Unschooling the Gifted Child

[Just1More]

None of my children have been tested, the oldest is just now six.  I'm not sure that testing would even be helpful at this point, since we plan to keep homeschooling/unschooling.  Is there a reason I should consider having her tested?

To unschool, which is what we've basically done thus far, we just keep doing what we're doing, right?  Is there anything I should know?

Thanks! 

[moominmamma]

Not really, yes, and no. 

Unless your mommy-antennae are twitching about a possible 2E issue, or unless there is a particular enrichment program that your child desires access to that requires it, I see no reason for testing in an unschooled child. Giftedness has been pretty much a non-issue for my unschooled kids.

My eldest was eventually tested after she entered school at age 14. My ds (currently 14) is about to have an assessment done due to his dysgraphic issues creating some tension within the context of the high school coursework he's wanting to do via a distance education type approach. Until we began interfacing with school systems in the teen years, testing had no utility for us. My 12yo and 8yo are untested and thriving.

Miranda

[no5no5]

We unschool our gifted 5-year-old DD.  And we decided to have her tested (and we are in the process atm).  I think it is a very individual decision.  You have to think about what you would do with the information, and if you can't think of anything, then obviously there's no reason for you to test.

We had a few reasons for wanting to test DD now.  First, there is the question of how gifted she is, and whether giftedness could be masking other issues.  Though I didn't think that there was something else going on, I wasn't sure, and my lack of certainty was making me nervous.  Second, there is the question of what her relative strengths & weaknesses are.  We've had serious drama about math in recent months/years, and I have had trouble identifying why.  Is it because DD is bored and needs more challenging materials, or because she is frustrated by materials that are too hard?  FTR, I always try to follow her lead, but she's not always clear about where she's going.  Knowing where she's at will (hopefully) help me to follow her more easily.  Third, there's my DH.  He is not around other kids much and has some trouble believing that DD is really as different as I say she is.  He's not confident about unschooling.  He's not confident that DD would not do well in a standard K classroom.  In short, he's just a worried parent who doesn't want to miss something or make a mistake.

Then, of course, both DH & I were misunderstood, under-educated, disenchanted highly gifted/2E kids once upon a time, and both of us feel that our parents/educators should have figured us out sooner and accommodated our needs better.  It's hard to come from that background and fully embrace the idea that you don't need detailed information and expert input and lots of planning, etc., etc., in order to be a good parent/educator to a gifted child.  Though I agree with what Miranda wrote, there's a difference between believing something and believing it, iykwim.  So I guess the primary thing we hope to get out of testing is simply more confidence in our decisions. 

I also wouldn't want DD to miss out on resources like the DYS program if she qualifies (and without testing I don't think there's any way to really know whether she does or not).  And if we do end up enrolling her in school for any reason I think it'd be good to have some paperwork ready to go.  I like to be prepared, yk?

[Greenmama2]

My eldest is fast approaching five. She's always been an "accelerated learner" but I've never had any inclination to get her tested since we always planned to unschool (and DH is deadset against it) until recently I've started to wonder if she might be compensating incredibly well for some 2E issues. Then yesterday I was looking at Mathletics since our home ed association has a discount and I thought she might enjoy it but when I looked at the details of the curriculum I was aghast that my not quite K age child would have to go to at least grade 2 to find anything challenging enough to be fun. That led me to EPGY math which led me to again consider testing. There's still no likelihood we'll test in the near future (it would take a lot more than a web based math program to convince DH) but it's on my radar now.
I will say that we are finding unschooling for us doesn't necessarily look like a lot of other parents describe it. I'm also quite interested in Waldorf/Steiner stuff and would have loved to be able to shy away from academic stuff until 7. That's just not my DD though. She does what seems to me a lot of academic for a four year old. She needs a lot of input to stay sane. That's everyone's sanity, not just hers. Without enough stimulation to say she is a handful is a massive understatement. 5 minutes with a Singapore math workbook though & suddenly she is a calm, happy child who can actually play and may just remember to get food/tell me if she is hungry .

[qandrews]

It's a good idea to test your child, if you can afford it easily. It is best to test early. Children who are tested early are generally more successful than children who are tested later.

The best is to use a psychologist who is certified to test young children.

Ours came to our house, since my son was only 4 or 5 at the time. She was especially sensitive to how the child feels. Her goal was for him to feel comfortable so that he can perform at his best, without any anxiety.

The reason I think it is a good idea to test is that there are a lot of wonderful programs that are specifically open to gifted children. These can be private or public programs, and most of them will accept the results of a private test performed by a certified psychologist.

