Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Is this a 2E profile?

I'm just coming back to this thread now. I'm so frustrated. They say my daughter is fine. They will not put her in the gifted program because they say gifted kids have to have a 138 to 150 on the OLSAT (she had a 118) and they say she doesn't have any disabilities either so does not qualify for any accomodations, and she is performing at least average which is fine with them. They won't even give me an answer about pre-algebra. I don't even know what to do next!

We are in a similar situation and have opted for at-home enrichment. In our case, the gifted program at school is hardly worth fighting for.

Have you looked into EPGY or CTY programs that she can do at home during the summer?

Hi Cathy,

She doesn't really need more schoolwork during the summer...the problem is that, when she is in school, she isn't always grouped with the kids that are "her people" so to speak. One time the teacher set up a special math group on the back of the classroom and she wasn't in it, and she was so frustrated because she was sitting with other kids who kept asking her questions and she couldn't even concentrate on what she was doing. (And...she was depressed about it because she felt like she was grouped with the "dumb kids"...sorry if that sounds harsh but they were her words at the time.) And...during school, she is always researching different things and writing reports on them "for fun" and writes huge novels on the computer.

Summer is less of an issue because it's not like she is watching kids do things that she wants to (and can) do. My son did do CTY for a few years and thought it was okay, but also wasn't the type of kid who thrived on doing schoolwork all day. He just wanted to be with the smart kids in school...and interestingly, his profile is almost identical to hers but with a stronger processing speed, yet he was put in the gifted program and also in pre-algebra. The difference? He was a behavior problem as a kid and so meetings were called by the school and a 504 was developed to help him "control his frustration". She is a good kid with no behavior problems. (And he is a junior in high school now with no issues, no more 504 (as it did its job when it was needed), in all advanced classes, and president of the senior class next year.)

P.S. Our gifted program is no great shakes either...in fact, if you are in it in middle school, you have to take it in place of electives like cooking and art. Even if she opts out, I did want her identified for the future...but I was actually more concerned about any accommodations she might need which would become more apparent as she got older.

That sounds frustrating! What if you approach the teacher next year and ask for her to try the more advanced math group. If she does well, that may help you advocate for her to be formally identified...

If you find an approach that works, I'd love to hear about it. We have pretty much given up on getting DD formally identified by the school. The psychologist who tested her says she is gifted, she qualified for CTY and EPGY online... and yet, her CogAT scores did not meet the school's requirements and they won't consider outside testing.

oh that's idiotic CathyA! The CoGAT is meant as a screener...it's stated on their website!

Thanks, Dazey -- I agree.

I have noticed this too. We were told my daughter would be "just fine" in a regular classroom, despite various issues raised by her test scores. She has always been a very compliant, agreeable girl. (Her goal next year is to win the school "Eager Student" award, which is all about behavior.) In the past I have told her that she's not allowed to say she's bored in school, that she has to find a way to make assignments interesting rather than complain. But what I'm learning in this process of being denied accommodation is that the "good" kids don't get anything. Do the schools want us to coach our kids into problem behavior? Because it sure feels like that's the only way to get any differentiation.

I'm reading this thread with a lot of interest. I have been struggling to explain my DD to her teachers, to TAG staff, to principals.... She is a well behaved, "absent minded professor" type who's learning style is completely non-linear. She leaves a trail of belongings behind her wherever she goes, and has a desk stuffed with papers and important notes from 3 months ago. Thank goodness my DS is at the same school and carries all the school notes home in his Friday Folder ! In an educational climate that seems to "doubt" giftedness in the first place, advocating for a child like this is a challenge. I won't list all the reasons that I'm confident in my assessment of her. Let's just say she has been clearly showing us who she is ever since she began to use speech (and in some ways, before that....). As to getting her needs met in school: Well, I'm told that she has "plenty of learning peers", but then I listen to her talk about how slowly everyone reads and how no one wants to "go deep" in books. Typically she finishes an assigned book on day one, then loses interest in it while waiting for everyone else to finish it (by which time she's moved on to other books). She is easily bored and distracted by math workbooks, so is slow to complete work--and some of the computation errors she makes: yikes! Give her the opportunity to solve it in her head or talk about it though, and she shines! Show her the problem she missed and she will quickly (and independently) catch the mistake and probably laugh at it. But next to organized, linear, outspoken achievers she often feels invisible.

For me, one of the hardest parts is the way in which the response I get in school makes me question what I know to be true about my DD. Thank goodness that she has learned to focus in controlled testing situations, and is finally beginning to accumulate some hard data to back up what I've been saying. I wanted to pass along links for a couple of articles I found awhile back. They didn't necessarily help me get what I needed for her, but they helped me to frame my arguments to the school and provided corroboration for my perceptions--something we all need now and again! Yes?
One of them is on the Davidson site, so maybe everyone's already read it.

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10171.aspx

http://www.sengifted.org/articles_social/Reis_SocialAndEmotionalIssuesFacedByGiftedGirls.shtml

http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/newsletter/spring00/sprng005.html

Taminy