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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 36
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OP
Junior Member
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 36 |
Welcome whattodo. I'm sorry that you're having such a hard time. I'm not in Florida, so I can't help there.  But your story sounds very familiar. We had our DS in the local kindy when he was 5, and they gave him 2nd grade math, and then we advocated for a skip. After much work, we got the skip into 2nd, and with much more advocacy, we finally got things a little better, thanks to the school staff and GC being flexible. We are in a small district, so they didn't have a lot of experience with HG kids, which I think helped as we were able to suggest things. Is there any chance that the school would allow your DS to work on online math such as Aleks or EPGY while the other kids are doing grade level math? Are there any other schools near you, not necessarily identified as GT schools, that might be more flexible? A lot of GT schools just work a year ahead, and that's that, and they're not too flexible. Smaller schools with less experience with GT kids but with more flexibility might be a better option, if available. We did end up transferring DS mid-year to a school for HG kids, which does work a year ahead, but faster too. And they group kids by ability as well, and it's been great so far. So if you find a school that will skip your kiddo to 2nd, which it sounds like he needs, then maybe a mid-year transfer to a GT school is also an option, though obviously not an ideal one. Just throwing that out there. The one thing that has been harder for our DS7 is writing, both handwriting and mechanics. He is way behind the kids at his current school, and it's been kind of tough for him since he notices he's way behind. I highly recommend working on writing over the summer if a skip is a possibility (if writing is an issue for your DS). Oh, and the best advice is to stay friendly with the GC. We had a few run-ins before our transfer where we got really upset, and that didn't help anything. Try to remember that the staff at the school really does care about your kid and do want him to learn, but the reality is there are 20+ other kids too. I would suggest getting your hands on the Iowa Acceleration Scale and filling it out with the school. That finally convinced our local school that a skip was a great idea for our kid. Thanks. I do my best to try to keep it under control and make sure DH goes to every meeting with me. He is much better at verbal communication than I am.  DS does have handwriting issues. While he enjoys writing crazy stories, they can be hard to read. I will look at the Iowa Acceleration Scale. We did not have a Principal anymore at the end of the school year. When grade skip was brought up, GC said that could be an option, but thought that 1st grade was an important year and would not recommend skipping 1st. The biggest problem he has is with following rules and directions, making advocacy more difficult. When he gets an idea in his head it is hard to make him stop. One day in gifted pull out, they were learning about FL birds so he decided to turn his chair upside down and take the teachers stapler off of her desk. I got a note sent home because he would not stop when asked, and when I asked him about it, he said the said the chair was a bird's nest and the stapler was food for the baby birds. He is only 6 and likes to pretend things, but those are the type of things he gets in trouble for. Anyway, I will have to go in this fall and see if and when a meeting can be scheduled.
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,917
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,917 |
Bringing the husband along is a good plan. I think some teachers just respond better if there's a united front, and some just respond better to men.  Did the GC say why she thought 1st was an important year? In our area, it's important for learning to read and learning basic math, which your DS already mastered, so hopefully she has a better reason. I can see how behavior issues might cause difficulties, though. I guess I lucked out having a teacher pleaser. I'd try to get a meeting before school starts if you can.
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 36
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OP
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Both his K teacher and GC said that in first grade they work more on writing and in reading introduce more about plots, characters and interactions. Basically the accelerated class works 1 grade ahead in reading and math (math if the student is ready, similar to F/T gifted. Other subjects are also given more depth than in a regular grade class.
Writing might be difficult because of handwriting more than lack of ideas or sentence structure.
I actually thought K went better than I had expected. Should I not be pessimistic again about 1st? I don't know. He needs more challenge, he as always been in his own view "the star of the class". I don't want him to get used to everything being easy and never having to really strive or compete. Math just makes it more complicated. He knows how to do multiplication, division, know some fractions and decimals, and knows how to add and subtract all kinds of numbers, millions, negatives. But he can't seem to memorize multiplication tables. He'll get the right answer after thinking about it.
What I do know is we have to figure out ways for him to cope with sensory seeking and underresponsive issue and attention issues. Going to get an eval from OT next week.
Has anyone taken their son or daughter to OT? What should I expect out of it?
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,040
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,040 |
My son was in OT for about 4 years. It took a few tries to find an OT who understood his issues, could establish rapport with him, and manage not to be manipulated or distracted by him when he was trying to get out of doing the difficult thing he didn't want to do.