For example, there is a great online program from Stanford University called EPGY. It is open only to kids who test above a certain percentile.

In Califronia in the Bay Area there is a program called "Liceum". It is a wonderful program, open only to gifted children. It offers great seminars to small groups of children. There are also public programs in different school districts all across the US. Each district has different programs. They are enriching and interesting, and not necessarily part of the school program. Going to these activities enriches children's lives.

If you have your child tested now, you can use the results of the test indefinitely, and you don't even know about programs that will take place in the future, where you will want your child to participate.

There is no risk, if you choose a good psychologist, the experience should not be detrimental to your child's wellbeing

.http://www.all-gifted-children.com

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by qandrews 

It's a good idea to test your child, if you can afford it easily. It is best to test early. Children who are tested early are generally more successful than children who are tested later.

I find it very hard to believe that this is a valid statement in the context of unschooling.

Miranda

[no5no5]

Originally Posted by moominmamma 

Originally Posted by qandrews 

It's a good idea to test your child, if you can afford it easily. It is best to test early. Children who are tested early are generally more successful than children who are tested later.

I find it very hard to believe that this is a valid statement in the context of unschooling.

Miranda
 

I am also wondering what you meant by this, qandrews.  Do you mean that they are more successful in life, or more successful at producing high scores?  The latter might be true in some cases, though it is by no means true in all cases.

[Galatea]

Originally Posted by qandrews 

It's a good idea to test your child, if you can afford it easily. It is best to test early. Children who are tested early are generally more successful than children who are tested later.

The best is to use a psychologist who is certified to test young children.

Ours came to our house, since my son was only 4 or 5 at the time. She was especially sensitive to how the child feels. Her goal was for him to feel comfortable so that he can perform at his best, without any anxiety.

The reason I think it is a good idea to test is that there are a lot of wonderful programs that are specifically open to gifted children. These can be private or public programs, and most of them will accept the results of a private test performed by a certified psychologist.

For example, there is a great online program from Stanford University called EPGY. It is open only to kids who test above a certain percentile.

In Califronia in the Bay Area there is a program called "Liceum". It is a wonderful program, open only to gifted children. It offers great seminars to small groups of children. There are also public programs in different school districts all across the US. Each district has different programs. They are enriching and interesting, and not necessarily part of the school program. Going to these activities enriches children's lives.

If you have your child tested now, you can use the results of the test indefinitely, and you don't even know about programs that will take place in the future, where you will want your child to participate.

There is no risk, if you choose a good psychologist, the experience should not be detrimental to your child's wellbeing

.http://www.all-gifted-children.com

Hi!  You're likely to get some people who do not agree with you, but I am guessing you meant that if a child is tested and identified earlier and thus can be put in appropriate activities and environments, they will end up better off than a child who is not tested and might be in environments that do not support his giftedness.  If so, I agree.  But I am also guessing that people will take issues with the potential implication that doing any of these activities will be better than unschooling (since the OP is about unschooling.)

[earthmama369]

I'm on the "it's individual" boat. Both of our kiddos are likely on the gifted spectrum somewhere. Our eldest is 6 and was unschooled -- her way, which meant a lot of field trips, adventures, classes, activities, and playdates -- until a couple months ago, when we enrolled her in first grade at the local public school because of my health issues. I'm not concerned about testing her at this point. The school primarily focuses on reading and writing, neither of which we pursued strongly while unschooling because she was much more interested in science experiments and figuring out how her community works. So at this point, reading and writing are relatively new to her and can keep her entertained for a bit. She's flexible and observant, and within two days was able to show her teacher that she can read at grade level and write using correct sentence structure. The little math they do is dead easy for her, but she's happy to be there because she's meeting new people, and that's really what gets her revved. For now, this is ok.

Our youngest is almost 5 and we will likely be pursuing testing pertaining to learning style and giftedness at some point. He's 2E and that poses some challenges; having more information and resources will help us meet his needs better. He's been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder and an articulation disorder, and we're going back in for another evaluation soon because he's throwing up a few red flags that might indicate something like Asperger's. Like his sister, he's a totally awesome kid, but he can be really resistant to anything resembling instruction and flourishes when receiving OT and similar therapies. I suspect that aside from language fluency, his possible area(s) of giftedness aren't going to fall into the traditional academic smarts, and I doubt he'll be willing to perform within the traditional public school model.

[Just1More]

Thanks for the replies.  I guess we're just going to keep doing what we've been doing, and see where we wind up.

Thanks again!