Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
OP,

You are being incredibly offensive.

Children who have high scores on the HGC test and pass muster with the selection committee can be chosen to be part of a HGC, regardless of their special needs or personality. Remember that most twice exceptional children are not diagnosed as such because their profiles are so complex. They don't wear a tag and they're not flagged in the system as unworthy to breathe the same classroom air as your precious snowflake.

Just because your child is in an HGC, it doesn't mean that they are entitled to a perfect environment with well-behaved peers. It's amusing that you should think that. HGC will always have a couple of children with peculiarities, just like in regular classrooms. If you believe the student to be too disruptive, talk to the teacher.

OP here. Get over yourself, PP. I wasn't implying that my kid was special or deserved to be in a class with only perfectly behaved kids. Give me a break. My kid is not perfectly behaved either. I was just curious about whether GT/LD kids are mixed with HGC kids because I always thought GT/LD kids had IEPs and were in their own class.

And this kid's anger issues weren't just disruptive. It was, at one point, kind of scary the way my DC described it (threw something). I'm guessing the teacher gives some leeway to this kid because he may very well be GT/LD because when this occurred the teacher let it go. If a non LD kid did this, I'm pretty sure the teacher would've done something about it. This is why I asked the question. I'm not opposed to GT/LD kids being in the same class as my DC. I was just trying to understand if LD kids were mixed in with them.

And disagree with the other poster about it being none of my business. How is knowing whom my kid is around none of my business? I'm not interested in the kid's personal life, but a parent has a right to know the people my kid is around for 5 hours a day in a small confined space.

OP,

I'm the PP you responded to.

1. We are being rather aggressive with you because your words are permeated with disparagement towards children with learning disabilities. That is never acceptable. If you truly believed anyone with talent belonged in the HGC (which is the mandate of the HGC, by the way), you would not write this way. It's the most difficult thing in the world to place children with gifts and learning disorders in the right educational environment. Also, there is only one GT/LD center, compared to the many local HGCs available, and most parents can't send their kids there because the long bus rides and commute are very detrimental to these children.

2. Since your child is affected by classroom disruptions, you are entitled to an explanation from the teacher as to what steps she is taking to guard against them. As you know, the teacher is not allowed to discuss a particular student's special needs. Let me reiterate that many gifted students with problematic behaviors are not evaluated or diagnosed, because their quirks are explained away as part of their gifted characteristics. However you will probably be able to infer from the teacher's actions and your child's reports whether this student can be disciplined and improve rapidly, or if these behaviors will need to be managed over time. Don't be afraid of being the squeaky wheel as you advocate for your child!

OP here. I never meant to disparage kids with LDs. I have friends with kids that are on different spectrums of autism, some whom are in "regular" classes. We have had to explain to our DCs why these kids behave differently, that they learn differently, feel differently, but they are still kids, and we have taught them how to engage them, or not in some cases. And it wasn't just anger issues. There were other incidences but I didn't want to state them in case it outs the child. I just mentioned the anger issue because it seemed generic enough.

It doesn't bother me that GT/LD kids are in the came class as my kid. It just helps to understand that there might be kids with LDs in DC's class. As I stated previously, I always thought GT/LD kids were in their own class. That was my misunderstanding.

Anonymous wrote:Mommy why does x hit the wall all the time, run in circles whilewe are in reading groups and push children down at recess? Honey, thats none of our business, dcum told me so. Now go to school.

How about: "I don't know, that's really a matter for herself, her parents, and her teachers. Try to concentrate on your own work."

If the child is pushing your child down at recess, then talk to the teacher. The communication should be something like this: "My child says that [other child] is pushing her down at recess. Do you know anything about this? Do you have any suggestions?" The communication should not be something like this: "[Other child] is pushing my child down at recess. [Other child] is LD, isn't she?"

