Are you a member of NAGC??

[chillikate]

And if so, please tell me - is it friendlier than here??

I'm kind of holding out to join, until DS starts school in 2 weeks and we eventually get an "experts" view of his once his teacher gets to know him.

that's what I thought - although I'm sure some employers would think putting mensa membership on an application form was a bit , I mean it's not an achievement is it? You haven't slogged for it.

I think you're right. If I saw mensa membership on a cv I would definitely be We joined NAGC for support and impartial advice but haven't told anyone simply because there is no need to. I know for a fact that quite a few friends would probably see it as showing off.

I seriously doubt putting mensa would aid any job application or university application. May count against you.

I would certainly consider joining if I thought I could get advice - but ds is nothing like the children that posters describe on here.

iggly that's what I thought

Any mensa members out there care to enlighten us as to why mensa membership is a good thing?

cornsilk- please don't compare your ds with other poster's children. On here there's always going to be someone who says 'well, my ds is only 1 and he can count to 200 and read harry potter' or something like that. Seriously, take a look at the nagc website link and read through some of their free fact sheets which talk about what a gifted child is. Then if you feel that your ds really does seem like he's gifted and that you need some further advice or want to join anyway, then do.

I knew someone who joined Mensa because they had a G&T child - so the child could meet other exceptionally bright kids. I can see the sense in this - isn't it important to give the children opportunity to make friends who are on the same wavelength? And where else would you find them if not Mensa or NAGC?

Of course it's important to encourage good relationships with peers, but I believe it's also crucial to allow the children realise they're not the only ones with brain power. I think they're more in danger of growing arrogant and academically lazy if they never meet other people who are also capable of amazing things.

And what comes to mensa membership & university and job applications - doesn't that depend on who reads the application? If it's someone with experience of mensa then they will probably see it as great potential. However, if you're applying to work part time at the local Iceland it might well go against you...

Universities will want to see the potential student is capable of applying their intelligence and skills eg: good grades in suitable subjects, musical instruments, team sports, foreign languages, practical problem solving, independent learning, dedication to the course (eg organising and completing appropriate work experience).
People reading job applications will want to see evidence and application of intelligence and dedication eg: Oxbridge/Russel group degree or holding profesional qualifications required to fill the role. Certain degrees/qualifications and success in particular fields would almost certainly require Mensa level IQ minimum and thus negate the need for stating membership.
MiniIggly is a member of neither the NAGC or of Mensa. I would not recommend mentioning either group on a University or job application. I do however view the NAGC as appearing more inclusive and supporting and very importantly social.

Iggly - I think you may have hit the nail on the head about gifted kids and primary school settings, - no benefit to them. I feel like actually GiTs are a bit of a trial! As I was mostly kindly put in my place reminded last week 'Of course we have lots of highly able children at this school' I felt like saying 'you have 80 kids here - statistically its highly unlikely!'

I have looked at the NAGC several times too and found it quite useful, however I never joined as I am not sure what they could do to help beyond provision of resources that seem readily available on the internet, but someone on here might enlighten me and maybe I will join.

I think there is a lot of anxiety on parents' behalf when their children start school and see that they are not learning at the pace they are expecting, being unchallenged in certain aspects and this is echoed by posts on here.

I think the label gifted does not help as it focuses on that rather than the fact that children have different needs.

My older DD1 has always been expectional in everything she does, interestingly now she is in Y2 and she is only slightly above average having being totally ignored at school all of reception and Y1, whilst she excels at everything she turns her hand at outside of school, whether academic or sports or languages or music. Every single provider she has had dealings with has approached us to say what a gifted/talented child she is - however school seem to actively try and put her down all the time.

You could easily argue that she is "levelling out" but I know deep down that her ability to learn remains very high, is just that she has not had the opportunity to learn and the ones provided at home are not enough to make up for lost time at school. Also in a way, I have preferred to focus her spare time on activities she enjoys, and where she is free to excel without having to be embarassed/derided for it.

So I am always a bit wary of the levelling out argument in this context.

Having said all that, I have seen with my DS1 for example, that children and boys in particular, can mature later so it is not necessarily the case that a child at 4 is the same child later on - my DS1 is a classic example of this, he seems to be blossoming all the time and making huge leaps in certain areas.

I would say that battling with school is a no win no win especially in the early years, it is very hard to change a mindset and indeed the teachers have few resources and are spread thinly so will view a parent who goes in with certain expectations as pushy and unreasonable in the end.

This of course is only my experience.

