Private evaluation for giftedness?

[Anonymous]

WISPPI or WISC test

google for providers

you will need it as a basis to get anywhere with the school anyway so be proactive and get one.

[Anonymous]

Op, I'm sorry you've had such a hard time on this question. Please have an independent neuropsych eval done. I recommend strixruid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My kid does have issues, just not issues that a person can expect a school system to solve. The ignorance posted here is so astonishing that I guess I am in the wrong spot for advice. Yes, there are parents out there who get off on having their kid stamped with the gifted label, and they do all families with gifted children a disservice by fueling that ridiculous shaming that the parents of gifted children get. I don't even know if I am one of them, but the fact that you can't even use the word "gifted" without people attacking you just shows how misunderstood it is.

So long as people think that giftedness is just about being smart, and that as long as the kid is getting good grades there is no problem, this population of children will continue to suffer the consequences. They typically display a constellation of emotional and behavioral issues that can turn very negative if not understood and supported appropriately. They are special needs and should be treated as such. It's BS that people think that good grades are all there is to a whole, healthy child.

Not one person could list a private person or company to go to for an evaluation. None of you answered the actual question; you just used the opportunity to post your irrelevant opinions. Moving on to a more informed and less hostile list serve, thanks for nothing.

OP, I'm sorry for every child that is suffering. But I think you are reaching here. Really, really reaching. Every child has issues and every child has emotional and behavioral challenges. EVERY SINGLE FUCKING CHILD IN THE UNIVERSE. Your child is not "special needs" because his or her behavior is sometimes challenging. There are kids on this forum who can't go out in public without being stared at. Who can't walk. Talk. Sit up. Eat. Swallow. Go the the bathroom.

Really, I think you need to get real with yourself.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My kid does have issues, just not issues that a person can expect a school system to solve. The ignorance posted here is so astonishing that I guess I am in the wrong spot for advice. Yes, there are parents out there who get off on having their kid stamped with the gifted label, and they do all families with gifted children a disservice by fueling that ridiculous shaming that the parents of gifted children get. I don't even know if I am one of them, but the fact that you can't even use the word "gifted" without people attacking you just shows how misunderstood it is.

So long as people think that giftedness is just about being smart, and that as long as the kid is getting good grades there is no problem, this population of children will continue to suffer the consequences. They typically display a constellation of emotional and behavioral issues that can turn very negative if not understood and supported appropriately. They are special needs and should be treated as such. It's BS that people think that good grades are all there is to a whole, healthy child.

Not one person could list a private person or company to go to for an evaluation. None of you answered the actual question; you just used the opportunity to post your irrelevant opinions. Moving on to a more informed and less hostile list serve, thanks for nothing.

So you actually admit your kid has no other issues apart from grappling with her giftedness?

I am sorry, but that's pretty ridiculous. According to you being fat, or having a poor fashion sense is SN. Also being young and beautiful Becauae that being its own issues. every person of every age needs to grapple with their own situation, but that doesn't make them SN.

[Anonymous]

What if the kid is young, rich, beautiful, thin, and has a super high IQ? Oh the burden!!!

[Anonymous]

It is precisely due to the tone of the answers here that I have stopped contributing to this board. People like to say how supportive the Special Needs Forum is, but in this last year, it had taken a harder and harsher tone. It has become very clear that unless your kid has ASD, there is no room for you here. You might luck out if you ask a simple question about providers or are just seeking initial feedback, so people might be nice to you.

I have a nephew with fairly severe ASD. But I also have a kid who is GTLD and frankly I no longer feel welcome here. This is not a place for me to discuss my concerns and worries because there is a group of people on here who will dismiss those thoughts because my child is not as severely affected by his learning disabilities as their child. I can't possibly understand how bad things can be. Isn't he (we) lucky? Please tell me that when he tells me again that he wants to kill himself, because no one gets him.

The snark here is almost - not quite - but almost as bad as the rest of these boards.

OP: Not in NoVA, but Rich Weinfeld and Dietzel and Butler, both in Maryland do very good and thorough neuropsych testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is precisely due to the tone of the answers here that I have stopped contributing to this board. People like to say how supportive the Special Needs Forum is, but in this last year, it had taken a harder and harsher tone. It has become very clear that unless your kid has ASD, there is no room for you here. You might luck out if you ask a simple question about providers or are just seeking initial feedback, so people might be nice to you.

I have a nephew with fairly severe ASD. But I also have a kid who is GTLD and frankly I no longer feel welcome here. This is not a place for me to discuss my concerns and worries because there is a group of people on here who will dismiss those thoughts because my child is not as severely affected by his learning disabilities as their child. I can't possibly understand how bad things can be. Isn't he (we) lucky? Please tell me that when he tells me again that he wants to kill himself, because no one gets him.

The snark here is almost - not quite - but almost as bad as the rest of these boards.

OP: Not in NoVA, but Rich Weinfeld and Dietzel and Butler, both in Maryland do very good and thorough neuropsych testing.

