Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion New here and looking for insight and help

I just wanted to say that you are not alone. We had a lot of sleep issues with DS7 (PG)... the Baby Whisperer worked for us with him but we had to revisit it frequently. He would prefer not to sleep but does better when he does... which has driven us crazy at times.

And we have now had two separate years where he was supposedly the immature, difficult child (age 3 Montessori year, rigid teacher who didn't understand him At All and 1st grade, administrator who refused to believe he was gifted, or that a recent move could be making matters worse, coupled with a lovely but also pretty rigid teacher). It really is stressful to think that you just have a "bad child."

Testing over this past summer showed us where he is truly at, but that doesn't fix all issues with him. With age, he's calming a bit, but he is still very intense. He is tiring unless he's reading or occupied. Sometimes I wonder what it is like to have a lowkey child. Our YDS is 3 and a little easier, but now showing more intensity and I think he'll get more challenging, too.

I do want to share that DS7 is much happier in a new parochial school this year and that they don't see him as an "issue" the way the last school did. We like not getting daily or every other day bad reports, too.

Thank you for all the responses!!!

I found a local Psychologist whose practice is with gifted and 2E children. We made an appointment for next month and our insurance covers it 100% so that was great news! I wanted to do a private eval as the school won't test anyway but also so it is an unbiased eval and not based on things the teacher has possibly mentioned.

DD7 came home yesterday a little bummed because STEM (her favorite special) did the same thing as last week. When DH asked her what she did in school today she said nothing. When asked what she learned she also said nothing. She has expressed issues she is having with the amount of repetitiveness in school this year. At first I thought it was refresher stuff but we are 2m in and she is still having a hard time.

Luckily with friends she has a little girl next door who although is younger has great communication skills and I question whether she is gifted too. She also has a friend from when she was a baby. I think O just accepts DD7 because that's how DD7 has always been.

I notice that she either wants to be around adults or kids at least year or two younger. Is that seen in gifted children? My thoughts with the younger is that they are more likely to follow her lead. Over the summer she went to a few weeks of camp. She said she didn't make friends, which was shocking because she is extremely social and will play with anyone. When asked about it she said the teacher was more fun to hang out with. I met the teacher and he and DD7 seemed to click well so I left it be.

Schools: After her eval and results are in I will present them to the school. If they choose not to accommodate her like they have so far then we do have the option of homeschooling. There is also The Schilling School close by. One other option that *may* work is a local Montessori school that goes to grade 6. Upon looking at their site it is a school I will look into further. Their curriculum seems like it could work well for gifted children.

GF/Dairy free: DD7, DD3 and DS1 all have dairy intolerance in varying degrees. DD7 can handle cheese and yogurt in moderation. DD3 can't handle any of it. DS1 is the most sensitive requiring that I cut out all dairy while BF in addition to not being able to consume it.
DD7's GI doc suggested we go back to a GF diet (after her testing was complete) or at least significantly minimize as she was showing signs of an intolerance. She said they are seeing more and more children coming in testing negative for Celiac but clearly having issues with gluten. We decided to minimize for now.