how to get your child tested for gifted children

pinkshoes

You should speak to her school and make sure she has enough work to keep her suitably entertained, without making her feel isolated or pushed too hard.

I guess my parents would say I was gifted at maths at a very young age, and my school allowed me to work through maths books several years above my age. Unfortunately I changed primary school aged 8, and the other school was hopeless at coping with someone who was much better at maths than others the same age, and although they let me do more advanced stuff, I ended up having to repeat lots of work, which left me bored, and made me more mischievous!!

squashy

I guess i was gifted at that age. I was reading stephen king at 9 :eek: however by the end of high school i had burnt out, achieved "good" grades but not excellent, i had just lost all interest in academia. I was singled out as a possible oxbridge candidate but i never even ended up going to uni as i just wanted to work not have my head stuck in yet more books.

My DD is showing similar signs but we are trying to still allow her to be a little girl whilst making sure she is still challenged in class. She is testing at level 4b for reading and 4c for writing, in year 3.

Be careful!

misty

Zziggi wrote: »

I understood that children can only be entered into the gifted child register once they are aged 7 or above. Is this correct? Does anyone know? Do they only have certain "rights" to a suitable education once they have been officially put on the register (at age 7 or above)? By this I mean, if the school is not very supportive, once the child is 7 and put on the gifted child register, is the school then obliged to support the child's giftedness by providing suitable work (although you would hope the school would be supportive of a bright child anyway)?

My DD is quite bright and was telling me her schoolwork was boring and she was not being stretched. I was really worried about being seen as a "pushy parent" and I didn't think telling the teachers that DD was bored was a good way to approach the subject. I very tentatively approached the teachers responsible for literacy and numeracy and phrased my enquiry around asking for "advice on how to support DD at home because she wanted to do extra reading, could the school suggest suitable books or activities for me to do with DD at home". The school is the type that jumps at a parent approaching them for advice (in contrast to the overwhelming apathy of the majority of the parents). The literacy & numeracy teachers referred it up to chain to the Head who took an interest in DD and did an informal assessment. This has led to a specific programme of work for DD within the classroom and has moved her up 1 school year for numeracy and 2 school years for literacy. She seems to spend her time moving round different classes. She seems unphased by it although worry about the 'friendship groups' angle of it. The Head is a very hands-on type of person and keeps a regular eye on DD's progress. I have found the school supportive but I realise that this is mainly due to the Head and the fact the Head has taken a keen interest in DD's progress. DD will have to move schools in September and I have already approached the Head of the new school about the situation to see what they plan to do. The new school is very keen on maintaining friendship groups and absolutely won't entertain educating children outside of their age-groups. The Head talked at length about 'differentiation within the classroom'. I am all in favour of keeping DD within her age-group but I am sceptical about the 'differentiation in the classroom'. If she has good and experienced teachers then the differentiation may work. I am sceptical though.

Speak to the class teacher, if no joy and you are convinced your child needs more suitable work, make an appointment to see the Head.

My son is 6 and is on the G&T register for numeracy - so as far as I'm aware there is no age that they go on. However, my son is one of the youngest in his class so maybe - the majority are 7. Maybe it is just when they go into year 2.

Differentiation within the classroom has been a key issue for a long time - and a school absolutely should be geared up to accommodate childrens' needs without moving year group.

ladymarmalade

When i was that age, a few years ago, I had finished all the books in my infant school by the age of 6 and my mum and dad had to buy me books to read in school lol. At that time there wasnt that much for 'above average' children. Myself and two others were taken out the class for our maths and english lessons, but that was about it....i remember being bored a lot at school.

By the time I reached secondary school there was a little more recognition and when I was in year 10 (fouth year) a new scheme called the national acadamy for gifted and talented youths was established at the universtiy of warwick which myself and a few others were put forward for and were successful. I'm not sure how old you have to be for that though.