From what you say, the OT will probably give you a "sensory diet" for your child, a list of activities to do at school and at home that will help your child develop better awareness and modulation of sensory input, and, given the handwriting issues, may possibly also include exercises to develop proximal stability, and strength and motor control. It might seem like all the OT is doing is playing games with your child, once the initial evaluation is over, but, ideally, all of the activities have very specific purposes.
We saw huge improvements in all of the areas you discuss, but I do have to warn you that, in our experience, frustration thresholds dropped dramatically just before the greatest gains were being made on a pretty consistent basis. Don't assume that because behavior deteriorates that the OT "isn't working".
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 7,207
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 7,207 |
The only way we could transfer him to the another F/T gifted program at a different school with 2nd grade would be to get the grade skip at our home school. Hi Whattodo - Welcome! Homeschooling is great, but you may be able to have a 'good enough' fit with one of these other options. I would contact the new Princp, with the scores and Iowa Acceleration in hand and state what you believe he needs and request the skip at the home school so you can transfer him into the F/T gifted program at the different school. Also check out that private gifted school and let them check your son out - it may be that they will be very helpful with the financial aid, or not, but worth a try. It also helps to listen to GCs and other official types with 'half an ear' and then restate what you believe is best, with sort of an, "I can see how running out of curriculum might be a problems, but we believe that X is best at this time." They may not give you what you want, but at least you tried. It seems to me that your child's scores indicate unusally high strengths in many areas. You goal is to get the overall challenge 'in the right ballpark' - if they won't give a Math subject acceleration, perhaps 'enough' can be reached by a full skip. It takes a lot of fine tuning! Welcome, Grinity
Coaching available, at SchoolSuccessSolutions.com
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 170
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 170 |
I thought hearing about my DS7 might help your thought process. We were where you are now about a year ago. If you are not going to homeschool, you should work on a grade skip now and then further math acceleration. If I had to do it over again, I would have pushed for my DS to start the 2010-2011 year in 2nd. My DS has an early November birthday so was one of the oldest in his class. He has similar WISC scores as your DS (a little lower and tested when he wsa 7.5).
Even though his scores are lower he still needed a mid year skip and could have used further acceleration in Math (he learned almost nothing in math this year) and his Broad Math was 148 � so your DS will likely need another year acceleration or some sort of compacting in math. My DS has average PSI so he is slow at writing, timed math facts, etc. The writing and speed was not a big problem when he skipped.
My DS is going to go to a HG school in a neighboring district in the fall to which he could not have been accepted without the grade skip. I am optimistic about next year because I think it will be a much better fit for him.
Finally, I also think that some of the other issues - ie being a handful - could be dealt with by more challenge. An idle mind is the devil's playground applies to my DS for sure - so keeping him intellectually engaged has always been a priority for us. I have a hard time dealing with some of the comments and situations we have encountered and my husband comes to everything too - it's great to have that united front. It seems overwhelming and it is a lot of work. Hang in there!
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 36
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OP
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Posts: 36 |
We saw huge improvements in all of the areas you discuss, but I do have to warn you that, in our experience, frustration thresholds dropped dramatically just before the greatest gains were being made on a pretty consistent basis. Don't assume that because behavior deteriorates that the OT "isn't working". [/quote]
Thanks for the heads up on being patient and with OT. I think I expected to notice changes more quickly. I am hopeful that it will help him in the long run.
Thanks I really appreciate the feedback!
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 36
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Thanks Deonne,
It does seem overwhelming and I feel like I have spent so much time over the last year and a half researching what gifted was, what the scores meant, how does it all relate to our son, etc.
Yes I feel more educated today but still overwhelmed. I guess we have to take it one year at a time to see what will work best.
I hope we can make a clear case for grade skipping, for now I think it is our best option, but if homeschooling is the only way to go then I will have to go that route.
It is reassuring to see that you have been able to come up with good options for your son. Good luck to him at the new school, sounds great!
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 36
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OP
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 36 |
Hello Grinity,
Thank you for your advise. I will look up the Iowa Acceleration. I hope to have as much knowledge as you some day when it coming to gifted issues.
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,167
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,167 |
I'm always late to the party!
My DS8 has scores very similar to yours and he has been accelerated several times. His coming year is as follows.... (2)7th grade
(1)8th grade and (2)9th grade classes. He is supposed to be starting 3rd. This is just to give you an idea of where you may end up.
Be VERY careful not to look too far ahead. You will make yourself crazy. Take it one day at a time and be flexible. The perfect situation today may not work tommorrow. It isn't an easy road but you can do this!!
Shari
Mom to DS 10, DS 11, DS 13
Ability doesn't make us, Choices do!
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