Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion If future-me could have written to past-me

I feel compelled to say thank you to those I have interacted with in this forum, as well as offer a little post in order to potentially help the future searchers of these pages. I have found myself plugging in endless search queries into Google and this forum these past few weeks, and I would have enjoyed my future-self sharing the following...

An evaluation, even as a homeschooler, is worth the price and time. I had so many doubts about that fact, but the full written report has offered some very helpful insight into how my kid's brain works and has positively changed some of my expectations.

Just because I personally know some highly/profoundly gifted kids and mine isn't precisely like that--it doesn't mean my comparatively "average" kid isn't gifted.

Cheryl Lind in Glenview, Illinois is very warm, kind, and professional. My daughter got along with her immediately and she seemed to know just how to encourage her during the evaluation.

Sometimes refusal to work on something because it's too easy looks just like refusal to work on something because it's too hard. So, as a homeschooling family, having an outsider assess ability was HUGELY helpful in learning what my kid is capable of academically and then adjusting.

That's all I can think of for now, so I'll end with another thank you. Really, thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experience in these forums!

oooo, thanks for this. I have a very young kiddo, and I doubt that she is among the ranks of HG or PG, so your comment is pretty helpful to me! I am also in illinois, too. so. neat.

I still consider myself new to this even after being here over a year! There is always something to learn or adjust. I would tell my past self to really trust my instincts and don't let the school downplay my perspective, consider me another parent of a special snowflake. I think this is especially important for that MG/HG kiddo who might fly under the radar, does well in school, doesn't cause a fuss there (just at home, ha), but aches for stimulation and learning, and gets underestimated.

Also I'd say to remember there are may avenues to go down and being stuck on an idea or plan just breeds frustration -- be open to alternatives and accept that different solutions work for different kids at different ages.

AAC, "gifted" wasn't even on my radar until a few months ago when it was casually mentioned by a friend. And then all of these behavioral things just started making sense. If you're in the Chicagoland suburbs and end up down the homeschooling path, hit me up, I know a lot of local resources

longcut, all great points too! Something I've always said about parenting and now schooling choices (homeschool/public/private) is that we will continue to adjust where needed and not just keep doing things because that's how we do them.