Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Am I crazy for considering this?

I am considering asking for acceleration for DS7 so I've been reading everything I can on the subject. (Thanks for all the links on other similar posts.) The situation is little bit unusual so I'm going to describe it. DS7 is HG and has autism. He is currently in a regular public school, in the gifted 1st grade which does 2nd grade work. Everything is easy for him (except art and PE) and he finishes before the other kids in the class. He will be going to a public school for the gifted next year (it goes from grade 2 to 12) where he will be in 2nd grade doing 3rd grade work. He already does 3rd and 4th grade math at home and reads at least 6th grade level books. So academically, I feel justified requesting an acceleration to 3rd grade in the new school (where he will be doing 4th grade work) but I am hesitating because of his autism. He has had behavior problems recently in school...disrupting the class, shouting out answers, and throwing things...whereas before he would squirm in his seat, yet raise his hand to answer. He gets outside social skills for kids on the spectrum and has a new private OT working on his self regulation of behavior. I THINK (but obviously am not sure) that if he were more challenged in school that some of these outburst-y behaviors might resolve. His current school sees only his disability. We have a meeting set up with his new school in 3 weeks (which I hope will see his abilities since they are a school for the gifted...) and I am thinking about bringing up the acceleration. Am I crazy? Or justified? I guess it won't hurt to bring it up and present an argument. His social skills are poor of course but he actually does better with older kids. I'm seeking opinions please...:) Nan

My first reaction is to agree with you that some of the behavioral problems will subside once your DS is challenged in school, because I know that boredom can be such a huge factor in this type of scenerio.

I guess I agree that it can't hurt to bring it up and state your case, but to be prepared to listen to their reactions.

Can the school/teachers give specific situations of behavioral problems including the trigger that caused them (in which case you can pinpoint whether his behaviors were triggered more frequently in academic situations or social ones)?

Discussing this might help everyone decide together what would be best for your DS.

What do you think has caused this difference in behavior? Is it that something within the classroom has changed? Something at home has changed? Nothing at school has changed which means he's getting tired of not being challenged?

If you think it's because he's sick of not being challenged, I would absolutely pursue an acceleration. From my understanding, although some autism-related behaviors can get better with work, your son will continue to have some less-than-ideal reactions to some situations. So, waiting until his behavior in the classroom is perfect isn't really an option (nor is it for any child, actually). I definitely think lack of challenge can cause any child to behave inappropriately, and engaging his mind on academic matters may well lead to fewer problems with behavior. [Says me, who is, so far unsuccessfully, trying to get her DS's teacher to see lack of challenge as the reason for antsiness and frustration!]

I want to bring up a possibility that is currently occurring with my DS8, with AS. Because he is used to not being challenged, when he is challenged in school his nervous reactions get worse currently. He suddenly has more expectations of how much he has to work in school (new gifted coordinator who rocks, new TSS who wants to help him get ahead), and it is really stressing him to the point where he is having outbursts we haven't seen in a year.

I bring this up not to say that you shouldn't accelerate, but to bring up the point that just because his behavior might not improve immediately and might get worse, it does not mean that you have made a bad decision. I firmly believe that when we come out the other end of this, he will be much better off.

Phroggy, The behvior problems are triggered by art and PE usually...which he has 1st thing in the morning. He had been getting wound up in those classes (along with the rest of the kids in the class) but then unable to wind down (which of course the typical kids in the class can do) and therefore disrupting the regular class. We fine-tuned his behavior plan and so far, so good! (The art and PE teachers give instructions directly to him, use him as the activity demo-boy, and generally keep him close to them while praising him instead of reprimanding him.) Obviously, at the new school we will make sure it is done in a similar way. (Everything is official in his IEP and BIP.)

MNMom, As I said in the reply above, the problem behaviors start in art and PE, but WHY starting now? My opinion is that he has 4 months under his belt of a new social skills group and he is trying out his new skills of saying hi, starting and continuing conversations, etc. They sometimes work, sometimes don't and it is VERY stressful for him. He tells me over and over that "PALS" is so hard, he doesn't like it, and why does he have to do it? PALS stands for pragmatic acquisition of language skills and for him it IS extremely hard, but he's using his new skills out in the real world and I'm so proud! For him, having to josh around in PE and art like the other kids do is hard. Taking tests is what he likes to do best...trying to "wing it" with the kids is so difficult and a major trigger. Nan

These are also the most unstructured part of the day. Be sure that he is not being harassed or set up by other students to get a reaction. This will happen as he gets older. I agree to find out the triggers. he should also be given some type of transition activity to wind down. It is common for many kids.

It sounds like the type of situation that your DS will run into repeatedly, regardless of whether he accelerates, actually.
Very specific and easy to pinpoint (wish it were as easy to prevent the behaviors as it is to identify them sometimes).
I wouldn't think accelerating would exacerbate this particular type of behavior, but that's just my two cents.

Ohhh. Having read this, I think I understand why these behaviors have been surfacing lately. This is still a fairly new skill for him. Could it be that his attempts seem awkward to others and they react in ways that trigger your DS? Have you gotten any feedback from his PE/art teachers about how he's doing socially for the few minutes leading up to his behavioral problems? I'd definitely question this, since it seems likely that there's a particular child or situation that sets him off lately.

Something else you might want to consider, if art and PE are huge triggers for him, is asking for an opt-out for one or both classes. In our county, kids in several of the magnet programs have such full schedules they don't have time for PE. Instead they do it via independent study, or a sign off sheet whereby parents sign 5x a week that yes, Junior exercised for 20 minutes that day. (Outside activities, like youth soccer or little league, also count.) He could have library time during that period instead, which for most spectrum kids has a calming rather than agitating effect.