HGC centers have kids with IEPs. It is against the law to discriminate against kids with disabilities. In the old days (not so long ago) kids where explicitly forced to choose -- if you wanted into the gifted program you had to give up your IEP/supports. That is no longer true. Kids with IEPs and 504 plans must be admitted to programs on the same basis as non-disabled kids. When taking any entrance exams or completing any portion of the application, they are entitled to receive all accommodations on their IEP or 504 plan. Kids who are in HGCs but also have IEPs will get "special instruction" per their IEP in the HGC. This means that their IEP calls for them to be in "general education" with "special instruction" provided, usually as push-in or a limited number of pull-out hours.

Kids who are in GT/LD programs are placed their by their IEP team. GT/LD programs can be either full-time special ed or it can be a general education program that is "team-taught" by a general ed and special ed teacher or has a mixture of general ed and special ed classes. In MCPS it is my understanding that the elementary GT/LD program at Lucy Barnsley is more of a full-time special ed model as the kids are with the GT/LD teachers for most academic instruction (at least it was this way several years ago, haven't looked at it recently). The middle school GT/LD model is more the latter combination of general and special ed. Some classes are team taught, and GT/LD kids may have a special support period that is just special ed.

For the PP who is discussing behavior issues in the classroom -- conflating behavior issues with a learning disability or ADHD is simply wrong. There are many reasons why a kid might misbehave in a classroom, but the exact why is none of your business. If your DC is expressing that she is scared or has been directly threatened, then maybe you should bring it up with the teacher, but otherwise kids just need to know that kids and adults misbehave for a lot of reasons and it's not our job to figure out why someone else is misbehaving. It's just our job to focus on making sure our own behavior is correct, and not worry about what others are doing unless we feel directly threatened.

BTW, as I said above, it is against the law to discriminate against kids with disabilities. So, in your HGC there may be kids with learning disabilities, health disabilities, emotional disabilities, etc. Federal educational and privacy law prevents the school from disclosing any of this private information in a way that is individually identifiable. So while you may speculate about a particular child, the school is legally prevented from disclosing to you any information about disabilities. The law says you have no right to know whether a child has a disability.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
OP,

You are being incredibly offensive.

Children who have high scores on the HGC test and pass muster with the selection committee can be chosen to be part of a HGC, regardless of their special needs or personality. Remember that most twice exceptional children are not diagnosed as such because their profiles are so complex. They don't wear a tag and they're not flagged in the system as unworthy to breathe the same classroom air as your precious snowflake.

Just because your child is in an HGC, it doesn't mean that they are entitled to a perfect environment with well-behaved peers. It's amusing that you should think that. HGC will always have a couple of children with peculiarities, just like in regular classrooms. If you believe the student to be too disruptive, talk to the teacher.

OP here. Get over yourself, PP. I wasn't implying that my kid was special or deserved to be in a class with only perfectly behaved kids. Give me a break. My kid is not perfectly behaved either. I was just curious about whether GT/LD kids are mixed with HGC kids because I always thought GT/LD kids had IEPs and were in their own class.

And this kid's anger issues weren't just disruptive. It was, at one point, kind of scary the way my DC described it (threw something). I'm guessing the teacher gives some leeway to this kid because he may very well be GT/LD because when this occurred the teacher let it go. If a non LD kid did this, I'm pretty sure the teacher would've done something about it. This is why I asked the question. I'm not opposed to GT/LD kids being in the same class as my DC. I was just trying to understand if LD kids were mixed in with them.

And disagree with the other poster about it being none of my business. How is knowing whom my kid is around none of my business? I'm not interested in the kid's personal life, but a parent has a right to know the people my kid is around for 5 hours a day in a small confined space.

OP,

I'm the PP you responded to.

1. We are being rather aggressive with you because your words are permeated with disparagement towards children with learning disabilities. That is never acceptable. If you truly believed anyone with talent belonged in the HGC (which is the mandate of the HGC, by the way), you would not write this way. It's the most difficult thing in the world to place children with gifts and learning disorders in the right educational environment. Also, there is only one GT/LD center, compared to the many local HGCs available, and most parents can't send their kids there because the long bus rides and commute are very detrimental to these children.

