Hypoglycemia and giftedness poll--if your kids have either, come on in!

[LittleIzumi]

This is for science folks :lol: (rather, a general population extension of a poll on a narrower board). I want to see if this correlation keeps up among the entire board!

 

ETA one (of many) definition of giftedness:

The term “gifted and talented”, when used with respect to students, children, or youth, means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.

Edited November 15, 2009 by LittleIzumi

[Heather in the Kootenays]

I don't know how to answer - both my kids and I are top of the class intelligent but I don't think of it as being gifted. We are all hypoglycemic.

[ereks mom]

Dh & I were (are) "gifted" too, and neither of us is hypoglycemic.

[sassenach]

Can you define gifted?

[LittleIzumi]

Let's go with the NCLB definition for now, as gifted is such a nebulous concept generally:

The term “gifted and talentedâ€, when used with respect to students, children, or youth, means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.

[sassenach]

Am I the only one entertained by the fact that 3/4 of the votes (so far) claim giftedness? I think this is a hard question to get an unbiased answer to. The gifted part, not the hypoglycemic part that is.

[kalanamak]

who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.

 

:lol:

 

Isn't one of the common reasons for homeschooling the belief that this applies to all children? It is mine.

[Storm Bay]

Bumping--hopefully we can get more replies.

[Storm Bay]

Am I the only one entertained by the fact that 3/4 of the votes (so far) claim giftedness? I think this is a hard question to get an unbiased answer to. The gifted part, not the hypoglycemic part that is.

 

 

This could be due, in part, to the fact that this poll was first suggested on the AL Forum. It could be due to hypoglycemia being more prevalent in gifted dc, which is what a book suggests (I haven't looked at the link to the book.) It could also be due to people thinking that their dc are gifted when they're not. This is not a scientific poll!

[Luanne]

... not trying to be rude is definitely not gifted.

[Daisy]

My sister is hypoglycemic and ...

... not trying to be rude is definitely not gifted.

 

ROFLOL. This is exactly what I thought about my BIL. :lol:

[LauraGB]

Interesting thought...what made you think of this combination?

[Lovedtodeath]

I voted hypoglycemic and gifted.

 

I think that a lot of homeschooling parents choose to homeschool because of their experiences in schooling as gifted children.

 

If DD has not had enough protein she certainly doesn't act gifted.:tongue_smilie:

[MamaT]

I have six kids who are all very bright, but only one who I would call gifted. He is the reason we began homeschooling way back in 1995. The ps skipped him up a grade, and then the school board office finally told us they had nothing to offer a kid like him (his IQ tested out above 180). We brought him home and haven't looked back.

 

He is not hypoglycemic, but my mother is - and she is not gifted. :001_smile:

[JeneralMom]

Before I answer, I am curious how everyone has come to the conclusion that their child is hypoglycemic. I am not trying to be argumentative, but wondering if it is just a feeling you have, something you see in your child's reaction to food or if you have a medical diagnosis. I have severe hypoglycemia and have had since I was an older child (10 maybe) and spent years having blood tests, visits with endocrinologists, special diets, etc. I have a very high IQ, but gifted was never a term used when I was growing up (at least in the Montreal public and private school system). My second DS is what would be considered gifted (probably all of my kids, but he is the most obvious) and he also has a diagnosis of hypoglycemia.

 

As a geneticist, I find the question interesting because true hypoglycemia is rare in children (post infant period). I wonder if it is on the rise, just like diabetes.

[Amy in NH]

Actually, a friend of mine has a theory about homeschooling moms and giftedness. It seems that all the homeschooling moms she knows were high IQ or in the "gifted program" as children. That could have something to do with the responses to this giftedness poll on a homeschooling board.

[Brooke3193]

Before I answer, I am curious how everyone has come to the conclusion that their child is hypoglycemic. I am not trying to be argumentative, but wondering if it is just a feeling you have, something you see in your child's reaction to food or if you have a medical diagnosis. I have severe hypoglycemia and have had since I was an older child (10 maybe) and spent years having blood tests, visits with endocrinologists, special diets, etc. I have a very high IQ, but gifted was never a term used when I was growing up (at least in the Montreal public and private school system). My second DS is what would be considered gifted (probably all of my kids, but he is the most obvious) and he also has a diagnosis of hypoglycemia.

 

As a geneticist, I find the question interesting because true hypoglycemia is rare in children (post infant period). I wonder if it is on the rise, just like diabetes.

 

 

My dd's ped officially diagnosed her, but said there is no test that can be done to confirm it. His diagnosis was based on her symptoms: major mood swing if she has eaten at all or has not had any protein. So, I guess it's a medical diagnosis based on how I have seen her react to food (or lack of it).

[JeneralMom]

My dd's ped officially diagnosed her, but said there is no test that can be done to confirm it. His diagnosis was based on her symptoms: major mood swing if she has eaten at all or has not had any protein. So, I guess it's a medical diagnosis based on how I have seen her react to food (or lack of it).

