GATE AND SPECIAL ED

I don’t have experience with a GATE school, per se. My daughter only attends 1 day a week pullout in gifted classroom at this time. She’s been attending since 2nd grade.

I will say that the same services are applicable whether the school is GATE or not - if you’re talking about a public GATE school.

My daughter is going into 5th grade and plans to attend the local GATE school for middle school. Her heart is set on it and I’m not going to tell her she “can’t”.

My daughter is a remediatING dyslexic. The use of technology has been a godsend - that’s where the playing field becomes level for us.

Please email me off line and let me know how it’s going - or at least come back and contribute to the board - when he starts. I’d like to get a heads up on any positive and negatives.

Thanks

My son is dyslexic and has not been allowed the use of technology at this point. What type of technology is your child allowed to use? What has been the godsend that you really think has helped the most? Thank you in advance for your response. At this point my child Hates school and I would like to see if with the use of technology for him, he may learn to accept school and become more motivated.

Well, I think DraftBuilder has been the #1 software (at this point) that we have used that has been the best help. Not only does it have the auditory spellcheck, but it actually has templates that help with writing essays, bookreports, etc. It also has a bibliography help. When I say it was/is a godsend, it is b/c it allowed my daughter to see that she CAN write, even if she isn’t good organizationally, and can’t spell worth a darn!

It’s fairly easy to use and will import (export?) into Word/Word Perfect. It doesn’t catch the homonyms, etc., but I help her with those (by basically saying is that the right “there”) and then she finds her error. There is other, more advanced software, that catches that sort of error and I am hopeful she will receive that in the future. Right now, b/c of cost, I AM her AT!

She also uses a Dana in the classroom which helps organizationally, but doesn’t have the advanced auditory feedback for the spellcheck. BEST part of all this AT is that it is school provided. We are hopeful that the future will bring a Palm/Pocket PC. She may need that as the volume of work increases.

She started out in 2nd grade with an AlphaSmart and Cowriter on the computer. Cowriter was her 1st experience, but became to slow. Another good graphic organizer is Inspiration and you can get a free 30 day trial @ www.inspiration.com. DraftBuilder is from Don Johnston, but no trial for this software.

Hope this helps.

My son has been accepted into a GATE program also. He will enter next year. We have been told that his ADHD will be treated the same as it was in the regular classroom. I don’t see why they would be mutually exclusive (the giftedness and the ADHD) though they can be seeming competing forces at times! Don’t deny him the chance to be with his intellectual equals. He may be able to stay on track MORE if he is able to learn at the pace he is ready for. Let me know how it goes.