Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional 2E Highly Verbal, Slow Processing Speed, ADD

Since no one has addressed your homeschooling question, I'll just chime in to say that because of the completely individualized nature of a HS education, HSing can be a GREAT option for a kid with 2E issues!

We're HSing, and it's been a good choice for us. DS6 does not have 2E issues, though he has some "bottlenecks," in that he tests with significantly lower scores in processing speed and working memory than he tests on the other areas. HSing means I can allow for those areas of relative weakness while still challenging DS6 in those areas where he's far ahead of most kids his age. It works very well for us.

If you have any specific questions about HSing, just ask! I'll be happy to help, as will others, I know.

K-

Idahomom, there is a fabulous book on visual-spatial learners, which is unfortunately out of print, though every now and then a reasonably-priced used copy appears on amazon (today they're all ridiculously priced). It's Upside Down Brilliance, by Linda Silverman. I got a copy when my dd was tested at the Gifted Development Center, which she runs. Anyway, I remember her book discussing the problem of vision processing issues (visual motor being one kind) in visual-spatial learners - she said it's like being handicapped in your strong suit, or some such thing. In my dd's case, dd very much fit the VSL profile, except that when it came to the block design portion of the WISC, the tester could tell by the way she did the harder problems (she skewed them or something) that there might be a vision problem. They believed she would otherwise have scored better on that section, and they encouraged us to test her again after doing vision therapy. They also noted that the fact that dd wasn't more adept at puzzles was another sign of a vision issue, in light of how strongly they believed her to be a VSL. At the time, it all seemed rather irritating, since not three weeks before dd had had a full checkup with a pediatric opthamologist who had not found any problems (but it was the wrong doc/wrong testing). She has made considerable progress due to the vision therapy; she just finished a 6-month program last week.

Other people are more balanced when it comes to visual-spatial (right brain) vs auditory-sequential (left brain), it's not an all-or-nothing proposition, and where there are weaknesses on one side, the person tends to rely on a comparative strength of the other side to compensate. Ironically, in DD7's case, in spite of the fact that she had great difficulty learning to read phonetically, she is now an excellent speller (according to the teacher, anyway), and I think it's because she has built such a large sight-word vocabulary due to this visual-spatial learning style (combined with the fact that there are so many english words that are exceptions-to-the-rule in terms of phonetics).

Also, on the writing issue, here are a couple articles I happened to come across, in case they might be helpful:
http://www.dukegiftedletter.com/articles/nov7no2_cc.html
http://www.visualspatial.org/Articles/poorhand.pdf

hope this helps; it seems like you may be getting closer to the bottom of the mystery of your son.

P.S. I realized my earlier post might sound like I'm evangelical about homeschooling. Let me assure you that I'm not. I'm a big believer in doing whatever works for your specific situation. Sometimes that might be HSing; often it's not.

I just didn't want you to worry that if you asked a question, you'd get the hard-sell. I'm not here to push.

eema, could you please tell me about your reward system? DS7 also responds to rewards, and our OT said that it's good incentive for him, too. Quite frankly, I don't know whether he's ADD, inattentive variety, or is simply the GT Grinity alluded to. But nevertheless, some things are hard for him and he needs incentive. Thanks!

idahomom:
has your child been assessed at all by an OT? Does he have dyspraxia? I'm finding that a lot of GT kids with dyspraxia are soooo smart they learn how to compensate and work extra hard to "hide" it. There's something about your description of him and his task performance that makes me wonder.

I am currently homeschooling my 2E dd. I was very unhappy with how her school was dealing with her. I've spent this year not teaching her (because she's ahead anyway) but teaching her "systems"-- how to get work done, how to organize, etc. We've explored ways that she can deal with her issues; for example, typing and writing practice, reading for comprehension, etc.
She has made great progress, but I will say that her (and my) goal is for her to be able to be back in school again. She really, really loves school and so my homeschooling is merely training to get her back into what she really wants. So she will go to a new school next year, and if that doesn't work out, I know I can take over again. One thing I have heard time and time again about educating 2E kids is one year at a time, or one semester at a time even! I completely agree that the plan is always changing, and one must take one step at a time!

Thank you. And re: ADD, again, I watched DS almost walk into a door tonight because he was so busy looking at something else. Made me remember the time he walked into a lamp post at age 5 or so upon leaving a museum. He was so intent on studying the toy he just got that he did not look at where he was going. Is that ADD, or is that just hyperfocus? In any event, I think we'll try a more formal reward system. Surprisingly, homework is no problem this year, but I'd like to see him do more reading and writing. Thank you.

LOL! I don't know how many times I walked into stuff when I was a kid. I don't think I had ADD...I was just living in my head

My son sounds similar to yours in some ways. He hated puzzles and he hated coloring. The Kindergarten teacher wanted to hold him back in a transitional first grade (a year in between kindergarten and first) because he wouldn't color in the lines and handwriting was sloppy. We have homeschooled since he finished Kindergarten and it works well for him. He types most of his work and does minimal writing.

He has loved National Geographic magazine since he was four years old, is very verbal and can carry on a conversation about so many different things because he is interested in so many different things. He absolutely loves to learn and talk about the interesting things he has learned. He likes to watch quiz shows to test his knowledge. He likes to read random Wikipedia articles for fun.

Our school just focuses on the fact that kids like mine don't color very well, can't cut with scissors very fast, and their handwriting is slow. I tried to explain my son's differences to so many people and most just don't get what twice exceptional means. Maybe I am just not very good at explaining it.

His doctor says she did not think he had ADD because he is not impulsive, but a few years ago she said some people might think he had ADD because he was very fidgety and needed frequent breaks.

What my son does have is sensory integration dysfunction and motor dyspraxia and he is finaly getting OT. He was not eligible for OT in school because he was above grade level in reading and math in Kindergarten. Doctors didn't think my son's problems were anything to worry about and they told me he would do very well in school because he read very early and was very articulate. I did not find out the name for my son's problems until recently. I spent many, many hours on the internet trying to find answers and I remember someone told me a couple of years ago that her son was diagnosed with dyspraxia and that my son sounded similar. But when I looked up info on this it said symptoms of dyspraxia can include difficulty with reading, writing and speech, poor social skills and poor short-term memory. My son did not have these problems and I didn't realize that he didn't have to have every symptom to have motor dyspraxia.

I could never find any one thing that seemed to fit my son until I learned about sensory integration dysfunction, especially proprioceptive dysfunction. I wish I had known about this earlier. I had to figure this out by myself with a little help from friends on message boards. To get a referral to the developmental pediatrician and the OT, I had to print out the symptoms I found on the internet, write down examples, and take it to the doctor.

Kriston, we know you are not a hard sell. You are one who is always ready and willing to give us good advice and I value you as a great i-friend with the fringe benefit of great HS resource!