 

Yeah it is a real pain (literally)...I had to go in for blood tests (fasting, then 3 hrs later non-fasting) every month for years so they could monitor it. Also, have a glucometer so I can chart blood sugars and see at what level they plummet. I don't do it all anymore because my symptoms are so profound, it is not like I am going to test my sugar as I am passing out.:tongue_smilie:

 

As I re-read my post I realized that it may have come it very clinical and I am actually just really curious how many people has actual diagnoses or self-diagnosis because I am curious if true hypoglycemia in children is as rare as it is claimed to be or if we just have a larger population of hypoglycemic children by virtue of keeping them home for reasons like behaviour, or giftedness, etc. and if those traits are correlated.

 

This was a very timely thread because we are about to embark on a low carb diet to regulate DS4 and my blood sugar rather than the typical "bring it up when it goes down, and then bring it down when it goes up too high after that" rollercoaster.

[Lovedtodeath]

There are different types of hypoglycemia. My mother has the type that was diagnosed, as you describe. Reactive hypoglycemia is harder to diagnose and is usually missed at a typical doctors visit. I used to have a problem with it, but since getting my adrenals treated, not as much. My daughter seems to exhibit the same symptoms that I used to have. I take my family to a Natural Doctor. They do not use the same terms of diagnosis as a Medical Doctor. (They get in trouble with the law if they do.)

[LittleIzumi]

I don't know--I've always been told I had it, that I can remember, and my mom has it too but I never inquired about her diagnosis. I had so many weird medical tests as a kid that I don't remember them all :tongue_smilie:(migraines and bipolar, woohoo). I have to eat small amounts constantly, bring enough dinner/snacks for two people to work, have lots of protein, etc or I "crash" and start shaking very quickly and need to eat immediately.

[Jayne J]

Just popping in here--I am the op of the thread on the AL board. I voted hypoglycemic and gifted, and just to let everyone know exactly how scientific the poll is, I have not had my ds officially tested for either.:D

However, both his father and I fall into the gifted range and were in the gifted progam in school, so we have some experience with giftedness and agree that it is very likely that ds is in that range.

 

As far as hypoglycemia, we have no official diagnoses, just the working knowlege that ds functions much better on diet high in protien and low in sugar/carbs. He is like a completely different child in terms of behavior, focus and temper when properly fed at frequent intervals. He meets many of the criteria for Reactive Hypoglycemia

 

I first ran across the corelation in this book

http://www.amazon.com/Misdiagnosis-Diagnoses-Gifted-Children-Adults/dp/0910707677/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258402055&sr=1-1

in which the author states that gifted children have a higher incidence of reactive hypoglycemia due to the rate that their brains use up glucose.

 

I may be hypoglycemic, (I tend to crash after starchy meals etc.) his father is not at all.

[Elisa]

In Florida, kids have to score 130 or higher on an IQ test to qualify for gifted services -- that puts them in the top 2% in terms of IQ.

[Storm Bay]

Before I answer, I am curious how everyone has come to the conclusion that their child is hypoglycemic. I am not trying to be argumentative, but wondering if it is just a feeling you have, something you see in your child's reaction to food or if you have a medical diagnosis. I have severe hypoglycemia and have had since I was an older child (10 maybe) and spent years having blood tests, visits with endocrinologists, special diets, etc. I have a very high IQ, but gifted was never a term used when I was growing up (at least in the Montreal public and private school system). My second DS is what would be considered gifted (probably all of my kids, but he is the most obvious) and he also has a diagnosis of hypoglycemia.

 

As a geneticist, I find the question interesting because true hypoglycemia is rare in children (post infant period). I wonder if it is on the rise, just like diabetes.

 

These are good questions. I would say in our case, it probably runs in the family although there is no history of diabetes and with good eating habits, there is no problem. There is no question that my middle dd has MAJOR mood swings if her blood sugar gets low. I found out very early, before she was two. She started having a tantrum every single day. When I was talking with another mother, she asked me if there was a certain time dd was having a tantrum, and I realized that it was half an hour before lunch, although at other times, too. I changed our lunch time, made sure meals were done more often, etc, and the tantrums disappeared. However, to this day if she goes too long without eating or doesn't eat enough, she has a total meltdown once her blood sugar hits a low. I don't understand it totally, since she's never been a big breakfast eater and that doesn't bother her, but even she recognizes the symptoms.

 

As for me, there is absolutely no doubt that when my blood sugar gets too low, I get a migraine every time. Not that it's my only migraine trigger. Also, I get hot and shaky. My bil, who is a family physician, is the one who discusses hypoglycemia, not me, since I can pass any fasting test as long as I eat a large enough portion of meat 12 hours before (and take food to eat as soon as it's done so that I don't get a migraine). Given my genetic background, I have a number of quirky things like this (my mother's background is all Icelandic, so the gene pool became rather small during various famines, diseases, etc when they were so isolated) and many of them my mother has, although not the hypoglycemia as far as I know, but we were never one to skip meals, either, and we ate balanced meals. Not everything will show up on a test, either. Sooner or later everyone is going to have symptoms if they don't eat long enough, right? But for some, it happens much sooner than for others, and in our family, we need regular meals with plenty of balanced protein to keep our blood sugar regular. My kids are all lean (I hate the word skinny since I used to be called it in school along with bone-rack and other names I hated) and physically fit.

