Our tester informed me that my son is 2E although I don't have the actual scores yet. People can see it and always comment on how bright he his and they also comment on how hyper he is and even will go so far as to say that those two things often happen together. I think where the system fails is in not knowing what to do with these kids. They focus on the behaviors more than they focus on getting them the right challenge level without understanding that a lot of problems go away when the kids are properly challenged.
In my DS6's case, I called his school before the school year to let them know about the possibility that he has AD/HD and that he's continually demonstrated high abilities in the classroom. His prior teacher had recommended a grade skip to at least first because she said that he was very smart and he would act out when the work wasn't hard enough. The new school "heard" me and said that she "knew exactly where to place him." Come to find out, all LD kids are placed in the same room. This clustering approach isn't discussed out loud, but I figured it out while volunteering and working with some of the other kids in the room. It was clear to me that each of the kids had a problem whether it be sensory, low intelligence, Asperger's or AD/HD. Sigh. The teacher paired DS up with one girl who had clear perception and comprehension problems. DS probably has AD/HD but perception is his strong suite so you can imagine what being placed in that room did to him! He developed tics and became fidgety, hyper and naughty. The teacher suggested meds. That didn't work, so the teacher (who teaches a GATE class at night!), recommended that DS be looked at by for admittance into special ed. The teacher felt that he was probably on the autism spectrum because he wouldn't look her in the eye (he hated her), talked into a monotone voice (because he was disheartened and bored) and very advanced in math (which we know from "Rain Man" is the almighty autism marker...ha ha).
We asked that he be pulled out and placed into another room. They put him into a room with bright 5 year olds which is a step up from his prior classroom of 6 year olds with academic problems. Well, all of his behavior problems have disappeared. No anxiety, no AD/HD symptoms, no tics, no hyperactivity, nothing. The school is mystified. However, DS now complains that while the behavior standards are higher in his new room and the kids are cooler, they are still only doing baby work and he's totally bored to tears. He often refuses to do his coloring and writing letters worksheets and fake reading. I work with him after school so I understand how disparate the work is to what his capabilities are. Poor guy.
The school has a lot to learn. I do not want them to learn it on DS's time. We are outta there!
