IQ Testing

I had scheduled Squirrel to take the OLSAT on Saturday. For those of you who aren't familiar with the miserable torture of the NYC public school system, this is an IQ test that is given to determine if a child is eligible for admission to any of our system's "Gifted and Talented" programs.

These various programs have different cutoff points...some will consider children who score 85 and up, some are 90 and up...whatever.

Now, this was not the first IQ Squirrel had taken. His history has been that he does very, very well on the portions of the tests that he finishes. On those parts, he scores in the top 5% or so. But, he had never finished a test.

However, I decided to have him tested because I'm trying to have as many options available as possible for next year.

Before I go on, let me just say that I find this process insulting. EVERY child is gifted and talented. It's just that they all have different gifts and talents, not all of which are things that are taught at school. This test determines 2 things: first, that the parents or guardians of the child are savvy enough to apply, and second, that the child has a strong aptitude for traditional academics. That's it.

We aren't wealthy enough to say "poo poo" to a system with which we disagree, though, so...I went forward with the test, hopeful that he would be able to finish it, and he would perform well enough to get into one or two programs.

But, about an hour into the 1.5 hour test, a nervous looking administrator called me over. He was being disruptive, and they needed to know if he could be quieted down and finish. I spoke with him, and it became clear to me that we should just call it a day. So, we left.

I was upset...not with Squirrel (who actually lasted an hour doing a boring test...yay for him!), but that there were a few options I had to cross off my list.

Even if he had scored well and gotten into one of these programs, I had no assurance that they would actually be good for him...it's just something that we can't consider.

He does have the distinction of being the first kid ever (in this district) to be thrown out of the test. It's okay...we've been thrown out of much nicer places than that!

The administrator is checking with the testing company to see what the procedure is in this case. I will post back when I get an answer.

So, here's what I'm wondering: on principle, do I agitate for accommodation in testing? If Squirrel were given the test one-on-one, I'm relatively confident that he could not only complete it, but score quite well...

I know that such a fight would be a fight for Special Needs children in general, and would probably not be resolved in time for my son to benefit. I wouldn't even know where to start if I were to do this...

I think it would be the "right" thing to do, but honestly, I need to reserve my energy, and work on what we will do for next year...not fight some fight about the theoretical right for children who need accommodation to participate in a system that I think is, at its core, flawed.

Why not look at EVERY child as gifted and talented, evaluate each one, and then place them in the best schools possible? Even the parents of the brightest, most mild and focused children find the NYC public process daunting...

EEEERRRRGGGHHH!!! I would like a Fairy Godmother to flutter down, wave her wand, and solve all my problems. I'm flummoxed by this system. I'm flustered...what does one do, exactly, with a boy like mine?

I've bribed him for good behavior this week...if the reports from school are good for the week, he gets to come to my office Friday afternoon, and shred paper. He tries to convince other people in my office suite to pay him $1 to do this. It's his favorite way to spend an afternoon. Get your dollar bills ready, folks.

Neurotypical Brother?

Squirrel has a little brother...now 16 months. Of course, since birth I have stared at this boy, looking for signs of ADHD.

They were coloring together last night...Squirrel had put a pad on the floor, and had pulled out the crayons. Little Brother would scribble a bit, replace the crayon he was using, get another, scribble some more.

I don't remember Squirrely EVER doing anything like that. He didn't color, really, until he was at least 4. His brother actually will play by himself, too.

Honestly, I have no idea how I survived Squirrel's toddler years. Since he was my first, I thought his behavior was normal. I just had no idea that other kids could play by themselves, or be interested in anything other than driving their mother nuts.

Of course, I love my big boy...but it will be very nice to have a child who doesn't have ADHD, too. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Report cards

Do you suppose that blind children get report cards that read things like, "Billy would be a fantastic student, if only he would start start making use of his eyesight"?

This is all I have to say on the subject of report cards.

Response from the NY Times

Oh, me of little faith...I got a lovely response back from Mr. Carey about his article...

Dear Squirrelsmama,

Thanks for writing, and don't worry about piling on, you were relatively civil. The story did not mean to portray parents
dealing with ADHD as lazy or inadequate or somehow poor, and does not use
those words. Rather, I tried to detail how much harder parents of many kids
must work to contain some bahaviors--and how, very often, these efforts are
not enough. Most parents do not want to use meds (that's in the story too)
and absolutely there are struggles with schools and insurers.

The case I described was moderate, yes, but the boy was diagnosed by one of
the top research centers in the country. He too had problems throughout the
day, according to his parents, but was most explosive and hard to handle at
home. Still, as the story said, most parents even in this intense
behavioral program decided to at least supplement with drugs.

Amen, in any case, to any research that can help resolve kids' neurological
or psychiatric problems, and again, thanks for writing to me.

sincerely,

Ben Carey

So, that's that.

In other news, I am spending the rest of this short week looking for a new "team" for Squirrel...I changed my kids over to my insurance as of 1/1/07, and now have to find a psychiatrist. If I'm not posting much...I'm doing the insurance company hustle.

You sing it to the tune of "The Time Warp"

You just pick up the phone/and then you scream and shout/then you fill out some forms/and mail them all about/then you pay your copay...and your premium, too! I wanna do the insurance hustle with you!