2. Since your child is affected by classroom disruptions, you are entitled to an explanation from the teacher as to what steps she is taking to guard against them. As you know, the teacher is not allowed to discuss a particular student's special needs. Let me reiterate that many gifted students with problematic behaviors are not evaluated or diagnosed, because their quirks are explained away as part of their gifted characteristics. However you will probably be able to infer from the teacher's actions and your child's reports whether this student can be disciplined and improve rapidly, or if these behaviors will need to be managed over time. Don't be afraid of being the squeaky wheel as you advocate for your child!

Anonymous wrote:Mommy why does x hit the wall all the time, run in circles whilewe are in reading groups and push children down at recess? Honey, thats none of our business, dcum told me so. Now go to school.

May I suggest "I don't know" as a response? And if you've been telling your kid that x probably has a learning disability or ADHD, you should cut it out. You're not only scapegoating and creating prejudice, you are revealing yourself as ignorant.

If you have real concerns about your child's safety, try talking to the teacher. But be aware that another child's disability status is confidential and the teacher cannot discuss that with you.

Mommy why does x hit the wall all the time, run in circles whilewe are in reading groups and push children down at recess? Honey, thats none of our business, dcum told me so. Now go to school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
OP,

You are being incredibly offensive.

Children who have high scores on the HGC test and pass muster with the selection committee can be chosen to be part of a HGC, regardless of their special needs or personality. Remember that most twice exceptional children are not diagnosed as such because their profiles are so complex. They don't wear a tag and they're not flagged in the system as unworthy to breathe the same classroom air as your precious snowflake.

Just because your child is in an HGC, it doesn't mean that they are entitled to a perfect environment with well-behaved peers. It's amusing that you should think that. HGC will always have a couple of children with peculiarities, just like in regular classrooms. If you believe the student to be too disruptive, talk to the teacher.

OP here. Get over yourself, PP. I wasn't implying that my kid was special or deserved to be in a class with only perfectly behaved kids. Give me a break. My kid is not perfectly behaved either. I was just curious about whether GT/LD kids are mixed with HGC kids because I always thought GT/LD kids had IEPs and were in their own class.

And this kid's anger issues weren't just disruptive. It was, at one point, kind of scary the way my DC described it (threw something). I'm guessing the teacher gives some leeway to this kid because he may very well be GT/LD because when this occurred the teacher let it go. If a non LD kid did this, I'm pretty sure the teacher would've done something about it. This is why I asked the question. I'm not opposed to GT/LD kids being in the same class as my DC. I was just trying to understand if LD kids were mixed in with them.

And disagree with the other poster about it being none of my business. How is knowing whom my kid is around none of my business? I'm not interested in the kid's personal life, but a parent has a right to know the people my kid is around for 5 hours a day in a small confined space.

You have a long road ahead of you if you plan to investigate the kids who are in class with your child for the next however many years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And disagree with the other poster about it being none of my business. How is knowing whom my kid is around none of my business? I'm not interested in the kid's personal life, but a parent has a right to know the people my kid is around for 5 hours a day in a small confined space.

The other child's behavior is your business, insofar as it affects your child. Whether or not the child is classified as GT/LD is none of your business.

I think it is my business because when my DC asks me why the kid gets away with that behavior I can explain that it is because that kid is LD or something to that effect. I don't know for sure if that child is LD or not. But I was trying to understand if LDs could be HGC classes. And now that I know they are, it would explain why that kid seems to get away with such disruptive behavior when I know that other kids don't.

Nope, still none of your business. You explain that you don't know why the child behaves like that (which is true; you don't), and you don't know why the teacher does what the teacher does (which is true; you don't), but that's just how it is for now, and your child's job is to focus on their own work and behavior.

Also, please check your language. "LDs"? The children are not learning disabilities. They are children with learning disabilities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And disagree with the other poster about it being none of my business. How is knowing whom my kid is around none of my business? I'm not interested in the kid's personal life, but a parent has a right to know the people my kid is around for 5 hours a day in a small confined space.

