I E P For Gifted, Not Sure What to Ask For

As a HS teacher, I got concerned when I ready he is not inquisitive or motivated. I have bright students who are NOT meeting their potential because of these reasons; they haven't needed to work as hard as some of their peers. They haven't learned how to handle a rigorous load and struggle to keep up in my class. I would recommend that your son gets more math, science, and logic work at school, or deep reading (rather than fast/pleasure reading), to challenge him.

One of the worst things they can do to GT kids is give them MORE work...... they are too smart for that.. they soon realize that it isn't fun being smart if it just means they have to do more......

What they need to do is find things that interest him, that he wants to learn about when his regular schooling is done..... for example, if he has an interest in dinosaurs, have him do research about dinosaurs and create a diorama about their habitat..... fun, mind-expanding things.... not just more useless worksheets.

If he is advanced in certain areas, like math, for example, they need to come up with more challenging math for him to do once he shows proficiency in the standard skills.... we were teaching our son algebraic concepts in early elementary school... my oldest daughter, for example, would come up with an equation that had 4 variables.... and then create a series of equations that solved the different variables so he could finally solve the first one. He loved those! (I don't remember what grade..... possibly 4th or 5th grade, maybe?) Many times he solved them in his head. (He would do this during church, to keep him quiet.) No, he wasn't a straight A student...... and, despite his ability in math, in high school, he failed Algebra II because he just didn't do the work. It can be hard to keep the GT kids engaged in upper grades... they get kind of fed up with the system.

I wish our school district did IEP's for GT kids...... but they don't.

Is there a LEGAL IEP for gifted??? What I mean by that is is it actually a legal document like a standard IEP, or is this just something your school does? I've never heard of an IEP for gifted.

To answer your question, though, basically what he needs is to make sure the work is challenging for him. Not more work, just more challenging.

My daughter has a WEP (essentially an IEP for gifted) and they basically tell us what they are providing and we sign off on it. She is part of a G/T program, so it's not particularly individualized, although each student's WEP is tailored to their strengths and weaknesses. But there are a lot of G/T kids in the school in her grade, so they work in a cluster and now she's in a specialized G/T class all day, every day. Don't know if that helps -- perhaps our school does it differently than yours.

Check out http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/ for IEP/WEP schtuff.

((Something a lot of people don't get, although it's STARTING to get codified... is that giftedness is a brain disorder... and like autism.. it's on a spectrum))

What you'll want on your IEP will depend a lot on where on the spectrum your child falls. For example atypical development is extremely common, as are meltdowns (mental/emotional collapse... ranging from violent and dangerous outbursts to shutting down almost catatonic, and everything in between), sensory issues, etc.

Just as an example... one child may have calculus level maths, but be at 2nd grade reading/writing. The IEP will reflect that she is working at different levels, with different goals for each subject (instead of going off of a grade level). She may also be prone to shaking fits and not be able to bear being touched when she's having a meltdown... so the IEP will have strategies for the teachers to implement and for her to work on herself both to help prevent the meltdowns and how to cope with them once they're in full swing. She may also have music in her IEP (as in earbuds and MP3 player) as being preferred for individual work, and 10 more hours in the G/T room than she'd previously had.

Another GT child... may have a movement clause (allowing them to stand and work), a laptop / all work req. to be typed to deal with asynchronistic development aspect (dysgraphia), earplugs for silence, and a strategy section for continuous talking (as in how to gradually work on their impulse control when positing).

BOTH IEPs for GT & NonGT students are fluid things... working on 'normalizing' children to the best of the school's ability, and simply dealing with what cannot be normalized. They're looking for "ideal" as well as "dealing with".

Sorry if I sound clueless, but I sort of am. I tried to look back at previous posts to see if there was something hinting at your son's IEP issue, but didn't notice anything in particular.