GTLD is quite different from what is being discussed by OP. A child severely affected by learning disabilities is special needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is precisely due to the tone of the answers here that I have stopped contributing to this board. People like to say how supportive the Special Needs Forum is, but in this last year, it had taken a harder and harsher tone. It has become very clear that unless your kid has ASD, there is no room for you here. You might luck out if you ask a simple question about providers or are just seeking initial feedback, so people might be nice to you.

I have a nephew with fairly severe ASD. But I also have a kid who is GTLD and frankly I no longer feel welcome here. This is not a place for me to discuss my concerns and worries because there is a group of people on here who will dismiss those thoughts because my child is not as severely affected by his learning disabilities as their child. I can't possibly understand how bad things can be. Isn't he (we) lucky? Please tell me that when he tells me again that he wants to kill himself, because no one gets him.

The snark here is almost - not quite - but almost as bad as the rest of these boards.

OP: Not in NoVA, but Rich Weinfeld and Dietzel and Butler, both in Maryland do very good and thorough neuropsych testing.

First of all, there are plenty of parents who come here whose kids are GTLD. That is not OP -- OP's child has no LD. OP has a bright child who is doing well in school. She wants to quantify his brightness. There is no SN there. None.

And as the parent of a child with an ASD (who also happens to be gifted) I think you are absolutely wrong about that. I have seen very supportive comments to posts about medical issues, mood disorders, behavior problems, other developmental disorders, I could go on. In fact, the nastiest posts seem to be directed at those of us who have children with ASDs, questioning the diagnosis, berating us if our child has behavior problems.

[Anonymous]

Wow. Folks are really out of line here. OP, I would recommend the Stixrud Group. Get a complete evaluation to be able to get a full view. I think it really is considered the best place to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Folks are really out of line here. OP, I would recommend the Stixrud Group. Get a complete evaluation to be able to get a full view. I think it really is considered the best place to go.

A full neuropsych evaluation at Stixrud costs ~$3500 and they don't take insurance. Not sure why someone would spend that kind of money to evaluate a child who has no issues and does fine at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP- giftedness can cause, contribute, or simply coexist with other issues.

An IQ test can yield some good information- even it turns out that your DC is not gifted. I think a new WISC is (or will soon be) available.

I would also recommend an achievement test (maybe the Woodcock Johnson Achievement) along with an IQ test. It will give some insight on how well your DC is performing relative to IQ.

Susan Hammond at stixrud specializes in gifted kids.
Stixrud is in silver spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The issues have nothing to do with her school performance. I just want to find a professional who can evaluate her and confirm or rule out this possibility. Thanks.

It's not like having blue eyes or a hitchhiker's thumb. Your child's personality is based on an innumerable number of factors. Measurements of intelligence are rough at best. Even for kids who are "gifted," there's no prescribed way of doing things. They all have different issues, just like non-gifted kids. If you think you might respond differently to your child if you knew s/he was gifted, try responding that way and see if it helps. If it doesn't help, try something else.

I feel like you maybe want the satisfaction of the "gifted" title. That's the only reason why you really need a private IQ/gifted eval if you're not concerned with academic services. If your child has psychological issues, you should have him seen by a professional, but there's no need for a "gifted" agenda. Just describe the issues and see what the person recommends.

[Anonymous]

Hello,

Rich Weinfeld's group does testing in NoVa as well.

[Anonymous]

OP is long gone, the thread can die now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is precisely due to the tone of the answers here that I have stopped contributing to this board. People like to say how supportive the Special Needs Forum is, but in this last year, it had taken a harder and harsher tone. It has become very clear that unless your kid has ASD, there is no room for you here. You might luck out if you ask a simple question about providers or are just seeking initial feedback, so people might be nice to you.

I have a nephew with fairly severe ASD. But I also have a kid who is GTLD and frankly I no longer feel welcome here. This is not a place for me to discuss my concerns and worries because there is a group of people on here who will dismiss those thoughts because my child is not as severely affected by his learning disabilities as their child. I can't possibly understand how bad things can be. Isn't he (we) lucky? Please tell me that when he tells me again that he wants to kill himself, because no one gets him.

The snark here is almost - not quite - but almost as bad as the rest of these boards.

OP: Not in NoVA, but Rich Weinfeld and Dietzel and Butler, both in Maryland do very good and thorough neuropsych testing.

First of all, there are plenty of parents who come here whose kids are GTLD. That is not OP -- OP's child has no LD. OP has a bright child who is doing well in school. She wants to quantify his brightness. There is no SN there. None.

And as the parent of a child with an ASD (who also happens to be gifted) I think you are absolutely wrong about that. I have seen very supportive comments to posts about medical issues, mood disorders, behavior problems, other developmental disorders, I could go on. In fact, the nastiest posts seem to be directed at those of us who have children with ASDs, questioning the diagnosis, berating us if our child has behavior problems.

Parents of medicated ADHD children get more than their share of flack too.