Owl in the Library

Autism Article in the Washington Post

I came across an article in today's Washington Post about the difficulties of teaching mildly autistic students in public schools. The article rightly points out that it's hard to meet the social needs of these children. Putting them into an isolated special education setting may seem to be the right solution for their social issues, but it takes them out of the regular classroom even though they can complete the academic work.This is especially true for twice exceptional children - those who are both gifted and on the autistic spectrum - even though this population is not addressed in the article.

The article says:

"Children with mild forms of autism are so capable academically that their tantrums might appear to be willful misbehavior, their inability to turn in homework on time a sign of laziness. In fact, they struggle with neurological differences that make it difficult for them to control their emotions, organize their thoughts and imagine what someone else is thinking or feeling."

This is such an accurate picture of life with Owlet A! He was eleven before we finally got the Asperger's/ mild autism diagnosis. Prior diagnoses ranged from childhood onset schizophrenia all the way to "He's a weird kid. Get over it." I homeschooled him for two years (kindergarten and first grade) because the stress of a normal classroom was overwhelming for him. When he returned to public school, teachers often punished him for misbehavior that resulted from his anxiety and inability to understand social norms.

He still struggles with organization, anxiety, and social skills, but he has come such a long way! Gone are the days when I longed for a t-shirt that said, "I'm not a terrible mother. My son has Asperger's." - or, worse, the prediagnosis days when I wondered if I was a terrible mother.

While many of the parents discussed in the Post article have opted to send their children to special schools devoted to mildly autistic children, Owlet A has always been in public school. We looked at a special school here, but we decided that we can't shelter him from the world forever, so it would be better to help him succeed in it as early as possible.

His HS case manager last year (and current speech therapist) has helped so much. Autism is classified as a communication disorder, so autism cases are frequently assigned to the school speech therapist. We've seen this work badly, but the current speech therapist also has an autistic son, so she has a real handle on the sorts of interventions Owlet A needs. If I could wave a magic wand and change one thing about autism services in public schools, it would be assigning autistic kids to the speech therapist. So often, we've had speech therapists throw up their hands and say, "I'm not trained for this." Has anyone else had this experience?

If you're interested in autism issues, do read the article. It offers an interesting perspective on the difficulties of educating children with this ever-more-prevalent diagnosis.

Traits of Talented Young Writers

Between Nanowrimo and the poetry writing handbook I reviewed for Nonfiction Monday, I've been thinking about gifted writers even more than usual. Perusing the poetry book reminded me of a grad school moment, so I thought I'd share it with you.

I discovered the work of Dr. Jane Piirto in a class on creativity. It was the first class I took in my Master's program, and it led to the first of many a-ha moments I enjoyed during my time at William and Mary.

This particular moment grew out of the textbook we used, Piirto's Understanding Those Who Create. One chapter of the book discusses talented child writers and the childhood writings of famous authors. It contains the following list:

"Qualities Found in the Writing of Children Who Display Extraordinary Talent

1. The use of paradox
2. The use of parallel structure
3. The use of rhythm
4. The use of visual imagery
5. Unusual melodic combinations
6. Unusual use of figures of speech - alliteration, personification, assonance
7. Confidence with reverse structure
8. Unusual adjectives and adverbs
9. A feeling of movement
10. Uncanny wisdom
11. Sophisticated syntax - hyphens, parentheses, appositive
12. Prose lyricism
13. Displaying a natural ear for language
14. Sense of humor
15. Philosophical or moral bent
16. A willingness to play with words" (p. 206)

My a-ha moment? Notice that the list never says that talented children write adult-quality prose or poetry, or prose or poetry that will be appreciated by adult readers. They may, of course, but it isn't a requirement. A gifted young writer might demonstrate all of these qualities in a poem about laser gun-toting aliens or a story about a ninja fish. (Yes, those examples come straight from the Owlets.)

I think this may be part of why identifying kids with verbal talent is more difficult than identifying kids who shine in the areas of math and science. A child with adult-level math abilities can do adult-level mathematics, because asynchrony and maturity level are irrelevant to their field of endeavor. Gifted writers, on the other hand, may be overlooked because their work focuses on less-than-elevated subject matter - or simply because the adults reading it may not be effective judges of their use of sophisticated writing techniques.

I'll close with a poem Owlet N wrote when he was in fourth grade. I'm very fond of it; it certainly displays his sense of humor (number 14 on the list).

The Big

Beware, beware, beware my son,

Of the Great and Terrible Big.

