Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Dysgraphia? PANDAS? Or just gifted and intense?

Don't worry about asking for help from DITD--that's the ENTIRE REASON they exist! Ask for help! Seriously!

How much help can they give? Well, it depends. They can offer advice, put you in touch with experts, write letters, make suggestions about advocacy strategies, etc. If you're thinking about homeschooling, they can ask questions and help you walk through the decision so that you're happy with the decision you make.

It's worth a phone call! Honest! And you can even call to say "I'm not sure what I need from you" and they can help you figure it out.

We pulled our DYS DS7 out of a "good school" (Not NY reputation "good," but still, one of the best in our area) to homeschool. That doesn't mean HSing is the right choice for you, but it does mean that sometimes it's the right call. The flexibility is very nice to have when it comes to HG+ kids, that's for sure. But there are other ways to make it work if you are willing to advocate.

My DYS consultant did warn me that sometimes (not always!) private schools (even private GT schools) can be harder to work with to get the education an HG+ child needs because they have a product to sell--like any business!--and they don't always take kindly to being asked to adapt it. In GT schools, all their kids truly ARE GT! So if they don't recognize asynchronous development and LOGS, it can be a terrible fit for some HG+ kids. Fortunately, many GT schools do recognize these factors, thank goodness, but as always, it all comes down to the individual school and even the individual teacher.

If you are in one of these not-so-good situations for your child, it doesn't matter how "good" the school is. You have to do what's best for your child, whatever that might be.

As for the PSI, I have a child with very similar scores. We do find that it is a "bottleneck" to his learning. That is, it's not really a learning disability, as that PSI score is still above average. But it does affect the way my DS7 learns and the way he must be taught. I often say that he is "deep, but not fast," and frankly, the stereotype of a GT kid is one who is fast. That means not everyone will recognize just how GT your child is. With my son, before we bagan homeschooling, teachers would comment on the fact that he didn't even finish the work they gave him, not realizing that he really needs extra time to do things. I feared that for that reason, grade-skipping or even subject advancement might not work well.

We had a dismal HSing math co-op experience (for 9-12yos) with the mom of an HG+ child who ignored DS7 when he spoke because he wasn't fast. I had to pull him out. OTOH, he is now taking a HSing math class with 9-12yos with a teacher who totally gets him, and is near the top of the class. She told me "He is in the exact right spot." So as I say, the teacher makes all the difference.

So is the PSI a red flag? Not exactly. But it could have a significant effect on how well he can fit into educational situations.

I think of it as having a 10+yo thinker who works at the speed of a normal 7yo. That means in some ways he's going to seem even slower than he is because he has so much in his head to process!

HTH! Keep talking if you need more...

And if you want to discuss the pros and cons of HSing, just say the word. Many of us here have been where you are and we're happy to help people who are considering HSing without pushing. I'm an "emergency HSer" myself, so I don't push it on anyone. Promise!

I agree.

thanks, Kriston-- do you consider your son "2E"?

I'll come back when I want to talk more about homeschooling. I do have concerns-- I'm not sure how it will work for the rest of my family; my son is extremely extroverted so I am afraid it will damage him; also he can be infuriating, and it certainly is not productive to keep him home and yell at him. So I need to be sure I am strong enough to do this...

It's just such a shame that he seems to be losing his passion for learning-- at age 6!

Does anyone know other kids' typing websites? Maybe a site where they are giving a picture and asked to write a story to go with it or something? Some kind of kids' word processing, maybe? We tried the typing website someone suggested earlier, but he didn't understand why he was typing random letters...

My son also has a simlar 'normal processing speed' - PG everything else. I call it a 'Bottleneck' instead of a LD, but in certian circumstances, I did think of his as 2E. Now that he's a fast typist, it doesn't come up, but he gets 'tired and worn out' much much faster than 'seems normal' to me. So maybe that bottleneck is still there.

I would definitly ask on the Davidson email lists if anyone else has experience with PANDAS and join the homeschool list and ask about 'reluctant spouces.'

Sylvia Rimm is one of their consultants who has done phone call consults about the 'triangle dynamics' in families. We aren't a blended family, but with our gifted OEs, we've had plenty of experience with this.

Bronxmom, is your son's bio-father also in the equation?

Love and More Love,
Grinity

Kriston wrote:


I like that explanation!!!!


On the subject of PANDAS. A neighbor's DD developed OCD after having strep a few times in school. I emailed her the info on PANDAS as she has never mentioned that to me.

