Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Finally got our WPPSI IV results...

How likely do you think it is that you'd be able to advocate for entry into first grade? Our ds had a similar lag between K cut-off and his birthdate, and we tried for early entry to K and weren't successful - it's extremely difficult to get either early entry or a grade skip where we're at. If you feel like entering 1st grade is the right thing to do for your ds, advocate for it! It can't hurt to try. If you're on the fence or if you try and can't get the skip, here are a few thoughts re staying in the grade he was "born into" for K/1:

1) K is often more about social skills (learning how to be in school, be with the group etc than it is about learning anything. For all that may sound like a total waste for a child who is capable of working ahead of grade level, it also might be tough to completely skip K and go right into first grade, where the rest of the class will have been through that first year of getting "used to the system". Sorry if that sounds bleak, really it wasn't for my kids - they had a relatively good time in kindergarten thanks to the social aspect, and had a tougher time with boredom later on in 1/2 grade.

2) If you put him into Kindergarten and a teacher gets to know him, you might be able to have that teacher support you in an effort to grade-skip from K to 2nd (rather than starting out in 1st). Same grade skip, just done at a different time. Even if you don't find a supportive teacher, the school won't be able to argue that he won't have appropriate ef skills etc when he's been in their building for a full year (unless he actually doesn't have the appropriate skills).

3) The test scores you have are all over the place - that could be maturity, it could be ADHD, it might be something else. You'll have a better hunch re what's up once he's actually been in school and you know whether or not there are challenges with classroom work etc. As the parent of two 2e kids, as counterintuitive as it may seem, I feel that having the kids *not* skipped during K/1 was important. If they'd been skipped ahead before we'd had a chance to thoroughly understand their challenges and how to remediate/accommodate in the classroom and on homework - they would have been miserable with a grade skip, and we probably would have set up a situation where a teacher could have easily said it's not working due to immaturity or the grade skip, rather than seeing it was a disability at play. That too might sound discouraging, but once we understood their challenges and once they'd had remediation and we knew how to accommodate, my kids were *not* held back by their challenges, they were able to subject accelerate as they moved on through school, and that's worked out well.

4) This is very individual according to child and their personality, but fwiw my ds hit a huge brick wall around the end of middle school where he was *bored* bored bored with school and frustrated beyond belief at not being able to learn at his own pace. In spite of that very bad time and that frustration over school, our ds has steadfastly maintained, year after year, that he is *very happy* that we didn't grade skip him - he's happier being with peers - even though he's on the older side of the age group.

None of those reasons I've listed are reasons *NOT* to do the grade skip - just a few thoughts in the event you *can't* get the grade skip.

Best wishes,

polarbear

PAS, how old is he? I was assuming he's around 5 since it sounded like they were recommending Kindergarten for him?

Also what does IU stand for? I think this is your school district? Have you tried finding a privately moderated social skills group? I had looked into them last summer and found several local to us, but ultimately found DD was well-served by her school program which includes just kids on the spectrum.

FWIW just as a note, the ability to focus on a topic of interest does not contradict ADHD. This is called "hyperfocus". I often think that hyperfocus is one of DD's more advantageous skills--and can be useful to her if she can learn to manage it.

IU is intermediate unit. They handle IEPs and disability stuff within the district. His testing and report was a combo of IU and district staff. The IQ test was done by the district. He turned 5 in February.

Polarbear: I am not really looking to grade skip. I guess I'm concerned that he already has a hard time with circle. Sitting still, close proximity to other kids, listening and participating, all while probably having a hard time staying engaged because the subject matter is pretty boring and slowly presented. I really want him to be in with age mates and learning social skills, but I guess I think they need to make serious modifications. Like they could require him to do part of circle with the other kids to get good practice in and then allow him to do something else with an aide during other circle activities if he so chooses. Otherwise I feel like they are setting him up for failure.

My plan is to either homeschool K and then send him to first or try the K program and see how it goes. I feel like in first grade when all of the kids are reading it will be easier for him to be given differentiated work at his desk. K is still so focused on circle and group learning, very weak areas for my son. (This is all based off of my limited experience in schools working as a TSS for a few years).

On the off change this school year proves to be transformative for my son and he suddenly starts doing great with behavior I might look at a grade skip. I am not a huge fan of the idea of sending kids to school all day to begin with, it makes even less sense when it is academically just a waste of time. I am also completely against homework. I'd love to get him into a private school that emphasizes the arts or a montessori classroom. I am willing to just homeschool until I can't teach at his level anymore (this may not be too far in the future for math, I'm not a math person), but I'd much rather get back to work!

I have had recommendations to stop teaching him, especially in math, as it just makes him more different or will make his school experience more problematic, but my son loves math and just seems to pick it up on his own anyway. For instance, the testing said he could do subtraction with regrouping. That's news to me, I never taught him that. Regrouping with addition is in the next unit in our 2nd grade workbook. Regrouping with subtraction is in the following unit. I can't do mental subtraction with regrouping, so I guess my 5 year old is already surpassing me in something. Kind of scary.