Beware, beware, beware, my son.

He lives in the land of the Drig.

Beware his head.

Beware his teeth.

Beware his sword.

Beware his sheath.

Beware, beware,

beware, beware,

or he will steal your underwear!

What are your experiences with young writers?

                               

Nanowrimo 09

We did it! Team Library won Nanowrimo!

My book: The Naga Project, 50,493 words (and I won Piboidmo, too)

Owlet A's book: Hel's Hammer, 20,070 words

Owlet N's book: Aurcs, 15,016 words (his second Nano win)

Owlet S's book: The Adventures of Super Pillow, 1,251 words

We had to cut Owlet S's word goal because having two people noveling on one computer did not work very well. All in all, though, an extremely successful November.

Tonight, we will be having pie and sparkling apple juice. Toasting the Novels is a beloved Library tradition, dating all the way back to 2008. EDIT: The Owlets unanimously agreed that I should share the pie recipe with you. It's so simple that I almost hate to dignify it with the term "recipe," but all the Owlets adore it.

My Mother's Chocolate Mousse Pie

2 packages (4 oz. each) Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate

1/2 cup milk

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 tub Cool Whip (8 oz.)

1 Oreo pie crust

Heat all but 3 squares of the chocolate and 1/4 cup of the milk in a microwavable bowl for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. [Afterward, you can either grate the remaining squares and stir them into the filling or melt them and drizzle over the top - or just throw all the squares into the microwave, if you prefer.] Stir until completely melted.

Beat in cream cheese and the remaining 1/2 cup milk. Then gradually add the Cool Whip and beat until smooth.

Spoon the filling into the crust and freeze until firm. Let stand at room temperature for a half hour before serving.

Creativity and Success

I came across this article at the Psychology Today blog. The author talks about creativity, and how creative children often suffer in the classroom because teachers are not properly attuned to their needs. Interestingly, says the author, studies show that teachers say they value creativity in the classroom, but they often punish children for creative behaviors. In my experience, this is true of giftedness as well. I've known many teachers who accepted GATE classrooms because they thought the kids would be "easier." Some of them love it, of course, but others can't wait to go back to the normal classroom.

I was struck by how many of the behaviors the author labels "creative" sounded to me like typical gifted behaviors. It's not surprising, since many gifted children are also highly creative. However, the article claims, "Creativity predicts future accomplishments better than intelligence or school grades." I'm not sure how creativity was isolated from other factors to determine the effect on future success. It is interesting to ponder which factors lead to success in life, and which lead to failure.

One of the most interesting predictive factors I've read about is the ability to delay gratification. I'm embedding a great (short) TED Talk that discusses one experiment on the ability to delay gratification among four to six year olds, complete with adorable video of the subjects.

What do you think? Are there particular attributes or characteristics that are a sure ticket to success? Is creativity one of them? Intelligence? Not eating the marshmallow?

Monday Poetry Stretch: Hay(na)ku

When they learn that my husband is in the military (he's a Navy engineer), people frequently ask how I can stand deployments. This poem, for the Monday Poetry Stretch, is my reply. It is a series of Hay(na)ku, a three line poem with one word in the first line, two in the second, and three in the third.

Married to the Military

When

You leave

A hole remains.

“When

Will daddy

Be back home?”

The

Children ask.

We count down

 

Months

And days

On calendar squares.

 

Our

Family is

Like the moon

 

Waxing

And waning

Through your seasons

 

It

Has its

Own special rhythm

 

Daddy

Here, daddy

There, daddy home.

 

When

You leave

A hole remains

 

But

Our love

Fills it up.

Gifted Test Prep

Both The "More" Child and Loving your gifted child linked to this article, about a growing trend: prepping three and four year old children to take admission tests for gifted programs.

It has taken me a little while to blog about article because, after two years of testing children for GATE admission, it doesn't surprise me at all. As soon as the 'no' letters were mailed each year, our office would start getting calls from parents who wanted their child retested. And, yes, I fielded many, many calls from parents wanting to know how to help their child study for the test we used.

A school director quoted in the article sums up my position on kiddie test prep perfectly:

“It’s unethical,” said Dr. Elisabeth Krents, director of admissions at the Dalton School on the Upper East Side. “It completely negates the reason for giving the test, which is to provide a snapshot of their aptitudes, and it doesn’t correlate with their future success in school.”

