I'm very thankful for WTMF community! I'm seeking wisdom from parents of any 2E kids who have experience with this scenario: 1) DS (or DD) homeschooling through high school to college; 2) highly gifted, loves learning, willing to work hard; 3) but is "low energy" (like many Aspie/ASD), needs plenty of down time alone; 4) considering pursuit of admission to top tier STEM colleges; 5) is very capable of the LEVEL of work that requires, but parents have doubts about ability to handle QUANTITY needed to be a competitive applicant; 6) Christian (student and parents). Ultimate goal is to most glorify God and benefit man, by best use of God's gifts. Specifics - DS finishing 10th grade. 11th grade is "make or break" year if he's going to load up on dual-enrollment, AP, etc. Given 3-4 subjects, he could handle all of them at a high level - math, science, writing, reading, foreign language - literally anything. His only time-consuming extracurriculars are Boy Scouts (starting Eagle project this summer), church service and youth group. He's not a kid with a spectacular "hook". Stellar academics and test scores, his ability to write quality essay answers on apps, and just being a good kid that adults really enjoy are his strengths. DS and I had a conversation about "big fish in small pond" at college, garnering more attention, opportunities, professor relationships, etc., vs. being around more resources and people as smart or smarter than himself at a top-flight place. He wants the latter. Dilemma: he will be happier the next 2 years if we don't press his curriculum too hard, meaning no more than 2 DE or AP classes at a time. I think he'll be happier long term (college and career) if we push him beyond his comfort zone for 2 years. He's not lazy, and doesn't have a traditional learning disability (he can read, write, type, etc. quite quickly); he's just inefficient and has a true neurological need for more down time than most. Our counselor believes DS is on the autism spectrum (though no formal diagnosis), but it's a close call. Any experience to share? Wish you had pushed a little more or less? Did he/she land in a college that is/was too easy or too challenging? If you did push, what effect did it have on your home? And one more thing - did you have DS/DD report to Student Services on campus for any "disability" assistance? We're starting to feel like we're obsessing/idolizing these issues. Once 11th grade starts, we won't have much room to course-correct.

We just got my almost 7 year old evaluated and he is on the autism spectrum. I'm so glad to find this out and have a diagnosis! I am wondering how to proceed with the math though. He is very smart and has already memorized all addition facts, subtraction and multiplication facts, he is working on division right now, but I expect by the end of next week they will be mastered too. He doesn't really like manipulatives he just gets numbers and only uses helps like the abacus/cubes if he has to. Up till now we have been using Abeka math he likes how varied it is and the colors, but it is moving too slow for him in some areas like the facts, but in other areas he still needs to learn like time and such. We skipped ahead about 30 lessons and I expect to skip more next week as he picks up new stuff pretty quick and retains it once gone over spiraly a few times times. I tried math mammoth but he DID NOT like those books which is too bad because I really think they would fit his learning style perfectly. He wants more activities but I'm at a loss as how to teach that way with him since he never really likes it because "it takes too long". I tried MEP but again he doesn't like activities because it takes longer, in his mind, even though he says he want more than just books. I've thought about CLE since I hear you can move through it quickly easier? I'm ok with sticking to Abeka too since it does work for him we just have to skip a lot of lessons occasionally. He gets bored with it but he also likes it so we just have to balance things and tweak it. So my question is how do you teach a kid like that? A kid who gets bored and throws a fit if it's too easy, but if it's too hard we have the same problem?