Talented and Gifted Program?

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Were you in a gifted program at school? Regardless of I.Q. or diagnosis, who was in TAG, or similar program and when did you enter this special academic realm? I was started in TAG in the first grade and maintained activity until the eighth grade. About that time I started developing depressive symptoms, and started making poor choices with my future. Prior to that, I had already had a lot of socialising issues. I was an early reader, and good with numbers early on, but remember being poor at spelling bees and listening to a teacher for more than thirty seconds, I timed myself.

It didn't exist in my school (or much of anywhere, I don't think, in that era). We had levels in each class, though. Things like reading, math, and language were divided up by ability. I was always in the "first" (advanced) group in reading and language, and usually in the last in math.

My kid went through a GATE/Seminar program, though. Thank goodness, as the quality of what they threw at her wasn't all that advanced, but it was a mile better than what the "ordinary" kids got.

I was in our school's TAG program. TAG was only available for Juniors in high school. Besides TAG, they also called it the Junior Honors Program. I was in it my Junior year in 1981-1982. We didn't know of Asperger's in the U.S. then, but Asperger's is my diagnosis. The way we were selected for the program was by teacher vote---and only three students from each of our area's schools were allowed in it. This is not how the gifted programs, TAG, work today.

The Wikipedia article Talented and Gifted Program, mentions Affective Curriculum. I don't believe I ever received this. I am going to go to an AS specialist, and would like to undergo DX tests. I've recently perused a book that is all about Gifted Adolescents and Adults being misdiagnosed with AS, ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, and other problems that as it turns out after a second, third, or even fourth opinion, they do not have. The big argument is that there are gifted traits that many gifted individuals have in common, and that they should not be classified into a set of criteria for pre-existing disorders, because they aren't classic enough. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I think that with what we know about Autism and giftedness that it's safer to assume that giftedness could be a sign of an Autistic Spectrum disorder, but not necessarily. I was the first "gifted" member of my family. My mom was the first member of her family to attend college, as was my father, but he didn't receive a degree that I am aware of. He now has a special interest or a hobby in popular theory of cosmology and some physics, but absolutely no academic background in the fields.
Both my parents were in the Air Force when they met, and both sets of my grandparents exhibit weirdness, or have had full blown psychological issues. My mom has an epileptic seizure disorder. Dad has flat effect and other a-typical traits that I've observed.

I was in the GATE Program from 6th grade onward.
Didn't do me much good though.

My daughter is gifted IQ but they won't put her in no programs because she doesntt do the basic school work as it is.

When I was in school, I was in a program called "enrichment", which was a class for gifted students with IQ's higher than 130. I started in 2nd grade, and quit in 10th grade, when I thought I was "too cool" to participate anymore. Looking back, it was a good experience.

No, they even wanted to put me into special ed at one time.

I was never allowed into any enrichment or similar lessons, classes or projects. Not even allowed into the stuff for 'average to good' students. I was often grouped with the 'slow' students instead.

I advice anyone who is offered enrichment classes and feels up for it to go and the hell enrol as fast as you can.

mixtapebooty has brought up something that I have researched---and it is very important. There are similarities between the following three conditions:

1. Asperger's Syndrome
2. Giftedness
3. Asperger's Syndrome and Giftedness Combined (co-morbid)

I am finishing my last class of a 27 credit hour gifted endorsement program. I am currently a gifted intervention specialist in a public high school. I am learning about this all the time. I carefully analyzed the differences in giftedness and AS and giftedness/AS co-morbid. Upon that analysis and the AS expert who diagnosed me, it was clear I had AS. But I encourage anyone who thinks they may have been misdiagnosed to look into this matter. Please take a look at these websites:

http://www.gt-cybersource.org/Record.as ... &rid=11381

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/eric/fact/asperger.pdf

http://www.twicegifted.net/id6.html

http://www.sengifted.org/articles_couns ... rder.shtml

And there are many other websites to help. Also interesting is nonverbal learning disorder. It can be confused with AS as well.
I hope this helps.

Smashing work! glider18, thank you so much.

I got really interested in this thing about the gifted program in school. As I said earlier, I was in the eleventh grade TAG program---but you only took three students from each school---and it was simply voted on by the teachers---no tests.

I got my records this morning from my old school. I had a counselor trained in gifted identification at the school where I teach look at them. The conclusion was, that even taking into account deviation error, etc.---I was not gifted. My IQ is listed as 111.

But I do seem to have a gift in music. I play keyboards, trombone, and dulcimers.

Hmm, the teachers probably thought you deserved to be in TAG because of your behaviour or attitude, like you earned it all the way around. Did you have really good grades? There are plenty of students who surpassed my GPA in high school who were never considered gifted as adolescents. Some people just kick the studying into high gear towards college to prepare for the competition in the work force that lies ahead. My I.Q., is uncertain to me right now. I'm sure it's above 130, but I'm dysfunctional as can be, and probably won't earn an undergrad degree before I turn 30, if any at all.

Yes mixtapebooty, I maintained good grades throughout school. I got mostly As and Bs. Occasionally I would get a C. I was in the honor society too. And I usually took the scholarship tests each year---though I didn't do exceptionally well on them.

It was called GATE at the time and we learned about four Spanish words once then played The Oregon Trail for the rest of the meetings.




P.S. I'm going to hell for hotlinking.

My high school had Advanced Placement courses. I took AP English and American History.

Z