Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment New to this and would love help

My dd took the WISC IV (age 7yrs, 9 mos) and got a 156 full scale. Please pardon my ignorance, but I am new to this. Is this her iq? If so, what can I do to assist her and facilitate her learning? She has been extremely bored at school since k and I really want her to feel challenged.

Yes, this is her IQ. It's very, very high and with this score, she is probably the best student in her entire school and would probably be in the top 2% in the school like Harvard and the ilk as well.

Welcome Success!
Yep! 156 is her IQ, and (assuming they didn't do extentended scoring) and that on a test that is designed to go to 160 as a maximum. The IQ numbers don't really measure 'how smart is the kid' it's more, how unusual is it for a child to be able to answer the questions she can answer. In your case it's really unusual. This should set your mind at ease about the schools - it's not that they are doing anything terribly wrong, it's that your daughter has learning needs that they just don't run into very often. Or ever.

You might remember scores like 170 or 220 from 15 years ago, but there has been a big push to get rid of those sorts of numbers in the 'modern tests.'

My advice:
1) Apply to Davidson Young Scholar Program
2) Read '5 levels of Giftedness' by Deb Ruf
3) Read through some of the posts here
4) Read through Hoagiesgifted.org
5) Join your state gifted association
6) Post here about what you've read and what you think of it, what you've tried to do to help your daughter and how that went, and what you think she might like to learn.
7) Seriously consider homeschooling.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

Thank you so much for your answers. There was no extended scoring. I will apply to the Young Scholars program...what are some of the most important benefits of joining? To be honest, I knew my dd loved to learn and found it easy, but I am surprised at her score. This does explain some of her behavior and interests. Homeschooling??? I feel completely unqualified and would ruin her! Can she be ok in an excellent private (just got accepted and will attend next year)?

My kids are not DYS, so hopefully some of the parents whose kids are will chime in with info, but I would absolutely apply in your instance. I have one dd who is HG, but not PG and another who maybe PG, but is so erratic that it is hard to tell. If your dd does stay in public school, they will help you with advocacy and working with the school. Even if you don't wind up needing that, there is a great deal of support from having other families with whom to commiserate and draw ideas from.

In re to the private school, what do they have to offer her? Can they grade skip her, subject accelerate, provide individual work? Even my older dd, who is HG, was far beyond the level of the other kids in her GT class. She has done well with a single grade skip and was subject accelerated in the past prior to skipping. I'd expect that your dd, like others have said, will be the most able child even in the private school. I wouldn't expect her to have intellectual peers in her grade, so they are going to have to provide more than the standard fare for her. Give it a shot, though! It may work out depending on how flexible they are.

In re to homeschooling, no you won't ruin her! You are also probably quite bright if your dd is that bright. She is your biological child, right ;-)? Brain wiring is somewhat heritable. While she may be more able than you by somewhat, I'd bet that you are pretty able yourself and certainly more able than most of the teachers she will have in school. Why couldn't you teach her? Sure, you'd have to figure out what she's supposed to know at different ages, but with kids this bright, even if you don't do it perfectly, they are still going to be ahead. That seems to be why a lot of the public schools aren't doing much for the most able kids -- they'll still be at least at grade level even if they aren't taught much of anything.

As her mom, you care a lot more than anyone else will. You will find a way to make it work if you do wind up going the homeschool route & there are a lot of resources out there! I got from our local district a few years back a copy of the grade level expectations for various grades. They cost me something like $5 and were bound together in little booklets for grades K-3, 4-6, etc.

Hoagies Gifted - one of the best places to read and read, and then read again. I have often gone back to review...

Also google for SENG emotional gifted support resources and such.

DYS also has some resources of course.

In all the resources, take notice of some of the differences for girls vs. boys esp. re: what happens to them when they get older, how they may perceive things, etc.

You're probably gifted also. Look into Adult Giftedness. It may enlighten you about your own life. This seems to happen to many parents.

I don't Homeschool but some states are providing free homeschool online and a computer. I think this may be a good way to hit those state guidelines. After she buzzes thru those she could have more time to pursue more indivual interest.

Hi and Welcome! Those are great scores! It can be so overwhelming when you get those results, yet it's good news that you can now get to work to get your DD what she needs.

You have found, IMO, one of the best places to belong if you have a gifted child. There is not only tons of "insider" information, there is a lot of emotional support here. This is truly a place where you can discuss things that you can't discuss anywhere else.

I also wanted to say that the daughter you knew before you got the test results is the same daughter you have now. You know her better than anyone else and the test results haven't changed who she is and what she needs. They have just quanitified her abilities in a way that will help you communicate about her academic needs. You already have personally been giving her exactly what she needs, even if school hasn't.

You do have a lot of decisions to make, but don't panic. Read all you can. I, too, am a big fan of Dr. Ruf's book and the Hoagies site. There are also a ton of recommended books on the Hoagies site. Apply to DYS. And schedule a meeting with your DD's school, the current one since there are still several months of school left, and the one for next year. Schools come with a lot of different attitudes and policies and you may or may not get what you need. But it's certainly worth a try to see if you can work with the schools to see what you can come up with to make your DD's education an appropriate one for her. And, if you don't like what the schools can do for you or if you just decide that homeschooling would be better, have faith that you can do it at least as well as the schools can.

Welcome to the ride!

I have been thinking about applying to the DYS program, but am not clear on what the benefits are. Can anyone help me understand the program better?

On another note, my dd can be HIGHLY sensitive. Whether it's world issues or a boy who acts badly in her class, she becomes fixated on the situation. Is this normal?

Oh, yes, very common and normal in gifted kids, more so in those HG++.

Did you look at the description of the DYS program? There is a list of benefits in there. One of them would be to have a family consultant that would help you understand things like the one you mention, provide you with resources and articles to read, etc.

Have you had your DC tested?