Can you share exactly what/why he was being evaluated? It sounds like he is already in a GT program, so I'm not clear why they were testing his IQ or doing additional evaluations now. It might help some of the mom's with experience in the IEP department if you could share what the concerns/issues with your son are.
My daughter is G/T, but she doesn't have an IEP. She just was in a "standard" pull out program in elementary school. And now in middle school, she is in gifted and/or AP classes for each individual subject. But that is all there is to it.
So, as a mom without a child with an IEP, I'm guessing there is some issue that needs addressing, but you haven't mentioned what it is. And that would probably help the "in the know" moms with suggestions about what to ask/demand in your IEP meeting.

After your SWH:
oh, ok. So he wasn't formally entered into Gate until this testing then. (That's what it sounds like you are saying anyway). Where we are there IS no IEP for G/T. But I met with the teachers in the program and had plenty of opportunity to discuss and ask questions, let my daughter meet them in their own classroom, etc.
So, I would just ask for what you stated here. That you don't want him just doing MORE work, busy work, etc. Ask questions! That is the best thing you can do at the meeting. As for getting communication regarding his social experiences at the school, just talk to his teacher. I'm sure you will get what you need that way. First question: what does the G/T program consist of?
There are lots of different ways different school districts address these programs. So find out how yours works. Ours was a one day a week pull-out. My daughter was not in her "normal" classroom AT ALL one day per week, but actually was at a totally different SCHOOL 10 miles away. Every week, on Thursdays only. So, the questions become: what about assignments that are due or tests that are administered in the "regular" classroom when your student is in the G/T pullout class? How are those addressed? Does it create extra work for your child? Logistics questions regarding transportation and lunches, etc for 2 different schools, etc...
Now that my daughter is in middle school, they don't do pullout days anymore. She is in Gifted/AP for all her core subjects, along with the rest of the G/T kids that pooled into that middle school. The same kids she shared pull-out classes with in elementary, essentially. Only now it is all day, every day, practically. And there is no "regular" classroom missed work to resolve.

Some kids have issues with pull out programs. Both in the G/T class, and back in the regular classroom (singled out by the kids for missing that one day every week, not being around the other kids in the G/T class often enough to open up, etc.). And as your child gets started, the teacher should contact you about how they are doing with it all. They should stay in communication with you about these transitions. If they have concerns, or you do, they will ask and you can, too.
My daughter suddenly stopped wanting to go. Cried at night. The teacher took special time with her talking with her one on one, etc. Nada. Turns out (I'm a detective in my free time) that something a lady standing in the dropoff line had said to my daughter had upset her. Absolutely NOTHING to do with the G/T program. Just that one unassociated lady keeping kids safe getting out of cars. I got that issue resolved by giving my daughter the "ok" to tell the lady that if she had a problem she needed to address it to ME (mom). And daughter was fine after that. Sometimes it is the little things. But the teachers are very sensitive to these things with the kids.
Ours were wonderful.
Good luck to you and your son.

ooh.. (sorry to edit again). Another thing I asked for, was for my daughter to have a folder at her desk (regular classroom) with fun things for her to do, and also be allowed to read her own books when she had completed an assignment during class time. She was always finished early and I didn't want them just giving her more work. But you have to be careful that you don't incentivize them rushing through stuff, either. ;)

First, you do have a say and you can ASK for anything. With discussion, the IEP team (you, the teacher, principals, etc) will come up with what is best for him. Tell them what you see (likes to read, not great with math, and not super inquisitive) and your concerns (social development and busy work). One of the things an IEP does, regardless of if it is for giftedness or not, is help the child with their weaknesses while playing on their strengths.

I urge you to definately pay attention to what he isn't striving in because if he is advanced in reading but struggling or lagging in other subjects (such as math) that can be a learning disability and could require an IEP regardless of his IQ. The way it was explained to me is that the discrepancy is considered a "disability" which allows for intervention and many highly intelligent children/people have this. My son was way advanced in math and struggled in reading but scored well enough in testing that they didn't catch it (even with my insistance) until 6th grade when we moved (and they still didn't listen to me until a teacher noticed it too).