Much as all this test preparation is disturbing, I have to wonder whether we, as a community, do it to ourselves. The first problem is the label. Who doesn't want their child to be gifted? I wish that we could find another term, one that emphasizes the special needs of GATE kids. When you couple that with the enrichment-focused nature of many gifted programs, it's no wonder parents want their child to have the advantages being GATE identified seems to bestow.

The problem, of course, is what happens when kids are inappropriately placed. When I taught in a self-contained GATE class, I had a couple of students who clearly did not belong in the class. They did not have the reading skills and analytical ability to keep up... and they knew it. It was a frustrating, draining, demoralizing experience for them. I think the key is putting kids into an environment where they can thrive, and if a GATE program is done well, typical kids will not thrive in it, any more than they would thrive if they were accelerated a year or two.

Gifted is a special education population. If we 'marketed' it that way, would it help the problem? I don't know, but it is one of those questions that keeps me up at night.

Being Gifted During the Financial Crisis

I've been seeing this AP article about NAGC's State of the States report all over the place recently. The NAGC report is well worth reading.It discusses the uneven treatment of gifted kids from state to state as well as the impact of the current financial crisis on gifted education.

Yes, there are big problems. Yes, several states have rolled gifted budgets into budget pools that fund  non-gifted programs (you know, luxuries like transportation). Yes, gifted as a whole is underfunded. If you have a gifted child, I don't think any of this will come as a big surprise to you.

But...

I've read many comments on the AP article that strike me as a bit... dare I say it... hysterical. It's true that most schools are not set up to serve the needs of gifted kids, especially those who are highly and profoundly gifted (IQ in the 145 and up range). No Child Left Behind exacerbates this problem, but the reality is that typical schools have never been set up to serve the needs of gifted kids, and gifted kids have been surviving (and in many, many cases, thriving) despite this fact for a long time now. 

Instead of jumping on the bandwagon and decrying the lack of attention to the needs of gifted kids, I thought I would offer a few suggestions for things we can do as parents to keep our gifted kids happy and inspired without breaking the bank or involving the school (unless you want to).

• Read! Read as a family. Make sure your kids have books to read on their own. Read books about gifted children and books about super heroes and books about Nobel Prize winners. Use your library card, or if, like me, you are haunted by overdue fees, consider BookSwim (like Netflix for books). Give books or bookstore gift cards as holiday books. 
• Volunteer! I think volunteering can be a wonderful experience for gifted kids, especially if you can find a way for them to volunteer in an interest area. (Future marine biologist Owlet S wants to be stationed in Virginia again just so she can train to be a touch tank volunteer for the museum I volunteered at when we lived there.) You may have to do a little research to find opportunities for children to volunteer, and you may have to commit to work alongside your child for a little while, but there are great volunteer opportunities out there.
• Visit local attractions! Everywhere we have ever been stationed, we have managed to find small local museums, parks, historic houses, etc. with free or nearly-free admission. Even big museums frequently have free admission days, and for museums that your family really enjoys, memberships can reduce the cost of repeat visits.
• Encourage projects! We keep a cupboard full of art supplies and a shelf of reference books for those moments when inspiration strikes. I've also learned to provide a safe place for long-term projects to live. Often, the only things a child needs from you is help with planning and goal setting and an appreciative audience when the hard work is done. Be on the lookout for large projects to participate in, too. I know I've blogged about Nanowrimo's Young Writer's Project before, but I'll mention it again as a great project idea.
• Find a mentor! If your child is focused on one area, you may want to find an expert who is willing to work with your child. I've found that experts are usually very willing to at least answer questions that are outside of my own interest areas. Mentoring can be long or short term - Owlet N once had a very nice email exchange with a game designer he admired, and Owlet A is currently working  with an engineering mentor through his high school, a partnership that will last to the end of the school year.
• Play games! Games can teach kids so many things, and there are so many good ones available. The Owlets currently love Fluxx,Small World, and many of the Gamewright games. Mensa also gives game awards every year.
• Explore nature! Your backyard is free, and many hiking trails and parks are, too. Many state and national parks charge only a nominal parking fee.

What do you do to keep your gifted child's mind engaged even in these trying times?

Why I Love Nano

I love Nanowrimo because I get to have great conversations with the Owlets like this one, between me and Owlet N:

"How's the writing going, Mom?"

"I'm having a tough day. My main character needs to go and raid the rakshasa fortress to get back the magic gem they stole from her, but she refuses to go. She keeps pointing out that she doesn't know any magic, and she's only had two sword lessons, and maybe she's not ready to take on the demon army."