PS Before I get flamed I wanted to say that I have 4 children and in a way having an exceptional child as a first child was worse as one didn't know whether it was the norm or not to a certain extent. It is as the other children grew up that I realised the extent of my DD's potential in so many areas and made me even more depressed that we didn't stick to our guns in certain circumstances and even doubted ourselves.

namechanges then whispers

My DS(5) is a member of Mensa. He has asynchronous development, that's confirmed. I don't know yet if he is also on the autistic spectrum.

There has been lots of problems at school, reception class, which resulted in the psychologist's cognitive report showing his IQ. The Mensa test is only open to those aged 10 or over but they accept psychologist's reports on a case by case basis.

I applied for DS to join because the more support I can get for him the better. School have been great but are only interested in the "bottom" side of his development, the skills he lacks. I suspect the key to my son is through the "top" end. I want to find a way to use his cognitive abilities to increase his social development. There doesn't seem much information on how to do this (please correct me if I'm wrong!).

It's early days, but the Mensa people I've been in contact with have been very supportive. There are not many children in Mensa under 10 years and the children SIG is not up and running, yet. The active Mensans in my area do include teachers so I am looking for their advice and guidance. They in turn are keen to help. I suspect if more parents enrol their DCs then the more they will be able to do.

The groups and the recognition are perks of the membership that will be available to DS once he's older. I don't begrudge him this, he will have a tough enough time at school.

I mistakenly thought the NAGC was aimed at providing schools with info until this thread. I'll go back to have a look and will probably join you on the forums.

None of my family, friends or the school know that DS is a Mensan (although the school have seen his cognitive report). I have no intention of telling them either. There's so much prejudice against a highly intelligent child (on MN or in RL) I prefer to keep a low profile.

btw I don't give a hoot about how fast DS learns or whether he skips a grade. I want him to fit in, but to fit in as himself iyswim. It's more about him learning to deal with the world.

I've just googled asynchronous development - had never heard of that term. Very interesting. What difficulties did your ds experience if you don't mind me asking?

There is no need to whisper I was merely stating that putting Mensa or NAGC membership on a job or Uni application is unlikely to be of value. Everyone should do what suits them.

mensaflame - I'm v curious about about your DS and asynchronous development.

I have a ed psych report which puts DS overall GCA in the 93rd centile, but he's in the 99th for verbal / non-verbal reasoning.

Do they look at the GCA or the scores within or is it a different test all together?

As an idea

DS(5) is emotionally very immature. He can hold adult conversations but when it comes to say sharing he's more at the 2/3 year level.

He has little empathy and struggles to read social behaviour, so will laugh when being told off and continue to do so when other children have realised they are in trouble. This lack of social development is the root of his issues.

He also has issues with space. He cannot be in the middle of a line of children unless with an adult. So he always sits at an end of a row or line.

DS cannot predict unless he has learnt from repetitive past behaviour. If for example he has learnt that he does not run in the school hallway he will remember that message each time he is in that hallway, once it's reinforced, but that rule is for the hallway so does not apply to say the cloakroom or the school hall. He needs things to be very specific.

A sudden change in PE will mystify him eg run round in circle becomes skip round in a circle. He doesn't seem able to pick up by looking at the other children and seeing what to do.

He finds playtime a challenge as he mainly plays on his own. He likes playing with older boys, sometimes successfully, but the games can revert to having DS as the butt of a joke eg run away from DS.

Yet he's excelled in reading and maths, has already asked many profound questions, and has such a curiosity it's a good job he's not a cat! I cannot promise him something in the hope he will forget.

This is my DS.

Babyheave, you have to submit your report to Mensa who will then look at it and decide on membership. I don't know what GCA is. DS completed the WPPSI cognitive test. I know there are others that will be accepted, have a look on their website. His overall score was in Mensa range although his profile is spikey because of his development, so not all reached that range.

GCA is General Conceptual Ability which is what they get off the BAS II with DS (British Ability Scales) but his profile was uneven. At 4+10 he was 8+ years in a couple of areas, 6+ years in a couple of others and the rest he was just above where he should be. I'll have a look at the site.

From my POV DS has also been diagnosed with ASD, so I'm dealing with high intelligence + autism so I am just looking around for all the help I can get in both areas, which is why I'm in the NAGC and the NAS at the same time!

Mensaflame - just read your other post and I could have written it.

My ds also has severe asynchronous development and is also in mensa for the same reasons as Mensaflame's ds.

When you have a child with different needs, you do what you have to do.

are mensa helpful with the behaviour aspect? What if you have a child who was totally disaffected with education - would mensa be able to help with a situation like that?

I wouldn't have thought helping with asynchronous development issues would be within Mensa's remit at all. They are a high IQ membership society- not a support organisation. NAGC is the place to go for support, help, advice, etc. I've just downloaded their factsheet on asynchronous development (free for members)