smart, bored 2nd grader, can't afford private, what to do?

[Anonymous]

Schools can't force you to "get an ADHD diagnosis" but they will tell you that your child may need an evaluation for possible issues. Simply getting an IQ test/WIPPSI is not a full evaluation and many kids who have high IQs also have ADHD, ASD, etc. No one "considers" ADHD, it is simply a diagnosis given by a developmental pediatrician or psychologist and your child either has it or not. Better to leave the diagnosing to the professionals...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools can't force you to "get an ADHD diagnosis" but they will tell you that your child may need an evaluation for possible issues. Simply getting an IQ test/WIPPSI is not a full evaluation and many kids who have high IQs also have ADHD, ASD, etc. No one "considers" ADHD, it is simply a diagnosis given by a developmental pediatrician or psychologist and your child either has it or not. Better to leave the diagnosing to the professionals...

The school psychologist said she really didn't have any ideas about what was behind our kid's behavior other than, in all likelihood, ADHD. IQ testing AND other evaluation made clear that ADHD was not even in the ballpark, but unusual giftedness was. She utterly failed our child as a service provider. If a school psychologist's first and only instinct is ADHD, that person should be fired. ADHD shouldn't be shorthand for "doesn't pay attention in class and won't conform to our shut up and sit still rules".

In my humble opinion, the overabundant ADHD diagnoses do a real disservice to everyone, including kids with a legitimate attention deficit disorder. Just slapping the suspected diagnosis on any inattentive kid is a joke.

[Anonymous]

ADHD is usually diagnosed with a neuropsych eval which cannot be administered until age 6/7. You should get a developmental pediatrician who will explain this rather than relying on a school psychologist. Who did your IQ test and other evaluations and ruled out ADHD? They should have explained that younger children cannot be fully evaluated for ADHD until they are older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ADHD is usually diagnosed with a neuropsych eval which cannot be administered until age 6/7. You should get a developmental pediatrician who will explain this rather than relying on a school psychologist. Who did your IQ test and other evaluations and ruled out ADHD? They should have explained that younger children cannot be fully evaluated for ADHD until they are older.

But why look for an ADHD diagnosis if it is clearly not the issue? Do all kids need a neuropsych eval to confirm they DON'T have ADHD?

[Anonymous]

Only if the kid has behaviors that indicate there maybe a problem. Usually an experienced teacher can tell you if the behavior is "unusual". Many kids who have suspected ADHD in k and younger get labeled as behavior problems and "bad". Worth an evaluation if that's the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher, and any teacher who gives a reason for doing things a certain way, "It's for the standardized test," sucks, unless it's literally practice for the test. There's test preparation and then there's real learning and inspired teaching -- intelligent teachers know the difference.

This sounds dead-on like a bored 2nd grader being taught by an unimaginative, worksheet-style type of teacher. Don't let people diagnose her with anything unless and until she's at least had time in a productive, differentiated learning environment. Most behavior and learning problems can be solved by engaging the child differently and in a more effective way. I hope you can get her moved. Good luck.

+1. I was bored for years in public elementary school -- by the way, I did not and do not have ADHD, and have no problems with concentration or focus, thank you very much -- and it was because of uninspired teachers and uninspiring curricula. It wasn't until I was in fifth grade that a really great teacher took me under her wing, made sure I got tested for the gifted program in our school district, and lo and behold, by grade six, I was in the gifted program -- and not bored at all. It turned me around. I don't know whether or not your child is gifted, but it is certainly possible -- AND it is also entirely possible for bright (not necessarily gifted, but bright and energetic) kids to be bored stiff at school -- doesn't mean they're all ADHD.

I'm also surprised to hear how many posters think it's incredibly important to respect authority and follow orders, and that a kid who has trouble doing that must have ADHD or something wrong with her. A lot of our great leaders, inventors, entrepreneurs, and artists bucked authority and followed their own paths -- maybe they all had ADHD

OP, I don't have much concrete advice for you -- sorry -- except to say that you know your kid best and it sounds like you are genuinely trying to engage in a thoughtful dialogue with your kid's teacher and school. Keep exploring avenues (another teacher? skipping a grade) at her school, and if this doesn't lead anywhere, then maybe it's time to check into financial aid for a private school -- maybe a Montessori school where your kid gets to choose her own work. Alternatively, maybe your kid has to suck it up at this crappy school for the near future and you try to get her involved in extra-curriculars that will keep her engaged and "make up" for the boring weekdays. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your daughter definitely needs to be checked for ADHD. My husband and son both have it and they can hyperfocus on something that interests them.