The other child's behavior is your business, insofar as it affects your child. Whether or not the child is classified as GT/LD is none of your business.

I think it is my business because when my DC asks me why the kid gets away with that behavior I can explain that it is because that kid is LD or something to that effect. I don't know for sure if that child is LD or not. But I was trying to understand if LDs could be HGC classes. And now that I know they are, it would explain why that kid seems to get away with such disruptive behavior when I know that other kids don't.

Exactly. You don't know. Even knowing that some kids with IEPs are in the HGC, you still don't know anything about this particular kid. So when your child asks why he's "getting away" with certain behavior, you can just say you don't know and focus on your DS's feelings. I try to discourage my kids from worrying about/focusing on how other kids are/aren't treated anyway.

Is anger a learning disability?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And disagree with the other poster about it being none of my business. How is knowing whom my kid is around none of my business? I'm not interested in the kid's personal life, but a parent has a right to know the people my kid is around for 5 hours a day in a small confined space.

The other child's behavior is your business, insofar as it affects your child. Whether or not the child is classified as GT/LD is none of your business.

I think it is my business because when my DC asks me why the kid gets away with that behavior I can explain that it is because that kid is LD or something to that effect. I don't know for sure if that child is LD or not. But I was trying to understand if LDs could be HGC classes. And now that I know they are, it would explain why that kid seems to get away with such disruptive behavior when I know that other kids don't.

Anonymous wrote:

And disagree with the other poster about it being none of my business. How is knowing whom my kid is around none of my business? I'm not interested in the kid's personal life, but a parent has a right to know the people my kid is around for 5 hours a day in a small confined space.

The other child's behavior is your business, insofar as it affects your child. Whether or not the child is classified as GT/LD is none of your business.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, there are certainly some GT/LD kids admitted to HCGs.

If you are referring to the MCPS program specifically for GT/LD kids which exists in a few schools ... they are separate.

So, if the kid is diagnosed as GT/LD, the kid can still be in an HGC class and not with the GT/LD class? How is that possible? Shouldn't the kid be in a GT/LD class?

I ask this because there is a kid in my DC's HGC class that seems highly disruptive, seems to have anger issues or something, and was wondering if this kid was GT/LD.

Ugh. I hate to even respond to you, but the short answer is that kids with LDs are placed in HGCs all the time, and also that anger issues do not equal an LD.

Anonymous wrote:
OP,

You are being incredibly offensive.

Children who have high scores on the HGC test and pass muster with the selection committee can be chosen to be part of a HGC, regardless of their special needs or personality. Remember that most twice exceptional children are not diagnosed as such because their profiles are so complex. They don't wear a tag and they're not flagged in the system as unworthy to breathe the same classroom air as your precious snowflake.

Just because your child is in an HGC, it doesn't mean that they are entitled to a perfect environment with well-behaved peers. It's amusing that you should think that. HGC will always have a couple of children with peculiarities, just like in regular classrooms. If you believe the student to be too disruptive, talk to the teacher.

OP here. Get over yourself, PP. I wasn't implying that my kid was special or deserved to be in a class with only perfectly behaved kids. Give me a break. My kid is not perfectly behaved either. I was just curious about whether GT/LD kids are mixed with HGC kids because I always thought GT/LD kids had IEPs and were in their own class.

And this kid's anger issues weren't just disruptive. It was, at one point, kind of scary the way my DC described it (threw something). I'm guessing the teacher gives some leeway to this kid because he may very well be GT/LD because when this occurred the teacher let it go. If a non LD kid did this, I'm pretty sure the teacher would've done something about it. This is why I asked the question. I'm not opposed to GT/LD kids being in the same class as my DC. I was just trying to understand if LD kids were mixed in with them.

And disagree with the other poster about it being none of my business. How is knowing whom my kid is around none of my business? I'm not interested in the kid's personal life, but a parent has a right to know the people my kid is around for 5 hours a day in a small confined space.

FWIW, DC's HGC class two kids with ADHD and if we didn't know the parents we would have never known they had been diagnosed with ADHD. They are very well behaved.