The best thing I could advise is to make enquiries, but to stretch your daughters mind yourself, my mum and dad were constantly reading with me and doing maths with me etc from a very young age. I used to enjoy watching quiz shows with them and loved it when i learnt new things from them. Also i used to get taken to a lot of museums and places like the galleries of justice and the yorvik centre, I think things like that can really help a young person who is interested in learning to flourish.

exprog

dolphins19:

You could try looking at the MENSA site. It has a section on gifted children that might be of use. Like others have said 'above average' doesn't necessarily mean 'gifted'. Some parents, and the child, get upset when told they are 'only' above average, so you're right, the best thing is to look for a test.

dolphins19

thanx, i might try the mensa site, but i don't want to stretch her its just that in school she has read all the books from the infants and now they are given her easy books and i want her to work at her level, it might be best until she is year 2 when they take all their sats i.e,. she's very happy and we have just strarted reading harry potter. i think schools should do more though!

morganb

She may well have been given 'easy' books to inform her level of writing, grammar, punctuation, etc.

thanksalot

chika wrote: »

Your daughter does indeed sound bright but the reading age of most Roald Dahl books is from approx 5. So although its great that she can read and obviously enjoys it she may not yet be identified as gifted and talented.

I don't agree at all. No 5 year old is going to read Roald Dahl by themselves; they certainly can enjoy the stories.
Reading Roald Dhal by yourself age 6 is quite an achievement.:T
The great thing about children who enjoy reading by themselves is that given the right books they can themselves stimulated and develop their vocabulary and that helps keeping them in the top of the class. Even in maths/science, half of the problems are understanding what the question is.

The problem with testing children is knowing what to do with the result. So I prefer to just enjoy their success and go with the flow.

LillyJ

As someone labelled as "gifted" when I was younger I would urge you to think again before getting her tested. I have found it a great burden. When I was 15 I used to cry to my Mum saying I wanted to be a hairdresser but that people expected me to go into higher education. My Mum said that that was fine and got me leaflets for hairdressing courses, but the expectation was there to perform (from other people, not my parents). I hated it. When I was sitting my GCSEs I used to say "I wish I was thick" which isn't a nice thing to say but that is how I felt at the time. Teachers wouldn't congratulate me for getting As, only A*s, whereas I worked hard for the As!

I was moved up a school year (the school had never done this before) partly because my boredom made me REALLY naughty (I nearly got expelled several times) However this didn't really help after the age of about 8 as I just adjusted to that year group and it was easy and boring again. I stayed in that year until I left school at 17 after my a levels so friendship groups were not an issue. However I was emotionally very mature and very tall for my ages so I slotted in well in the year above.

Please don't go down the MENSA route, I don't agree with intelligence of intelligence sake, it is what you do with it that counts. I was contacted by them to join but I can't think of anything worse than mixing with a load of people who think they are cleverer than the rest of the population.

I was lucky as I was very sporty out outgoing with lots of friends and was in to hair and fashion and make up, whereas some gifted children are a bit more "geeky" and having a label can just make it worse.

There is a big difference between being able to read well and being a good "writer" and being gifted. Gifted children should be spotted at school by their teachers, they normally really stand out, either by being very disruptive or by their work. Often their work is not outstanding as they may not be able to employ their "brain power" well enough.

Please also understand that a label of gifted does not lead to a high level of education or a good job at the end of it. It is up to the child to do that.

By the way I hate reading and don't really think your taste in books is in any way indicative of IQ.

feesh

I second what LillyJ said - I too was labelled as a gifted child. Before that I was very happy just reading what I wanted, but once the label is attached to you it creates an unspoken pressure which can be very negative, even if its not intended to be.

I find it hard to explain, but no matter how careful your parents are about it, other people pick up on it and have high expectations of you which can make you feel like crawling into your shell and hiding from the world.

I was sent of to a selective school at 11 and I became very withdrawn until I was about 15 (when I started going to a youth group with the peers I'd known previously at my village primary school).

I didn't cope well going from being one of the brightest to being more "average" because I was an introvert as well and it was only when I started mixing with my old primary school friends again that the "real" me came back.

Incidentally, those old primary school friends who had "only" gone to the village comp got much better grades than my friends at my selective school. Many of them got straight As at "A"-Level, whereas many people at the selective school did worse because they expected life to be handed to them on a plate.

My cousin's son is incredibly bright and I've been looking for advice for his mum on the internet, as I don't want him to suffer from the same comments and expectations that I did. I can already see the family talking about him being bright in front of him, and I know there are times they talk about him as if he is not there, but he is probably taking it all in.

I have in the process found things out about myself that I never knew were related to being "gifted" - e.g. I suffer quite badly from "sensory overload", can't stand background noise or being touched in certain ways for example.

I know it sounds weird, but having the gifted label can be difficult, the same as any other way of being seen as being "different" in our society. It might be best not to pursue this any more with your daughter, but just be there for her and let her be herself wherever life takes her.