scrapbookbuzz Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 ...have a special needs kiddo AND a gifted child? I have a 12yo with confirmed Asperger's Syndrome and a 6yo reading at a 3rd grade level and doing math at an almost 2nd grade level! Anyone else on a similar adventure? :001_smile: :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamonaQ Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Well, my special needs kid IS also a gifted kid. He is 2e. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 (edited) My three are quite different from one another. My oldest was a classic highly gifted child- lots of extra intensity & energy, but no LDs. She is now an adult. My other two are both 2E, very bright but with challenges. My son is the one who is most challenged academically & he is also the only one at home now. When my two girls were school age, homelife and school life was sometimes a challenge. Though they are 3 years apart in age, the developmental spread was at times more like 5-6 years, and I had to take that into consideration in my expectations. Edited August 31, 2010 by Tokyomarie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikes mom Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 My son is also "twice exceptional" ~ gifted and learning disability. :) This is why we chose to homeschool him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted September 1, 2010 Author Share Posted September 1, 2010 Hmmm. I'm not sure my dd is 2E but she definitely presents with all the signs of Asperger's pragmatically. My son, even according to his first grade teacher, is "reading at much higher level than the other students." :^) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 I've also got a two-fer: gifted and Asperger's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 My son is also "twice exceptional" ~ gifted and learning disability. :) This is why we chose to homeschool him. Me, too. I think 2E kids get the worst deal in PS: their giftedness allows them to compensate for the LDs just enough that they don't qualify for either set of services, so they end up lost in some subjects, bored silly in others, and generally hating school. :glare: Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikes mom Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Me, too. I think 2E kids get the worst deal in PS: their giftedness allows them to compensate for the LDs just enough that they don't qualify for either set of services, so they end up lost in some subjects, bored silly in others, and generally hating school. :glare: Jackie That was absolutely our experience. He did well enough that the school refused to even test him, and it broke my heart. We pulled him out after 3rd grade, had him privately tested, and I have a son who is so much happier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 I have 2 and 2! I have two children on the autism spectrum (my oldest son and youngest daughter), and two gifted children (my oldest daughter, who started taking college classes at 15, and my youngest son, who is currently working on a 9th grade level at 11). It's an interesting journey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiD Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 ...have a special needs kiddo AND a gifted child? We have quite a mix. Eldest is gifted, but I didn't realize when he was younger. Second child, maybe - accelerated definitely. Third child, 2E, didn't know until he was 10 that he's exceptionally gifted. Fourth child, aspergers. Fifth child, severe dyslexia and other LD's. With sixth child I was finally clued in to manifestations of "giftedness" but he's so extreme, no one could have missed it. Youngest child seems to be following in his footsteps, although I suspect he's more extreme than her. :tongue_smilie: It's overwhelming sometimes, and definitely necessitates a lot of "outside the box" curricular approaches in order to meet everyone's needs. These boards are an excellent source of info and advice. :) :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Me, too. I think 2E kids get the worst deal in PS: their giftedness allows them to compensate for the LDs just enough that they don't qualify for either set of services, so they end up lost in some subjects, bored silly in others, and generally hating school. :glare: Jackie Yes; and bizarrely, our school district would "allow" (in terms of being labeled and qualifying for services) a child to be EITHER gifted, or LD -- not both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 KarenAnne, evidently your school district doesn't know anything about Albert Einstein, among others! Both kids are in ps this fall but we'll see how long that lasts! My Aspie daughter is about 6 months ahead of her math calls since they're doing Saxon 65, of which we got to the middle. But, because we'd "hit a wall" at that point, I'm glad she's getting the review! However, because she's in special education classes, and they're doing their best not to have them have homework, I just wonder how she's *really* doing. DS's teacher has told me that she was going to talk to the "gifted (program) specialist" and see what my son's options are in regards to reading. Talk about completely different challenges! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Well, my special needs kid IS also a gifted kid. He is 2e. :D Me too. Both my kids are gifted (tested by ps). My ds is also ASD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 I just read through the other responses. Our ps didn't allow ds to do gifted program because of his weak areas in spite of having the highest reading level in his grade. I do have a friend who is a special ed coordinator for a nearby school district. She routinely puts Aspies and HFA kids into the gifted program if they qualify. I wish more school districts were like that, but she is what makes her district exceptional. She is who I turn to with questions and has been a great ally in homeschooling too. If we could just clone her and put her in every district! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 Reading about all your 2E kids makes me think I should have dd tested again, at least for IQ or something. The only testing I've requested for her, so far, is for possible Asperger's Syndrome, which was confirmed, and that was done through the school district. What other testing should I ask for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 The school district can't legally give your child a diagnosis of Asperger's. They aren't qualified and it is against the law for them to practice medicine without a license. What the schools typically do is an IQ test, followed possibly by one of the Autism rating scales, test for language delays, and they can test motor skills too. I would find out what they have already done. IQ is pretty much always the first thing they test. Did they tell you any specific test results? I would ask, in writing, for a copy of my child's records. All the test results will be there. Then if you are interested in a diagnosis of Asperger's you should go to a developmental or pediatric psychiatrist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 I have a 12yo 2e (Aspergers/gifted) and a 7yo ADHD/likely dyslexia (also quite bright in her preferred subjects), in addition to two generally bright children. I am tired. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 The school district can't legally give your child a diagnosis of Asperger's. They aren't qualified and it is against the law for them to practice medicine without a license. What the schools typically do is an IQ test, followed possibly by one of the Autism rating scales, test for language delays, and they can test motor skills too. I would find out what they have already done. IQ is pretty much always the first thing they test. Did they tell you any specific test results? I would ask, in writing, for a copy of my child's records. All the test results will be there. Then if you are interested in a diagnosis of Asperger's you should go to a developmental or pediatric psychiatrist. :iagree: Schools are not allowed to diagnose. Ds's private evals included all sorts of IQ and ability testing in addition to other methods. Still, the school(s - we've lived in 2 districts) did their own IQ and ability testing every time we tried to get him an IEP. They're all in his file. The schools always focused on the raw scores, while the private specialists focused on the gaps between subsets. Those gaps SCREAM Asperger's, while the average of the scores put him more in the "bright" category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 I have a 2e child (older one) who presented as somewhat delayed until he was 7. My younger one is gifted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 I hs a HFA kid with delays in skills but a fabulous memory. I also hs a kid who's a math sponge and has started to demand quite a lot of science. To be honest, my brain hurts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted September 3, 2010 Author Share Posted September 3, 2010 Let me clarify. My dd was "assessed", not diagnosed, for Aspergers. I DID get her results in writing, guess I'll have to go review those again. :^) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiD Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 Let me clarify. My dd was "assessed", not diagnosed, for Aspergers. I DID get her results in writing, guess I'll have to go review those again. :^) Are you convinced she has it? It was a psychiatrist who diagnosed our daughter, and she required a neuropsych eval as well. Neurotypical, yet gifted kids can be mistakenly assumed to have Aspergers, particularly if the assessment is done by someone lacking expertise in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 A couple of my Aspies are gifted and also with learning disabilities.. It's quite a puzzle sometimes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted September 3, 2010 Author Share Posted September 3, 2010 The whole reason I had her assessed was because I simply wanted a confirmation of what I already pretty much had figured out AND I wanted to see if she qualified for any therapies or special classes. She did qualify for special education classes and for speech (pragmatic) therapy. I do not have the money to spend on a neuropsych eval (not when it's between that and putting food on the table) nor do I think it's absolutely necessary to have one right now. However, I will keep an open mind about it and perhaps seek one when I feel we need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 Are you convinced she has it? It was a psychiatrist who diagnosed our daughter, and she required a neuropsych eval as well. Neurotypical, yet gifted kids can be mistakenly assumed to have Aspergers, particularly if the assessment is done by someone lacking expertise in that area. We had that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted September 9, 2010 Author Share Posted September 9, 2010 Are you convinced she has it? It was a psychiatrist who diagnosed our daughter, and she required a neuropsych eval as well. Neurotypical, yet gifted kids can be mistakenly assumed to have Aspergers, particularly if the assessment is done by someone lacking expertise in that area. She is definitely not NT, and yes, I am convinced she has Asperger's Syndrome. One of her responses to a situation today was 'dead-on' Aspie: She had accidently bonked her brother in the face with her hand. When I told her to apologize, she said, "Why should I say I'm sorry when I didn't mean to do it?" And there is so much more that meets the Aspie 'requirements'! I am looking into the neuropsych eval. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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