And as crazy as some rules (like writing down how you solved a math problem) may sound, your daughter will have to learn to follow them if she is going to ever be successful in school.

OP here. My child does NOT have adhd. She does not hyperfocus on anything. The armchair diagnoses on this thread amaze me!

I had a chat with my dd's teacher this morning, and she agreed that dd is bored, and lamented the loss of gifted programs at the school. She agreed that dd can read an interesting book as soon as she trudges through the required tasks. And, sadly, she agreed that this solution is the best she can do for dd, since she's not allowed to group kids by ability or allow them to do anything different than the other kids are doing!! How stupid is that??

In the end, I left feeling really badly for my dd's teacher (and for all teachers who are stuck with these inane curriculums at public schools). DD's teacher is trying to do her best, but she's forced to teach what she's been given by the school, like it or not. This one size fits all education fits no one. And the teaching to the test has so little to do with educating the individual child, teaching her to think, offering her a variety of views of the world, inviting exploration and questioning -- all things a good education ought to be doing, especially in second grade while young minds are still developing.

Private schools are not all better, but at least they are not tied to this testing and these top-down directives that are ruining public schools. We looked at some private schools, but our current financial picture precludes private. The ones we looked at had a lot of innovation in their curriculums, and gave kids a lot more individual attention and choice. I don't like the exclusivity of some private schools, but for my child, a good private school would be a lot better than the unsatisfactory public she's in now.

We are not in great financial circumstances either but discovered that there actually is a lot of financial aid out there. At least visit and apply to some private schools if you think DD would be happier there. You never know.

[Anonymous]

What exactly do you think private school will do for your child though? Have you visited any? Have you actually asked them, what if anything, they would do to change their curriculum for your child?

Private schools have set curriculums also and they follow them and don't just drop them for one child. They might not be willing to deviate from them either. Paying heft tuition for private school does not mean that each individual child gets their own special curriculum.

[Anonymous]

In response to 16:04, I think a lot if us are sick of parents who justify DC's awful behavior with "oh, DC is just so much brighter than the other kids."

You're misinterpreting our frustration as a simple-minded desire to see all kids fit into the same box of "respecting authority and following orders." But what we're really voicing is our exasperation with bad behavior that disrupts the classroom and distracts the other kids, with the clueless parent sacrificing discipline in the name of this supposed proof of intelligence. I say this as the parent of 2 kids who have gone through MCPS MS and HS magnets.

[Anonymous]

14:35 again. I should add that we tried private school and it really wasn't a panacea. Plus if your daughter isn't doing advanced math already, the private school is unlikely to let her skip up to advanced math for the same reason the public schools are reluctant - there are important math concepts she needs to learn and can't just skip over. And don't assume a private school teacher will necessarily let her work on the side until she reaches the advanced math class - it depends greatly on the school and the particular teacher.

Try looking into something like the Johns Hopkins CTY or Duke programs.

[Anonymous]

At least one of you is unemployed, right? Have you thought about volunteering in the class a couple of times a week? Perhaps doing a small group book club - you take half of the kids and teacher takes the other? Or a lunch time book club for interested students? It won't mend everything but maybe you can get the gifted kids energized and also get a clearer picture of the class and dd's involvement.

[Anonymous]

The Lightening Thief is composed of 87,000 words. The OP claims his/her child completed the book in 120 minutes. So 700 wpm.

Without the use of a dictionary, because if this so-called gifted child did consult a dictionary, then the wpm would be through the roof.

Something does not compute.

[Anonymous]

Something does not compute.

Maybe someone should tell DD that there are times in life when we are "bored" but we must all deal with them. If she reads so well, why doesn't the teacher give her books to read after she does her lessons?

[Anonymous]

Tell me how private will be an improvement?

Your kid can't pay attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Her child can't even do math a year ahead of her grade and can only read one year ahead. I'd hardly say she was overly gifted.

She said her kid read the Lightning Thief in two hours. That book is an ending 4th grade level book and her kid is at the beginning of second grade. So she is at least two grade levels above in reading.

No, it doesn't. In order to be considered a late 4th grade reader a child has to be able to demonstrate certain higher level comprehension skills, in the context of a 4th grade text. It's not just about being able to recognize the story line, or keep track of and retell the plot at that level. There are expectations about what kids can infer, and how they make connections, and how they recognize and respond to the author's craft.

I'm not saying the OP's kid can't do that, or that she isn't reading on a late 4th grade level, or even higher. Just that many bright kids enjoy reading books where they miss a lot, and that you can't infer a kid's reading level from the fact that they enjoyed a specific title.