Anonymous wrote:Welcome to DC but please don't buy into the whole "how gifted is my child" hype so rampant around here. My kids are intelligent and social, but I have no interest in the gifted hype. In my opinion, around here "gifted" means "ADHD little sh*t whose parents never told them 'no' and whose differences need to be celebrated.'" Very annoying.
Now why would you say that. MY DS is not gifted but a very happy, average boy. He happens to have ADHD. You clearly don't know what ADHD is and I am not really upset with you but thought I would use your quote to educate others. He is in 7 th now and I have been amazed over then years how few people truly understand what ADHD is. Yes, there are behavioral components but it is not about behavior but executive functioning. And if you understood it or had a loved one with it - it is not to be made fun of, taken lightly, or made out to be some catchall phrase for what you are clearly thinking of as a " bad kid.". Again, it has a behavioral component, but it also has social, emotional, and learning issues ( for some) and it is heart- wrenching to watch your child suffer with something that is largely out of their control as it is how their brain develops their pathways. I would never say to someone it " means autistic, diabetic, disabled, little sh*t.". There are real people on here with real feelings and what you said was not true and unkind.
And another thing, the gifted program is not called gifted anymore. It is advanced academics. Believe it or not, there are kids who Either require advanced learning or who desire it. I have one of those as well. What is so wrong with that. I would prefer they keep everyone in the neighborhood and differentiate subjects but for some reason they can't or won't. I spent many years in the classroom and the kids who do learn faster and who want to talk about real subjects often can't. Last year my 2 nd grader was trying to talk about a topic the teacher was discussing and gave a serious answer and every kid but him and one other said something completely non- related and silly that even the teacher got annoyed. So, yes, we are happy he gets a chance to be a bit more challenged. That is all. We don't expect him to go to TJ or MIT. We just want him to like school as long as he can - since he already does. Please don't judge AAP or ADHD kids.