Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional 504 plan with OT?

I'm not an expert, but I know enough to see that there are no "problems" clearly displayed here, though some potential bottlenecks are, as Grinity and Dottie have described.

By way of example, my DS6 got a PG-level PRI with his processing speed and working memory in the normal range on the WISC. His fluency was significantly lower on the WJ-III, too. These results explained a lot. He is a deep thinker, but is NOT fast. He had been having trouble completing math problems, and as a homeschooler, I was really frustrated because I thought he was just wasting time, playing around, not trying...then I saw his WISC results.

They showed me what was really up. He wasn't just dawdling. He was spending too long on a problem (due to his average processing speed) and then he was forgetting what he was supposed to be doing (due to his average working memory). We changed the way we approach math problems and I got more patient, and our math sessions got a lot more productive.

Fluency is speed, and GT kids--even HG+ kids--often do not show great speed.

In short, this is a strong result, though you may see some speed and/or memory bottlenecks with this child just as I saw with mine. Just be aware, be patient, be sure the teacher knows about the bottlenecks, and it should be okay.

But there are no "problems" here, in the usual meaning of the word. The worst you've got here is average, and those scores are in the areas less relevant to GTness. It's clear this is one bright child, keet!

We had the meeting, and he doesn't qualify for special ed. Everyone acted like they're willing to give him a 504 with OT, but they wouldn't do the meeting without an OT present. My understanding is that they have 10 days to have the meeting.

Does my ds count as twice exceptional if he has a medical problem rather than a learning problem? Am I still allowed to post here?

Keet, in my book your ds is 2E... I am quite sure most others would feel the same

Yes, Dear!

These bottlenecks can be pesky, and have a large effect on a child's self-esteem. My son was asked to exchange papers in 2nd grade so they could grade each other's work. On little girl commented on his 'baby handwritting' and it really hurt my son's feelings. Of course this behavior wasn't noticed or corrected. The next time the children were asked to swap papers, you can imagine the behavior that followed when my DS just plain refused. Did I mention that intensity seems common amoung gifted children? He got plenty of attention and 'correction' for refusing to follow the rules, and although he's a highly verbal kid, he's always had a difficult time using those advanced verbal skills to explain stuff to adults he doesn't feel safe with. So back then he could lecture for an hour about the habits and habitats of Pengins, but couldn't say: "I felt bad when Jane said I had baby handwriting."

So it's not just that the teacher was being dense. It's that he doesn't fit ND expectations. Most kids get insulted on Monday and appear to have forgotten all about it by Thursday. I'm not saying that it is forgotten, I figure that it's there, but much less accessible. There are some great stories about a teen age HG kid meeting his 2nd grade teacher in the grocery store and recalling every slight he suffered at her hands, with his mom looking on who also remembered him complaining of the same stuff back then. Apparently the teacher was quite suprised - ND kids just don't have that kind of memory strengths.

So yes post here no matter what the 2E issues is, and even if it's just plain Asynchronous Behavior that's looking like a disability. I call my son '2Eish' and expect it will be years before I can have that 'Aha!' feeling.

Best Wishes,
Grinity

My son is 2E because of a motor coordination disorder that wasn't diagnosed until he was nine. Even though his visual motor integration was at the level of a child two years younger and his handwriting was slow and it was difficult for him to write very much, he did not qualify for OT in our public school because he was not failing in anything and instead tested above grade level in everything at age 7. I couldn't see how this could be considered a learning disability when he didn't have trouble "learning" anything except dance routines.

My son has an invisible disability. He didn't have a problem telling people that he had hypotonia and that it caused difficulties with handwriting and cutting things with scissors. His problem was that adults just didn't understand even after he told them. They didn't even understand after I explained in more detail. My sister-in-law has a Phd and was a geology professor and I would assume that requires a high level of intelligence and even she didn't seem to understand. So we have just had to accept the fact that most people will not understand his disability and he will just have to deal with that and ignore those people who tell him he is not trying or that he is being lazy. He is actually able to accept this better than I can, because some of these people make me angry, especially closed-minded teachers.

I really appreciate the people who do take the time to understand and offer my son support and encouragement instead of focusing on his difficulties. It just seems like there are so few of those people where we live--a very competitive, sports obsessed small town where academics comes second to sports where you are a geek if you prefer to learn instead of watching sports.

This weekend, my mom was sort of looking askance at my DS's needing to have directions repeated. I explained that I had looked at him the same way...until I saw how HORRIBLY he performed on the Listening section of his Iowa Test of Basic Skills (for annual evaluation of homeschoolers).

He missed about half the questions on the Listening section! And he was trying hard and paying attention. In fact, I think he missed more on the Listening section than he missed on the whole rest of the test, no exaggeration. I have been unsure about whether he was VS or not, but this pretty much cinched it!

It's not an official 2E issue and we have no official 2E diagnosis, but it sure is a bottleneck!

So, yes, please post, keet!

We just met yesterday, and ds now has a 504 plan with OT!

Woo Hoo! Good job, keet

I hope the OT is beneficial.

Yay!

YEAH!!!! Way to go! That must have been some great advocating!