Good morning Ebeth! I can assure there are quite a few 8 year olds, but.... (Always that but!)

These kids are typically scattered everywhere, and finding a true age/gender peer locally is really hit or miss. No doubt he'd fine quite a few appropriate peers in the program, but he might only see some of these kids once a year.

At the moment, DYS is more about helping ME cope than DS, but he has made a few friends in the program. Most are "long distance" though, .

I do hope this long distance support will be more meaningful to him in the future, than it is now at just 9.

Good morning, Dottie!

Right now I'm very, very happy with the support that I'm getting from this group!! (Thanks, and double thanks, everyone!!)

I'm just still processing what DYS is all about. I guess I have several months to let this sink in. I like Catherine's post about the stages of acceptance for giftedness. (see Gifted Traits as Toddlers) It is very, very true and very insightful. I think I went back to square one when I got DS8's WISC-IV results.

So this is me stuck simultaneously in stages 1, 2, and 3.
(like a cartoon character with its head spinning round and round and round!)

And best wishes from me as well, Moni. It just seemed a little bit strange that only one person was posting that they were waiting this month for an answer. It seems like there should be 20 or so people who are anxiously posting here. Where are the rest of them?

I'll add my perceptions to what Dottie said.

This is unofficial, but I feel like there are definitely more kids as they get older. Very few 5yos, not many more 6-7yos, a significant jump in 8yos, etc. That testing in 3rd grade seems to help get kids IDd, or at least that's my theory.

But where they are is very hit-or-miss. There are quite a number of DYS kids in our town. But most are teens and all are at least 3 years older than DS7, so there is no ready-made social network for us. At least not yet. The closest child in terms of both geography and age is the next state over, a couple of hours away, not far from my parents' home. They ski at the same place we ski, so we may get to see that family for ski outings. But for now, there's no one else around who wouldn't require an overnight stay to visit.

People in big cities obviously have better luck, but there are no weekly playdates for most of us. We are attending an informal get-together later in the summer, and that will include kids from the region, some of whom are in the same ballpark age-range as my son. That will be nice.

My hope is that DYS will get some more kids close to DS7 in both age and proximity once our state's mandatory GT testing happens in 3rd grade (if not before that). But it's worth being in the DYS group even if that doesn't happen. We at least have contact with like-minded peers. We have access to counselors and experts. We have parents who have BTDT we can ask about things. And we get the informal get-togethers and the Summit to see people.

It's well worth the cost of admission: free! Can't beat that price!

Oh, and as for where all the people waiting are...I suspect a lot fewer people apply during the summer. School and testing and such just aren't on the radar of most people right now, so the group is smaller. I could be wrong, but that's my guess.

Yeah...what Kriston said. Thanks for pointing out about the city advantage. We of course are in the middle of nowhere. We have a similar situation though in that the closest "locals" are teen girls. We've been to several quasi-local events though, and are slowly getting to know some of the regulars. It's like having long distance cousins that you only see over the holidays. There are actually two potential qualifiers in our local district, but both are girls, and both are "highly verbal", . Their ages straddle DS on both extremes.

I still say the benefits are HUGE though if that was ever in question!!!

I like the cousin comparison. That's just how it feels! But cousins with HG+ kids who give good advice.

Dottie- thanks for the info. on that trip which might slow my letter down. I wish my mailman came earlier in the day....have to wait until 3 or 4.
ebeth- thanks for the best wishes. I was one of those people trying to get the application done and get recommendation letters at the end of school in early June. I was thinking of waiting until July when I had more time, but the teachers were on the ball with their forms and I had a sudden get'r done moment.

I hope your wait will be over soon.

Finding local DYS is a hit of miss. It really depends where you live. It can go from "weekly math classes with other DYS homeschoolers" (I didn't make this one up, I heard this comment at the gathering) to not having anybody around.

I think we are really lucky. We found a couple of local YS boys similar age like DS5. I felt like we won the lottery! I cannot describe the difference it made for me and DS5 as well! Live PG kids!

BTW Does anybody else check the DYS database every month to see if there are any new "local" kids?

Where's the DOK smiley when you need him? Weekly math classes????

I do check pretty regularly, for my entire tri-state area, but haven't found one close enough yet for weekly visits. Maybe someday.....

Our city probably has one of the largest concentrations of DYSs in the country and we rarely have more than half a dozen children in any particular age group. We are an extremely active group so our kids have many opportunities to spend time with their peers but that is probably the exception more than the rule for most areas. Being a DYS at least opens the door to more opportunties for social interaction with peers.

Good luck, Moni! I hope you hear from them soon. I've justed started my wait with the July 15th cut-off. I just recently found this board and you guys have so much information- it's been helpful to read about all of your experiences!