Grinity wrote:


What do you mean by "he gets tied and worn out?" The psych said something to me about DS mentally fatiguing quickly. His PSI came out at 109. I must say I observed this when I brought him home to HS this year. He has built up stamina though. He had a lot of stamina before going to school so I'm not in his case if this was learned behavior or not.

Welcome aboard!!

You will find if you spend any time here that issues with writing comes up often. Many of us with GT kids notice that the writing skills tend to "lag" behind everything else. When I've questioned my DS6 about it, he claims that his pencil can't keep up with his head. He gets frustrated and quits.
Several people have recommended keyboarding and I wholeheartedly agree. We used a kid friendly program to get started but I'll have to look it up and get back to you, because I can't remember what it was called.

DS12 just seems to 'need' much more time without anything scheduled then I expect. He also hates having'nothing to do. Go figure.

Hi Bronxmom,

We haven't yet had DS7 IQ/Achievement tested -- scheduled for this summer, but we have had a similar experience with Strep, although it's been a year or so since he had it.

He had Strep several times beginning at about age 3. His only symptoms for Strep are: 1) strange behavior -- getting more anxious/upset than normal about unusual things, 2) a headache that lasts for about an hour, 3) a stomach ache that lasts for maybe one meal. That's it. He's had Strep several times, and each time, when the Dr's office would ask his symptoms, they'd balk when I told them, and then I'd insist that we just need to get him tested, and sure enough he'd be positive.

He's a fairly anxious kid to begin with, but the Strep made him REALLY anxious.

PANDAS has never been suggested to us before, although I recall seeing it online when we were going through the rounds of Strep (and the regular antibiotics don't work on my kids either).

His behavior is back to "normal" once the Strep goes away and he doesn't seem to have been permanently changed. We do have the same issue with writing as you're describing, but I've just chalked that up to a lag in that part of development.

Glad to have you in the forum!

Hi Bronxmom, (Wish I had the time to edit this down!)
I have a son with PANDAS. After experiencing seizures with the presence of strep throat, he is now on antibiotics twice a day. He was diagnosed with PANDAS at about 10 years old, although our pediatrician caught it at 4yo as an affect connected with strep. We didn't get to treat it aggressively until later.

Anyway, my son just turned 16. He did have trouble writing and even walking after each seizure, but other than soon after the seizures, he never gave me any attitude or behavior problems.
With the weak tone in his hands, I had him dictate outlines to me, then later he would write the main ideas, and I'd write his more detailed ideas down. Later, the main ideas turned into sentences that he wrote. Eventually, the other details were added at each level of outline.
BTW, I had an IEP for him through PANDAS, to allow this. I'd advise you to do the same for the reading log and journal work. Have him start with just an outline for the journal. Tell him (if the teacher okays this) that you and the teacher made another choice for him to make. He can do it like all of the other students do, or he can work really hard at making an amazing outline with good vocabulary words that you will write for him while he dictates what to write. He'll work hard on it then and see it as an equal alternative. Have him first start with a title, date, then each week or so, hold him accountable to write a little more.

Worksheets that distinguish between good and better writing also are helpful. My son had to simply check the sentence that was better and pick the reason why. He had several objective writing programs he followed. Some fill-in-the-blank. He also did "Editor in Chief" editing programs on the computer.
When he couldn't write, he read a lot to compensate and fill up the time, picking books only from the Great Books list from Adler.

Overall, I think the behavior issues are not related to PANDAS, just based on my one son's experience (which is therefore not valid ).

The main thing isn't to worry about grade level, or grades on a report card, but to consider if he is learning an appropriate amount about writing. If he isn't, then help the teacher find some methods to accommodate. HWT was a handwriting program he did, but I can't say it helped tremendously. When experiencing multiple seizures, each time you kind of go back to square one, and well, the enthusiasm of the program (if there ever was some) wains. It is understandably frustrating to know that you already knew how to do this and went through the program, but still have to go back and redo it again! This is where PANDAS/seizures cause some attitude problems, but I don't believe that it warrants major behavior problems, if the program has been modified appropriately.

BTW, my 16 yo has been attending a state university, and just this past week we found out he was admitted to a private university full-time as a regular student. I say this to let you know that if you stick to it (don't give in and throw writing out of his academics), and get his behavior so he can learn independently, most likely everything else will be okay!