Hi Grinity!
Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm so sorry to read about the difficult path that you followed before your DS was identified as gifted. I'm sure that it was a frustrating process for you, your DS and family--((HUGS!)) And yes, I am extremely grateful to my friend. I would never have thought to do testing if it hadn't been for her...
In my exhaustive (and exhausting!) search for an appropriate kindergarten for DD4, I have visited a number of public schools with magnet programs and our home school, which is not a magnet. At our home school, I felt that DD would be somewhat bored, because there is very little depth in the regular curriculum, and I had that impression before we even had her tested; also, in our public schools, TD classes are not offered until 3rd grade and are based on a pull-out model, which does not thrill me.
At the 145+ school, DD would be roughly in the middle, perhaps skewing a bit on the higher side, but not stratospherically high, KWIM? That gives me more confidence that she might be a good fit there, and at the same time, makes me worried about sending her to public school. Both the 145+ school and the public magnet programs use lotteries, so there is the possibility that she could end up at our home school, which has been keeping me awake at night...
I'm going to talk to the psychologist next week about DD's results, and hopefully get more info about her reading. The interesting thing is that in my brief discussion with the psychologist following the evaluation, she told me that DD read every 2- and 3-letter word that she showed her, plus most of the 4- and 5-letter words she presented. I told you that she does better with other adults than with me and DH!
Anyway, this process has been both exhausting and enlightening. In reading about giftedness, I have found that I have many of the characteristics in this category, but never knew it--there were no opportunities for testing, etc. when I was growing up in the rural South in the 1970s. Being able to identify this and reflecting on my own school experience have made me determined not to have DD repeat what I dealt with. And as you pointed out, I'm recognizing traits in many other people in my life, including my father, that are consistent with giftedness and an inability to fit in socially. It's been a very interesting process...
Thanks so much again for writing, Grinity--I look forward to getting to know you better!
