. I can't openly talk about his early milestones IRL because they sound preposterous, and I would come across as a horrible braggart if I were open about his interests, so I turned to the internet to find some more resources after his pediatrician made some pretty stark comments at his well-baby visits.
It became apparent pretty early in DS' life that the educational system in our country is unsupportive of accelerated learning, and supports that once existed to enable more individualized learning in a standard classroom have gone the way of the do-do bird. The culture around education has become defensive and unduly focused on secondary goals of equality and feelings to such an extent that actual LEARNING has been de-prioritized. I was appalled that, when reviewing the websites of all the K-8 schools in the largest school district in our country, less than 8% identified academic excellence as a top-3 goal. This applies to all students, not just the gifted, but the gifted feel the weight of the change most acutely (and they are the group most related to my personal family situation). Ironically, it's in this culture of celebrating differences that my country is most rabid in its efforts to stamp out actual differences under the misguided banner of "tolerance". Embracing difference does not equate to enforcing sameness.
So, fundamentally, what drives my interest in gifted issues is an interest in my son's education and, more generally, a conviction that all children deserve to learn in school and achieve their potential. Anything less is a disservice to the student and society.
