My son is in the 6th grade and he has been diagnosed as dyslexic and a nonverbal learning disorder. I was able to find a wonderful LD summer program after first grade that allowed him to get up to grade level in reading in a very short time. At this point, he still struggles with writing which is labor intensive but if a teacher takes the time to explain what needs to be changed in his writing he is quick to correct. His biggest problem is test taking and giving back the information he has learned. He is a very literal thinker and (you know “if you say someone is in a jam” he will picture someone in jam) When I have been sent tests home that he has done poorly on, I have found that he had the knowledge but misinterpreted the question. He has had problems with word recall since he was very little but has amazing compensation skills (if he can’t remember the word “chair” he will talk around it and describe it) however, it still can make it difficult to understand what he is talking about. I truly believe he knows the information - for example, in kindergarten if you provided him the alphabet and pointed to letter and asked him to tell you the letter he would get 11 out of 26 right. If you asked him to point to an “C” etc., he would get them all right - upper and lower case. When he was tested in first grade by an LD specialist I was told he was definitely have big problems with spacial perceptions, reading and writing but in areas of scientific and logic analysis he was in the superior range and on some tests scored at the high school level. How do I tap into these strengths? He has three siblings (non-ld) that are in gifted programs in school and he has been unable to pass the standardized test to get into the program. I personally feel that the test is not a fair estimate of his potential. I know the writing in a gifted program would be a struggle and so would the test taking but I feel could certainly understand the material - does that make sense? Anyways, any suggestions on how to deal with his very hurt ego and how to get him the curriculum that is best for him. Is home school the way to go? thanks for the ear.
Re: What do you do with gifted/LD?
Of course, it depends on the child and the school, but most of the research into teaching gt/ld children suggests that gifted programming is a better choice than regular ed. For these children, it is critically important to emphasize their gifts over their disabilities. Often this means that child should be given access to the gifted curriculum but that the burden of production should be reduced. For example, the child might only be required to complete every other question on a homework assignment or might be permitted to take tests orally rather than in writing. The ideal setting is one specifically designed for gifted children who have learning disabilities, but that is only available in a few places.
Andrea
Re: What do you do with gifted/LD?
My child has Asperger’s and is highly gifted. She does well on standardized tests but can’t do non-ficiton writing. Her IEP calls for no homework except for math and no non-fiction writing without a trained teacher giving her one on one help. She is entering the 8th grade. Some of her gifted classes were just more work and worse than the regular classes, and some were truly differentiated learning. She is making progress on writing due to private tutoring but I would not let this be the only reason she is not in gifted classes. She needs to learn at the high level—she feels terrible to be in a class where the kids just don’t “get” the material. she learns orally and from doing stuff—the biggest problem has been the teachers haven’t figured out how to grade her—some emphaize projects, which she has a hard time with—and give no tests. I have worked with her on standing up to the teachers who keep saying “just try harder” and “do your best” and to know her own IEP so that she can advocate for herself and know what she is and is not responsible for doing. She likes the challenge and loves to learn—just don’t ask her to write a paragraph on the meaning of something.
Re: What do you do with gifted/LD?
We found areas outside of school for our son to shine.
There are many of these types of programs. The one
in our area is called Destination Imagination
http://www.destinationimagination.org/
It is a creative problem solving program and lasts
from October to May, depending on how far you
go.
It is set up to challenge all children and allow them
to shine in the area of their gifts.
My daughter wrote and acted, my sons built things
and wired stuff up. Other children on the team worked
in their specialty - wrote original music, painted, sang,
organized.
It takes a HUGE commitment from the people that run
the program but we have seen miracles worked and do
believe we saved some lives.
I have coached for five years and am gathering
stuff together for our sixth year.
There are lots of these types of programs out there,
also sports, scouting, I showed horses, training dogs
to compete in obdience, art, plays, dance - where
ever your gift lies. You just walk taller when you know
you shine at something.
Anne
Re: What do you do with gifted/LD?
Of course that would be the best of all worlds. But from what I’ve seen, few gifted programs make adequate modifications and accomodations to meet the needs of NLD kids. Heck, most general ed classrooms get them stressed out.
Karen
Re: What do you do with gifted/LD?
Thank you for all the responses. You have reinforced a lot of the things that I have felt to be right but I start doubting myself when he is standing in front of me in tears. We have emphasized with him that not being a gifted program does not make him less valuable or less talented or less intelligent -it only means there was a test he didn’t score high enough on. We have also emphasized that the gifted may simply not be the right place for him. I just haven’t found his niche yet. When he first was struggling in kindergarten we would have him make dinner with us because he got a great sense of accomplishment by being the one that made dinner. I am always asking him what he is most interested in so we can get a class outside of school and he has stated computers so I am trying to find something more in depth because he wants to know how the computer works.
Thank you again
Re: What do you do with gifted/LD?
There is a gifted-special list that individual can join and share concerns and success with twice exceptional kids.
http://www.gtworld.org/gtspeclist.html
Helen
Re: What do you do with gifted/LD?
Gosh can I relate to this thread:-) I have two gifted lder’s. Both are dysgraphic. Written word was impossible,and the gifted program in the public schools was very much about pace,and not subject matter,or at least it seemed this way to me. The very best thing I did for my two was to pull them out and place them in a specialized school for gifted lder’s. The way the curriculum works is self pacing. The curriculum is as high as the highest student in the class,and as low as the lowest student in the class. My oldest is on a third to fourth grade math,(which is a BIG step,being that he was in 2nd grade level last year)but he is doing college level reading and high school level science. Depending on where the kid is is where the kid learns. To me this is the very best way to educate a gifted lder.
Wizkids.com is also a very good web site for a kid like yours.
LD/gifted classroom w/accom
I have a gifted/LD daughter wiyh global LD’s. She attends (and thrives) in the gifted classroom. She has accommodations - use of word processor - and is doing very well. The teacher has other students read to her if she gets stuck. She has a wonderful self esteem and likes the gifted classroom better than regular ed.
Hi Christine,
While you are right that many of our NLD kids have the IQ to be able to handle the work in a gifted program, I would be very cautious about putting an NLD child in one, no matter how high their IQ was. While I truly believe that our NLD kids can learn pretty much anything they set their minds to, they can’t always do it at the speed of an NT child.
Everything in the life of an NLD child is hard work for them. One of the biggest dangers with NLD children is that they will develop secondary emotional complications that are far more debilitating than the NLD itself. Stress and pressure are their worst enemies.
The problem with most “gifted” programs is that rather than a meaningful increase in the depth of the learning, they simply increase the speed at which it is crammed into the children, and the homework load. Neither of these practices promote good learning or a good environment for an NLD kiddo.
I’m not sure what to say about your child’s ego issues about not being in the gisted program. I can tell you what I’d do if they were my kids, though. I would de-emphasize the “specialness” of being in a gifted program. I’d tell all my children that there are many ways to be smart, and that in our family we address the specific needs of each person. Some programs would be beneficial to one person, adn not necessarily to another. The gifted program is simply the program that is “best” for the other two. Finally, I would find some activity or area of learning that particularly appeals to the NLD child, and in which he can experience a feeling of competence. Then I would enroll just him in that program so that he feels there is something that is “just” for him too.
You’ll always get some signs of envy among siblings, though, no matter what you do. My older one has had an ed plan since Kindergarten, and at times has had OT, keyboard training and tutoring. My younger one has complained that the older one got to do all the “fun stuff”!
Karen