 

As for giftedness, which someone asked, everyone in my family who has ever been officially tested is in the top 2 percentile or so (my uncle is profoundly gifted, and I don't know that percentile), and usually birth dc have IQ's within a relatively small range of each other. This particular poll is not scientific, and polls in general attract certain participants, and not always the same ones. My sister and I first heard the term when we were in CA for a couple of years and had official tests at the school there. There certainly were no gifted programs in the schools I went to in BC, but I do remember everyone in my grade having IQ tests at some point in grade 6 or 7. There was a special math class for the mathy kids in grade 7, but then we had to go back to what our peers were doing when we went to high school in grade 8, but this was decades ago, so my information is very dated.

Edited November 17, 2009 by Karin

[Dawn in OH]

In Florida, kids have to score 130 or higher on an IQ test to qualify for gifted services -- that puts them in the top 2% in terms of IQ.

 

I'm hypoglycemic. I have no idea if I'm gifted or not. According to the above quote I would have qualified for gifted services.

 

I cast my for for "hypoglycemic and not gifted".

[galtgrl]

I was in gifted programs in ps as a kid, and I think I qualify as hypoglycemic - major mood swings if I don't eat for a while or if I eat too many carbs. I also remember going skiing as a teen and getting shaky and losing my vision bc it'd been a while since I'd eaten and I was excercising - does that sound right as a symptom?

One of my kids is very much the same way, but 2 others don't seem that sensitive to the food thing. They're all gifted.

[rookie]

have hypoglycemia here and smart kids but I do not know if gifted. How is gifted defined?

[LisaDSB]

My kids have tested in the 99.6 and 99.9 percentiles for IQ. The first one is not hypoglycemic, and the second one is (or at least I believe him to be). My husband and I are both high IQ (our Law School Admissions Test scores were sufficient to qualify for Mensa). He is very even-keeled. I, however, have huge mood swings right before meals unless I snack in between.

 

It took me until my second child was a toddler to realize that we both became miserable right before lunchtime (I'm not sure whose tantrums were worse!). That's when I researched and learned about hypoglycemia. When I later read the Misdiagnosis book referred to by another poster, it confirmed in my mind what we were dealing with. We now make sure we eat regular snacks and try to minimize the sugar.

 

I realize this post sounds boastful and I don't normally mention those scores; however, someone earlier on was questioning whether people just "thought" their DC were gifted so I figured I'd throw out the objective evidence, FWIW.

 

Interesting poll -- I wish we could make it truly scientific and get an accurate picture.

[Storm Bay]

I'm hypoglycemic. I have no idea if I'm gifted or not. According to the above quote I would have qualified for gifted services.

 

I cast my for for "hypoglycemic and not gifted".

 

If your IQ is 130 or higher, you are in the gifted range. I don't remember now where the gifted range starts. There are different levels of giftedness, such as moderately gifted, highly gifted, etc (but I've seen more than one way to do that). Sometimes, however, special needs issues can cloud giftedness in other areas (twice gifted some call this). eg a gifted child can be dyslexic.

 

Of course, IQ tests don't measure every form of intelligence.

[Dawn in OH]

Sometimes, however, special needs issues can cloud giftedness in other areas (twice gifted some call this). eg a gifted child can be dyslexic.

 

 

That part I knew. I'm married to "the gifted dyslexic boy".

 

I had no idea that I would have qualified. It was never mentioned during my childhood and I never seemed exceptional in any way, at least not to me.

[Storm Bay]

That part I knew. I'm married to "the gifted dyslexic boy".

 

I had no idea that I would have qualified. It was never mentioned during my childhood and I never seemed exceptional in any way, at least not to me.

 

 

Be thankful that you weren't told, because I was and it was not always to my benefit growing up. It was more important to me to have friends than to do my school work but, my dad's a surgeon, and surgeons are high achievers who tend to like to be the best in their classes so he was never happy if I came home with B's (pretty good if you skip classes, rarely study and don't turn in all of your assignments.) Not everyone who tests gifted is exceptional in their accomplishments, and it is a very large range. Nor do you necessarily feel different. I have three dc, and one hides her giftedness from the world, and that's okay, too. But I wouldn't put myself in the same category as someone who is profoundly gifted (not me, but my uncle is)--there is just as much a jump between 130, 140, 150, 160, etc as there is between 90, 100, 110, etc.

 

I don't remember hearing the classification as much when I moved back to BC, but I did hear it in CA since you had to be to be in the top few percentile in the gifted program.

Edited November 18, 2009 by Karin

[zaichiki]

I'm hypoglycemic. I have no idea if I'm gifted or not. According to the above quote I would have qualified for gifted services.

 

I cast my for for "hypoglycemic and not gifted".

 

There is agreement (in just about every educational setting and scientific study) that IQs at or above 130 fit the definition of "gifted."

 

So, if your IQ is above 130 you can vote gifted.