Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Possible 2E, but maybe just 1E?

Sure. Good point. But I still suspect there's more going on there than the test shows. I mean, her processing speed is quite low, so it's clear that there's something more going on there. At least that's how it looks to me.

I was also noticing that comparatively low processing speed, along with the low score in coding. I think you have good reason to pursue a neuropsych workup. I think she looks like a good candidate for the 2e kid who never gets recognized due to being smart enough to cover up her LDs and LD enough to appear "not gifted". Parents know their children best, and if you have always felt she is gifted, then chances are high that she is.

Mombot if you are close to the Chicagoland area and go the nueropsych route feel free to pm for names. We have three excellent children's hospitals here.

My youngest does have the IQ numbers that would qualify her for gifted programs. She doesn't present at school the way they expect, though. So even with an IQ test that is way higher than their minimum score, the teacher attempted to bar her from gifted programming last year. It's a long story but because of the law as is, they can use whatever parameters they define worthy to identify for gifted programming, so realistically, they can deny her access in the future.

Things are going *okay* right now, but we know there is a great chance we will homeschool her at some point. She was recently diagnosed with a learning disability, even though it doesn't appear she has one based on IQ scores.

I can't remember if you thought homeschooling was an option or not, my brain is foggy, lack of sleep, lately.

I guess I'm saying, please don't have a mini-crisis.
There are some options available. It took me a long time to accept homeschooling as an option, I didn't think I was capable of doing it....but now I see it as a real option and I'm only slighly nervous about it.

I'm a firm believer that if you can keep a semi-clear mind, don't give up, keep searching for a good solution, you will find one.

Neato

Thank you again for the supportive posts. I really appreciate the insight that all of you have shared.

re: neuropsych eval - the evaluator recommended more testing by the school - achievement and cognitive - to further define those areas of weakness (the fluency, processing speed). To have a neuropsych eval, is a doctor's referral needed? I imagine with my dd's history (she was a preemie born at 28.5 weeks gestation) that it's not a request that would be completely out of the realm of possibility. But what can the neuropsych eval do that the school wouldn't be able to give, given thorough testing? When we meet with the SpEd team sometime in the next couple of weeks, would I share with them the possibility that my dd might be seen by a neuropsych?

My husband was at a playground build at the school this weekend and the principal talked to him about the letter of referral I sent to her on Friday and she just shook her head and said that she didn't know why homework was such a problem for our dd. From this brief exchange, it seems to me that even with the SpEd referral we initiated last year, she doesn't understand why we are still pursuing something...anything...for our dd.

CFK - and you can add me to the other list where you have someone with a high IQ (143) and is an underachiever.

I've always suspected that I possess some underlying LD and this underlying but not quite defined or diagnosed issue (attention, auditory processing...) seems to run in my family (my mom, my brother). Because of this, it's important to me that my own dd get the assistance she needs. Not to fulfill what went unfulfilled in myself, but because if there is an issue, which testing shows and which I have suspected since she was a toddler, I want it addressed so my dd won't have to struggle so hard and her self-esteem won't suffer. It already seems to be taking a beating - she cried the other night when doing her homework because she felt she was so slow, "the biggest slow-poke in the world" and she went on to say that I "should abandon (her) for another child who wasn't so slow."

Neato - I can't say homeschooling is an option for us. We can't even get her to do her homework or let us help her so we can't see her doing schoolwork with us either, lol.

Ditto what Dottie says. Plus if you do it privately, you control what info the school has access to.

About the nuero psych. Big sigh....where do I start.
When you are very very very smart, like yourself! I believe you have an incredible ability to compensate for things like learning disability. So the slippery slope is, when is a learning disability really a disability.

Different people have different opinions about this. I always have a hard time because I think both sides have validity.

When a child is expressing the frustration that your child is, I would start the process.
We did so for our DD6. She has not gone to a nueropsych yet, but has had developmental vision testing which uncovered a learning disability that I don't think the school would have ever uncovered.

Plus a neuropsych can give you what you need to compel the school to give your daughter an IEP, if needed.

Upon hearing of DD6's experience, our pediatrician told us L.D.'s are highly hereditary, just like giftedness is.

I see what you are saying about the homeschooling. Again, DD6 is similar. When we homeschooled over the summer, though, her frustration decreased. I think because I could tailor my teaching style to the different way she learns. Once she realized this, the resistance melted away.

Homeschooling will allow you to test her out of material she is already proficient at, which means possibly, less work for her.
My biggest frustration with public school is that both my daughters are required to do work they are already proficient at. DD8's teacher told me: Because everyone else has to do it.
This infuriates me to the core. Remeber that old Hulk show on T.V. when we were kids, Bruce Banner started spinning around and then turned into the hulking green monster with a big roar? Yeahhh, that's how some of those school comments make me feel.

An individualized education plan either at home or school will give your daughter a more realistic education plan, whether at home or school. Hopefully.

A neuropsychologist is an MD and has a medical background with specialization in neurology that goes far beyond the knowledge of your basic school psychologist. You are much more likely to have a 2e child's disabilities recognized by a neuropsych.

Would a neuropsych be able to find things like the Vision Tracking problem and CAPD? Or, would you have to see a neuropsych and then specialists for those other things?

With all due respect, having worked for many, many years with neuropsychologists in the field of brain injury and pediatrics, I need to clarify about the qualifications/training of neuropsychologists.

They are NOT medical doctors. There is a field of medical specialty called neuropsychiatry and that is a medical doctor. But neuropsychologists are psychologists who specialize in brain function and behavior and learning.
(I tried to put in a link to a healthline.com article, but it didn't seem to be working. go to www.healthline.com and search for neuropsychologist, nice definition/description)

It is best to seek a neuropsychologist when you are concerned about organic brain dysfunction, effects of head trauma and/or want to know more about how a person's cognitive function is working (ie: learning disability).

Neuropsychologists are not necessarily educated or trained in finding visual or auditory problems. Some might be out of interest or experience, but it is not something that is typically screened or assessed by a neuropsychologist. For visual problems you are best off seeking a developmental optometrist; for auditory processing you are best off seeking an audiologist who specializes in auditory processing.

My 2 cents based on professional experience as an OT.

Thank you, Debbie and Dottie, for the clarifications.