Am I gifted or "special"?

Question

When I was a child (in the 1st grade in alabama) I was placed in "special" classes. I enjoyed the break from regular class, of course. I moved to KY in the 2nd grade, and I was placed in gifted ed classes. I also enjoyed the break that these classes bestowed upon me. So, I don't get it. Same kid. Two different schools. One school that I was slow, and one school thought that I was above average intelligence. I'm 21 now. I was just sitting here thinking about that. I mean.....what the h**l?

Answer 1

A lot of extremely gifted people end up in the special education classes because they find creative ways to act up in class (because of boredom).  If someone recognizes their giftedness and teaches the child to focus their energy into positive outlets then the said child can achieve greatness.

Answer 2

people are weird

and people in kentucky are dumb

Answer 3

Im in gifted, ur smart in a way and stupid in a way thats what I figured. U learn alot of things faster but simple things seem hard. We have so much fun in gifted, all we do is play around, nerds are hard partiers!!!

Answer 4

My daughter has autism and has a hard time expressing herself. But she has an incredible memory and is wickedly smart. The most sensitive and smart people usually have to overcome the largest hurdles to succeed.

Answer 5

My husband was once in the "special" class and the gifted class at the same time. He is really smart, but he also had ADHD. They used to put the ADHD kids in the "special" class because of their behavioral issues.

You are probably gifted, and you may have had behavioral problems as a child.

Answer 6

Gifted, the people who thought you were an idiot were the true idiots.

Answer 7

Yeah, your gifted.

Like Einstein. He was gifted.

It just means that you are VERY smart and need to be challenged more. You may or may not have a choice of going to a private school which they challenged you more.

Answer 8

I think that Kentucky might need a better education system..... (their gifted is our Special Ed)

Answer 9

Well, here's the thing.  You know how autistic children are usually actually very intelligent but have behavioral or social problems?  This is sort of the same thing only that must be what you were either mistaken for; or the teachers could have mistaken your curiosity or even superiority of maturity for social ineptness. You could have had a slight social problem (that probably wasn't even a problem at all) and that made them overlook your actual inelligence level.  That is probably along the lines of what was going on.  I don't know you or your story in detail so I couldn't actually tell you straight out, but I hope I helped.

Answer 10

You are probably neither.

Answer 11

i dont really understand this ..

but i think you are just like .. retardedly smart.

ahah like you were born with a gift of intelligence.. so you should be considered gifted.  

Answer 12

???.........maybe you're the next einstein..... the school thought he was dumb, when he was an adult he was the smartest dude ever......

   :)

Answer 13

maybe your intelligence got better

Answer 14

Some schools just aren't good at identifying kids with different learning styles. A kid who gets bad grades may be really smart, just has a different learning style.

Answer 15

Is that your largest problem, what your school classification was? In which universe will that make any difference? Get over it.

You're 21, get a job.If you're in school, do your best.

Answer 16

You probably had a mental problem but you were a very smart child. It's common. I used to have somebody like that in my school. She was slightly retarded, but oh my God! She was smarter than I was.

Answer 17

Treebear is right on target. It may not be ADHD (or it could be), but there are any number of issues that can make an otherwise smart kid seem stupid.

My son went through something similar. In elementary school, he scored very poorly in standardized tests. Although the principal insisted nothing was wrong, my wife and I knew differently. We had him tested extensively, and found out he had both ADHD and OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). The ADHD resulted in selective focus, and a large element of boredom when something didn't capture his attention. The OCD made it very difficult for him to take multiple choice tests, among other things.

After he was diagnosed, we took the appropriate steps. Medication for the ADHD, and an IEP for the ADHD and OCD. When he got to high school, he took both special ed classes (on organization and study skills) and IB and AP classes in English and social studies.

So, you may or may not have had (and thus probably would still have) something like ADHD or OCD. Or--read any of Howard Gardner's books on multiple intelligences; here's a link to one: http://www.amazon.com/Frames-Mind-Theory...

It turns out that some people just learn better one way, and others learn better in other ways. Some people are more "intelligent" in some areas, and others more "intelligent" in others.

If you find that you still have some of that pattern: "dumb" or "slow" in certain areas and "smart" in others, that wouldn't be unusual. If it's a significant problem, you might want to get a workup from a psychologist or someone else trained to do such testing. Remember, though, everyone has strengths and weaknesses. By now, you've probably naturally graviated to activities that play to your strengths, and probably moved away from challenges that play to your weaknesses. That's why some people become mathematicians and others become novelists. Neither is "right" or "wrong."

Good question.

Hope that helps.

Answer 18

a lot of times at that age its impossible to tell.  You are probably just average...but ask yourself this question.  Are you really good at doing puzzles and solving riddles if so then you are probably gifted.  Now ask yourself these questions, can you read, can you add, can you talk to people, if yes, then its possible you are "special" but probably doesn't matter.

Answer 19

i think its easier to be mistaken as slow, than be mistaken as smart.

Answer 20

Gifted.The othe school is wrong

Answer 21

Well you may have been behind by one schools standards and ahead by the other schools standards. Id say youre special ed just because youre asking this question.But you obviously learned how yo use a computer and type so..... your quest for the truth continues

.

Answer 22

The gifted and talented program is actually a type of special education. In all reality you could have been both, the only difference is the second school saw the better half. A student can be GT artistically but special education in math. Or GT in science but SE in history. Just reflect and see what you are GT in and what you needed extra help in learning.  

Answer 23

it's the same thing....different name

Answer 24

Wow.

Well, I'm from Alabama, and my brother and sister are both part of the Talented and Gifted Program the state puts on for the higher-intellegence students.

I know they have to do several tests for IQ, creativity, etc.

Maybe you just didn't meet the standards set by our state's special education program.

Answer 25

Maybe you are both.  

Answer 26

I'm pretty sure they have to have your guardian's permission in order to put you into either category.  Ask you guardian what the schools' reasons were for placing you as such.

I'm curious about why your parents/guardians weren't curious about this.

Answer 27

If u managed 2 graduate then u must b gifted.

Answer 28

In most cases if a child appears bored in class or doesn't do nearly as well, it's assumed that they don't understand the class and need to go at an easier pace, instead of thinking, oh this child is bored and needs more stimulation.

There's also that you went to school in 2 different states. Each state is different on how things are done and where they are at accademically. That could be part of it too.  

Answer 29

if you notice most smart people have a mental disability like ADHD or ADD or bipolar disease or multiple personalities. my cousin has an 113 IQ and is slightly autistic, but he writes stories and made the only 4 on the writing test in the county. so yeah. you may be both.

Answer 30

Believe me, it is VERY typical of schools not to know what the ($&$# they are doing.

Even though kids CAN be BOTH  gifted and learning disabled, both schools should have caught on to this.

I'm pretty sure they did, they just didn't want to spend the money or bother to help.

You just don't KNOW how typical this is of schools.  

Answer 31

wow...looks like you got nothing better to do. go do some humanitarian work and save lives with the amazing brain you got in there.