Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Davidson YS Summer Summit 2018

We have just sent in our application for Davidson YS at the suggestion of our Psychologist.

I hear there's a summer summit for all YS participants. Does anyone know when and where it is this year? I'd love to attend if our son is accepted in time but I cannot find any information.

Welcome!
You can expect to receive the DYS decision at the end of June.
You then have the option to furnish additional information, sign a confidentiality agreement, and register for services.
I believe the process can take a few weeks.

Please note the following:

Blest of luck with the application.

The program has been very helpful to DW and I and our DD

At the summit, she met kids like her and we were reassured that we were not alone.

The registration period for the summit has closed I believe.

I think from memory that it closed back in Feb/Mar.

There’s always next year :-)

Thanks everyone! We are new to gifted/Davidson and so it's all very overwhelming. I was hoping to get in and get our feet wet with Summit but I guess I was just getting ahead of myself....since he's not been accepted yet. And the confidentiality agreement explains why I couldn't find any info about it. So thanks for pointing that out.

For those of you who are familiar, does Davidson Institute only take 'profoundly gifted'? It seems there's some disagreement on the varying levels of giftedness. And, our son is our oldest child, so we have tended to overlook his quirks and just write them off as a unique personality. I'm trying to explain to family members some of what is going on (he's 2E Gifted + ADHD + some other issues yet to be named) and they keep saying "well, lots of kids are gifted". His psychologist who did his testing didn't really give a 'level' to his giftedness, but she recommended we apply for DYS. I see on the website it says 'profoundly gifted' so I guess I'm just surprised that our son may be in that category. It's kind of intimidating for me really....sort of like, I'm proud, but it frightens the daylights out of me.

The qualifying criteria for the DYS program has changed a lot over the years, becoming less stringent. I believe that a child can now qualify if s/he has a profound level of giftedness in one area?

Many parents are excited, receive conflicting messages, and have mixed feelings when their children are newly identified as gifted. It can take a while to absorb the plethora of information. The gifted community is a minority of the population. Profoundly gifted is more rare. In general, one is wise to not be "proud" of an innate level of intelligence which s/he did nothing to receive. One's inherited characteristics (degree of height, level of intelligence, etc) does not signal that they are more/less worthy... and if one acts at all special or superior about their "gifts", the general population may tend to respond with heaps of ill-will directed towards any/all in the gifted community... severely limiting opportunities for gifted kids to grow, develop, and find true peers.

Better to be proud of effort, persistence, resilience, achievements, accomplishment, etc... in other words, the work one does and the choices one makes in developing and applying one's gifts and abilities.

For continuing growth and development, kids need:
1) appropriate academic challenge
2) true peers
For typical kids, these needs may be met in a general ed classroom, however for children with higher IQ/giftedness, these needs may not be met without intentional effort in providing advanced curriculum, and grouping for instruction with academic/intellectual peers.

Individuals with 2e issues may tend to be known by their learning differences and learning disabilities, especially if these are pronounced, rather than being known for their intellectual gifts. The 2e issues may need to be identified, remediated, accommodated before a child can work effectively at their level of giftedness.

Some links which may be of interest in helping you learn about your child, and how to best help your child:
- resource - Understood
- resource - Wrightslaw
- resource - 2e newsletter
- SENG video: The Misdiagnosis of Gifted Children
- book: Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults
- old post with link to article comparing gifted characteristics and ASD characteristics
- post with checklist comparing gifted and ASD traits (hat tip to BananaGirl)
- post with link to Gifted Resource Center of New England (GRCNE) article comparing gifted and ASD traits (hat tip to Nolepharm).

Thanks. It's quite overwhelming to say the least. I'll look into the resources you posted. And I just found some good free pdf booklets on the DIYS website also.

Yes, the Davidson database is a treasure trove of information... lots of answers there... free and accessible to all.

Overwhelmed!
Yes, that seems to be word most frequently used by parents to describe themselves.
And, for kids, the most frequent descriptor may be:
Intense!

Yes 'intense' is a great way to describe our son. He was a pretty level-headed kid until he entered Kindergarten and then 1st grade. We began to notice him withdrawing from social situations, or commenting that certain school work made him 'feel like a baby'. Even playing with other kids his age, made him feel 'like in preschool'. We've seen some very intense emotions and almost toddler-like meltdowns in the last 6 months. That's what triggered us to get an evaluation. The most upsetting thing is seeing him begin to notice that he's different, or set-apart in some way from his peers. So we're hopeful we can get him placed in Gifted at school (they declined to test him). And maybe that will make a difference. I hope.

Yes, I think that's part of what is difficult to grasp. We have IQ scores on paper, and school grades, and comments from others that he's gifted. But at home, most of the time, he seems like a pretty normal kid. We haven't been the parents who drill flash cards, or expose him to certain educational materials, etc. So his 'giftedness' was a bit of a surprise to us, particularly the level of giftedness. We just want to do what is best for him, but it's all so new, we aren't exactly sure what is best. First up is getting a 504 to help with ADHD and hopefully getting them to allow him into the gifted program at school. Currently researching and pulling our paperwork together.

As you work to have your child placed in the gifted program at school, this roundup of advocacy resources and posts, including meeting prep, may be of interest.