Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment process

Thank You for the information. I will read the article. I will also post what my son's pediatrician says tomorrow. Good luck with your son. I think the hardest part about looking for help with gifted children is that no one is really too compassionate about the struggles; they probably figure you should just be happy your child seem very smart.

We started this process about 2 years ago with my son. We live in the state of Ohio. After finding the State of Ohio policy for gifted students I learned that if referred to the school any student would have to be tested to identify them as gifted. The school has to pay to have this done in OHIO. A student can be referred by a parent, teacher, etc. So we referred him for testing and the school district did an IQ test on him as well as a couple grade level above tests on him to see where he was at. After having these results I was able to know if I should start advocating for more challenging things for him. Last year after a ton of pushing we finally were able to have him subject accelerated in Math. He went to 3rd grade math as a 2nd grader all last school year. It was great but I realized that he still really wasn't getting what he needed in reading. I had originally thought reading was easier to individualize but he really wasn't getting pushed. So about 2 months ago we requested that he be accelerated a full grade level next year. He would skip 3rd grade and go to 4th grade for everything. He had to go through more testing which he never cares about and in fact thinks it is a challenge and is almost excited about it. Our school district is really not open to acceleration or at least the principle at our school. They used the IOWA acceleration form to determine if he should be accelerated but were not complete with filling it out. After an appeal to the superintentent we are just now being told they will allow him to be accelerated.

The best thing I can recommend is do some research on the laws and policies in your state. Find out what they have to do for your child. Know that in many cases you will need to become knowledgeable on options as there are so many road blocks you will probably run into. However, continue to fight for your child if needed so that they too can be challenged in school!

If you have specific questions please feel free to ask!!

Well I talked to my sons pediatrician on Tuesday and he evaluated him. He said that he fits all the characteristic of a savant and that he is very advanced in his development.
He said his vocabulary and speech was at a 7 year old level and he is 2 1/2.
His reason for him not fitting in socially with his peers is that he has advanced to quickly and he is frusterated and bored with them. This is the beginning of a long journey. His overall development for other areas, minus motor skills and potty training, was also between ages 5-7 so this is exciting news.
His doctor is sending us to a specialist who will do a full neurological evaluation on him and I assume IQ testing. He said he wants to get an accurate report of how advanced he is. I guess after we get all this done they will advise us on what to do but we are just taking this one step at a time. I am glad I could post this here. I definitely wouldn't put it on facebook.

Isaiah, that is great news that your pediatrician was responsive and referred you for further testing. And hopefully your insurance will cover it too. Keep us posted. I hope you are able to find some like minds in your community. If you start hanging out at science museums and the like you might find some.

Era: and keep asking specific questions/issues here. There is likely someone here with some similar experiences.

LPCZ - great advocacy! I'm glad things worked out so well.

LPCZ, I am very concerned about the road blocks I will run into with my son. I know that Michigan, where I live, is a state that does not have any funding available for gifted children. I really don't know what I'm going to do about school for him.

It is good that your son is being accelerated. Every child should be able to be challenged in whatever educational program they are in. More awareness really needs to be brought to the needs of gifted children. Many probably don't reach their potential because they are not put in a challenging learning environment. This leads to boredom, frustration and behavior problems.

Thank You st pauli girl. I am happy that my sons pediatrician seemed to know quite a bit about gifted children. He was impressed with him and encouraged us to keep learning fun and not to push him in any areas. We have just been supporting whatever he is interested in. His doctor says he will need special accommodations with his education. I really hope that we can get directed as to how to go about doing that here in MI. We can't afford private school. At this point I just hope his insurance covers all the testing he has to get done for the neurological evaluation.

I love having this discussion forum to share what is going on.
Many blessings to all of you.