Gifted on one side SpLD's (specific learning difficulties) on the other?

[lisa1cares]

Hi
Looking for advice on how to manage our DS needs, on the one side he is gifted in mathematics on the other he has SpLD's in English.

we have known for some time that our DS was gifted with mathematics he is in year 4 and his primary school have already told us that they are going to struggle to teach him soon as he will be that far advanced in this subject but on the other side he has just been assessed and has SpLD's. I have been on and on at school about helping him for the past 2-3 years we got the report today and it was worse then I thought his spelling age is only 5 and he is now just turned 9 and they say he seems to have problems processing oral information. he memorises reading books etc and does not learn the words as such.

is it common for children that are Gifted to have SpLD's in other areas?
how do I best support my child when its the opposite scale?
He does seem to have a form of synesthesia, where by he see's numbers in music but this is something we have also only just learned about with him, there is a number of people with synesthesia (numbers in music and music in numbers form) with in the family and none seem to have SpLD's.

I just don't know how to meet his needs, they are just so polar opposite from each other.

Its called dual exceptionality / twice exceptional. If there is a third extreme, its multiple exceptionality. Google DME.

I don't know how common it is, and if there are statistics, they will understate the frequency because its often undiagnosed.

One of my children is twice exceptional too. Possibly they both are, except for the second one the learning difficulty is much less pronounced (both children have been diagnosed though).

As to how to support, its difficult to answer that. Getting the issues recognised at school is one major thing you can do, so that you child isn't labelled as lazy or put in a set that they don't belong. Doing what you can to boost self-esteem is another because it often leads to perfectionism (which is a debilitating thing to have and a depressing thing to see).

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Thanks for answering var123, he has now after 4 years fighting with school been assessed by the idss with in school and they now know that he has SpLD's and we have all know for a long time he is gifted mathematical. He has a card in school that if he is struggling he can put up and someone will come and help because at one point he was crying a lot, I totally understand what its like for him as I was also classed as gifted and had dyslexia but didn't get the right support so ended up failing dramatically. What I don't want is my son not getting the right support also and ending up not reaching his full potential because of a simple lack of support.

is the school duty bound to follow what the assessment report? or can they ignore it?

I don't know. Its very much a case of taking a horse to water but that not meaning that you can make it drink.

If you had a report done by an educational psychologist diagnosing the dual exceptionality, followed by an occupational therapist report containing recommendations on exactly how the SEN should be mitigated in practical steps, then you'd have a chance.

However, if the school doesn't want to / can't do it then it will do its best to find excuses e.g. it only recognises reports delivered by the LEA's occupational therapists etc.

I've seen threads on the SEN part of mumsnet that describe the school failing to do things that have been delivered in a format it can't argue with and the school has agreed to. Basically, you need the person who is actually with your DC at each given moment to know about his SEN and be familiar with what they are supposed to do and be willing to do it without finding excuses to avoid it.

In my own case, DS1 was diagnosed in year 6. The primary class teacher, who was also the SENCO, was extremely aggressive in refuting it. In her view he was lazy and " they have a name for everything these days". DS left the school that July and the Y6/ SENCo also moved on.

The following month, I got DS2 assessed. He came up with dysgraphia and high IQ. I waited several months before submitting the report to the school. When I did, the new SENCo sent me a letter acknowledging the diagnosis but essentially saying that "I'd be pleased to know that " DS2 isn't far enough behind to merit any support. Moreover he'd already progressed two full NC levels so they had done their job as far as the state was concerned. (They actually wrote all that!)

Maybe I should fight it, but he's in his last year at the school now and I know the secondary school's view is that they want the best from the children so they will give DS2 what he needs. So, I am asking myself whether its worth the stress to enter into a prolonged dispute with the primary school, when in all likelihood, he will have left before I've got to the end of the complaints process?

Rather than being G&T in one area and having SPLDs in another, my DS has both in the same area... language/verbal IQ/dyslexia. You may be lucky in that your DS has his in different areas so both are more likely to be recognised. A good analogy for my DS would be his SATs results: a 3 in writing, a 5 in reading and when averaged together give a lovely, bang on average Level 4 which is very misleading and hides the true picture.

I have found secondary school to be way better than junior. Var123, I would just wait now and bide your time till secondary. DS was on the bottom table at junior and very misunderstood but he blossomed at secondary. There are still a few issues and it's not perfect but way better than junior. He's been given plenty of chances to shine whereas he was always overlooked at junior. I think he is underachieving but not by enough to get any help from school although he is able to use a laptop and may get extra time. He needs to work harder at some things than other students, homework may take a lot longer but he understands all the difficult stuff and has creative and original ideas - he's a real mixture of strengths and weaknesses. At least his secondary school recognise the strengths!

var123, totally get where your coming from my eldest had SEN's but I was constantly fighting to get school to do anything, it seems if they are well behaved children and not causing a problem then well....its not there problem. secondary school has made a massive difference to her and she seems to be making more progress then we expected. DD1 now 14 was seen as gifted not so much these days but she is expected to get all A's and B's in everything so we are just glad she has gotten somewhere with the things she was struggling with.

I guess I am kind of gutted as we always thought our boy was going to be ok, we knew he was behind in English (not as much as this report says) but this report is far more then that it tells us things we never noticed before. which will mean all my children (4) have SEN's But at the same time all 4 have various gifts. Although I wouldn't for a million years change any of them, I do sometimes wish for a more "normal" life..what ever the hell that might be.

I don't think they are going to get away with leaving my son to struggle because he is clearly so far behind but not sure what they will follow and what parts they wont. The report sets out a clear path for them but what they are asking may well be impossible as he would need a one-one and I can't see them doing that with out a fight.

By the time I finish fighting with them he will have started high school as I know how hard it is (done it before) you can't get blood out of a stone.