"Yeah, I have days like that, too, where I'm not sure where to go next. In fact, my adventurers just found out about the lich's master plan, and they don't know how to handle it. Have you tried backing up and erasing some stuff, or maybe throwing in a new character?"

It's a unique situation - we aren't interacting as Owl and Owlet. We're on equal ground together as writers, and we can toss ideas back and forth and share our progress as fellow explorers in the trackless wilderness of the mid-novel. It's such fun!

Plus, I have passed the 30,000 word mark!

NurtureShock Chapter Five: The Search for Intelligent Life in Kindergarten

Yes, you caught me - I am skipping Chapter Four. I've had to concede defeat; I have nothing interesting to say about "Why Kids Lie." The whole chapter just seemed like common sense to me.

Chapter Five, on the other hand, focuses on whether we should wait to test children for gifted programs until they are older. Now, that's a topic I can get excited about!

The chapter begins with a child being given an IQ test, complete with pattern blocks, vocabulary, and "what's missing?" pictures. Anyone whose child has ever been given the WISC will recognize it here. Then the authors say, "Testing sessions like this one are the keys to admittance to elite private schools and to Gifted  and Talented programs in public schools."

I wish! Private schools, maybe. But I've tested hundreds of children for GATE, and I've never dealt with a district that administers individual IQ tests for GATE admission. Group administered tests are acknowledged to be less accurate, but they are much cheaper. I actually advise military parents with gifted kids to shell out the money for a privately-administered IQ test, so they can present the results to the GATE coordinator when they move to a new district. Gifted criteria differ from district to district, but most of them do accept standard individual IQ tests.

Anyway, the chapter gives a quick overview of common GATE tests, although it doesn't mention the Raven Progressive Matrices, which is a nonverbal, group-administered IQ test used by many programs in my area. Then comes the bombshell:

            "Regardless of what is being tested, or which test is used, they all have one thing in common. They're all astonishingly ineffective predictors of a young child's academic success."

The figure Bronson and Merryman give is that of 100 kindergarteners identified as GATE by an IQ test, only 26 would still test as gifted in the third grade. The problem is that for many districts, once you're in a GATE program, you're in... and if you don't test in at the beginning of your school career, you're out forever.

This is scary because brains develop at different rates. The authors summarize this research. I found the discussion interesting, because I have read many "Signs of Giftedness" type lists that tell parents, "A truly gifted child will be talking at seven to nine months," or "Gifted children reach milestones like crawling or reading much earlier than their peers." But my experience - classroom or family - doesn't bear this out. Just one example: Owlet N, who scores in the top 3% on an individual IQ test at age 11, walked and talked at 12 months and learned to read at five - well within the normal range.

Bronson and Merryman conclude that the problem lies in testing kids too early. I would disagree. I think we need to identify kids as early as possible, because for really bright kids, third grade may be too late to start receiving services. I think the problem is twofold. One, arbitrary cutoffs. It drives me crazy when kids are denied entry to a gifted program because they miss the minimum score by one point. The standard error of measurement on the Raven, to give one  example, is plus or minus seven points! This is especially problematic if a child cannot be retested the next year. Two, rigid in or out policies. I wish more programs were flexible about moving kids in and out of GATE programs as needed.

Then the authors discuss the College of William and Mary's Center for Gifted Education's evaluation of South Carolina's gifted program. CFGE found that many children were not performing well in the gifted classroom (which gets back to my point about flexibility, but I digress). "You'd expect the researchers would have concluded that those children should be moved into a normal classroom, but instead William & Mary recommended the state come up with gifted interventions - basically, special programs for the kids who were remedial-yet-gifted, an oxymoronic concept if there ever was one," say Bronson and Merryman. As a proud alumna of William and Mary's gifted program, I have to leap to my alma mater's defense and point out that gifted kids can and do have other issues which may impact their school success, but that is really another post.

While I take issue with some of the assertions in this chapter, I want to keep my comments brief. I agree with the authors that GATE admission policies are flawed, and I expect most of my colleagues in the gifted field would agree, too. This chapter gives a nice overview of some of the issues. I think the discussion of brain development is particularly interesting - and reassuring for parents whose children are late bloomers.

Out of the Mouths of Owlets

Owlet S was attempting to negotiate a later bedtime this evening. "[Owlet N] gets to stay up until 10:00," she said.

"[Owlet N] is nearly twelve. When you are nearly twelve, your weekend bedtime will be 10:00, too."

Then she said, "But he's been staying up that late since he was in his late tens."

It didn't get her a later bedtime, but it made me laugh.