Tell me about your very gifted child with afhd and give me strategies for high school

[Anonymous]

My child is in elementary and is very gifted (FSIQ 155)

The child has adhd and what I'm seeing in middle school is though the child understands the material there are a lot of careless errors and it is affecting the grades bc school seems to be about perfection and accuracy.

Thoughts on how to help this child. I worry high school will be worse.

I am ok with low grades when learning but it is hard that most of the lower grades are due to executive functioning.

Any suggestions welcome.

[Anonymous]

Op here I mean I am worried about middle next year

[Anonymous]

Does your child have an IEP or a 504 plan? If not, start there.

[Anonymous]

Take it to the AAP channel.

[Anonymous]

How does your child feel about their grades? That's a good place to start when trying to figure out a way to help them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here I mean I am worried about middle next year

Have you considered medication?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your child have an IEP or a 504 plan? If not, start there.

What accommodations would help with rushing and making careless mistakes?

[Anonymous]

Look at StudyPro in McLean now before he hits high school

[Anonymous]

Do they have a formal diagnosis? If not, you must get one. Once you have one, you can, if everyone is OK with it, start on a low dose stimulant, and watch out for side effects. Do they need extended time? You can get that by asking the school for a 504 (you won't get an IEP unless there are learning disabilities or other issues).

Concurrently, you need to teach them strategies to re-read the questions, double check their answers, use a planner to avoid forgetting to turn in assignments, and remember to hit submit when completing assignments - all things that ADHD kids do in secondary school that impacts their grades...

My gifted kid is in 10th grade and AP Calc BC. The only mistakes she makes in math are inattention mistakes. She's always had a low A in all her math classes for years, because she can't help mixing up + and - signs, or suddenly writing down that 2+3=6 (mistook + for x). Her vision is checked every year. Does she get derivatives and integrals and such? Yeah, no prob. Drives me crazy. We're not medicating her.

[Anonymous]

Medication was life changing for my kid like this.

[Anonymous]

A lot of kids do this. You are not alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child have an IEP or a 504 plan? If not, start there.

What accommodations would help with rushing and making careless mistakes?

Being allotted more time for test-taking

[Anonymous]

Consider medication and a 504 plan. For kids diagnosed with ADHD, my kids ped generally recommends starting medication in time for middle school.

[Anonymous]

Get an IEP/504 for more time, early morning exercise can help with focus, but in the end your kid will have to develop their own coping mechanisms for dealing with the executive function issues. Over time most do learn to cope and adapt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Medication was life changing for my kid like this.

Same with mine. I hate to think where he’d be without it. He’s in college now and no longer needs it because he went to a very structured high school with high standards. Worth every penny I didn’t have!