I'm a bit perplexed on what to do with my 5-year-old son who has a late birthday. We're in MA - public gifted programs are not available or an option.
DS5 has been in a private, structured, gifted school as a pre-k student in a prek/k/1st grade class for 3 months. Within 4-6 weeks, he completed the kindergarten curriculum for writing and math. The next 4-6 weeks, he completed the 1st grade curriculum. A week ago the school gave my son a k/1st/2nd grade math book. Yesterday he skipped to the multiplication section and completed it easily, without my assistance, within minutes. This is the same child who has refused to do simple sums or numerals. Today, he told me that the school was too easy for him.
Teacher says pre/k/1st grade class is too easy for ds5, especially the math, but the last month ds5 has been refusing to add and subtract simple sums. He's also been uncooperative and totally resistant, at times, to doing any math or handwriting work. This slow-down began when teacher mentioning bumping him up to the next class (2nd/3rd grade).
Yesterday, principal told me 1) that he's never had a late birthday 5-year-old accelerated to the next class within a few months of enrolling; 2) doesn't know if he can accommodate him; 3) says ds5's passive-aggressive behavior is at 6/7th grade level; 4) has a hard time considering acceleration for him when he displays such passive-aggressive behavior and refuses to do any work; 5) thinks he's very bright and academically gifted but wonders if he has a hidden LD or sits somewhere on the autism spectrum because he is not verbal or sociable in class, though I find this hard to fathom as he is verbal and sociable outside of the classroom at the school; 6) says we need a full neuropsych asap, which I totally agree with and support.
I have since contacted another gifted school, which we originally considered for ds5. This school is a one-room schoolhouse situation with mixed ages until the 8th grade. It has a flexible curriculum, is more self-directed, creative, and math/science-based. They can offer ds5 a slot in the fall or earlier.
I'm strongly thinking about pulling ds5 from the structured, gifted school asap. I don't think they can accommodate my son's needs.
I strongly suspect my son's problems stem from the fact that he has a high IQ. I don't know for sure but I suspect he's EG or possible PG. I don't know, though both my mother and father had sisters with IQ 160-165 and ds5 is showing many signs of it.
Will the neuropsych give me the details to assess whether the creative, flexible school would be a better fit?
Do I pull him from the structured, gifted school and keep him home until the fall or should we consider placing ds5 in the creative school asap?
Do we forgo the gifted school entirely and homeschool instead?
Any tips on what steps to take or other advice/suggestions? Help!!!
