If he doesn’t have an Education Plan he needs one sound like he I having organization difficulties. My son get to finish his homework on the weekend during the day when the meds kick in.

No, he doesn’t have an IEP or 504 plan.  He’s always done well in school.  But this age is when I finally got one for my daughter who is now in high school.  How hard is it to get a plan for a G/T kid?  His teachers seem understanding of ADHD but keep saying that it is a high-level class with rigorous expectations that he needs to follow.  I’d like fewer problems for him and a copy of the notes so he can focus on listening instead of writing.

Two things. One, an IEP could help you get what you want (fewer problems and a copy of the notes.) 

Two, and this may be unpopular, maybe if he’s telling you that he really feels like a year of review would be helpful, it would be good to explore that. Does it really matter if he does algebra in 7th grade or 8th grade? Or 9th grade? Or whenever? Wouldn’t it be great if he had that much insight into what he needs to be successful and you supported him?  If another year of the previous class gives him a solid foundation and the confidence to move on, it seems like it might be a good investment of time.

I tend to get caught up sometimes in the “gifted” and neglect the “kid.”  I have to tell myself that if my 7th grader is gifted now, she’s still going to be gifted in college.  She doesn’t have to do everything now, and she doesn’t always have to do things ahead of schedule. The ADHD is another layer to deal with that other gifted kids might not have.

I’m thinking of making a deal with him if his last test grade comes up low.  He knows he won’t stay in the class if his grade at trimester is less than 75% anyway.  The deal will be that he can switch classes but then has to get more involved with practicing his cello and practicing Taekwondo and doing the other things that will help his symptoms of ADHD and anxiety.  After a full day of putting up with school, he wants to come home and play DS and Wii instead of taking a break and then getting active.

Thanks for the great input!

I agree with Roosmom! Algebra is hard for even some of the most gifted kids! Math isn’t all our kids are dealing with and they are human!  They have lots of time!  Just my opinion!

I’m about 7 years ahead of you.  My gifted ADHD son was also in the highest math class offered.  I will say Middle school was a struggle.  His inability to organize complicated everything.  My advice is to listen to Roosmom’s advice and remember the kid part. It’s OK to take a year of review.  Make sure he is challenged enough, but not overwhelmed. If this is the first time he’s challenged, that’s definitely a struggle.  My son is in his second year in college.  Last year was the first time he was really challenged, and the consequences and dollars are bigger.  Make sure he learns how to study by the time he graduates from high school.

Thank you so much for the great advice!  My son told me last night, when I asked him what he wanted, that he would like to stay in the class if there just weren’t so many problems.  I’ve been led to believe that the number of problems is part of the rigor of the class.  But I am going to be the pushy parent who asks if we can look at accommodations for him.  He just gets overwhelmed with the number of problems.  Otherwise he and I both know he can do it.  And he really has been advocating for himself at home.  We just need to get it to happen at school!  I so agree with learning how to study before getting to college.  Even from my own experience over 30 years ago!

He needs to get a special education employee in his classes to supervise him to MAKE him take notes. That’s his problem. The teacher does notes for a reason. I was going to say I have the same problem, until you said that. Now I’m saying that he’s making everything at LEAST ten times harder for himself by not taking notes, and that’s just not smart.
As for not wanting to do the work, as someone who always had the work come easy to her throughout elementary school and even sixth grade and seventh grade, when I hit eighth grade, I was shocked that I actually had to TRY, and think REALLY hard about how to do stuff, on TOP of doing all of the assignments, projects, etc. I now had to take extra time to figure out HOW to do my homework assignments, and I had to study in order to pass tests.
I would suggest doing anything you can to make him get the help he needs. Maybe telling him that he can’t play video games unless he goes for extra help in math, and you can contact his teacher to ensure that he has done so. If he realizes how helpful staying after school with the teachers for extra help is NOW, he might actually start wanting to do it so he has an easier time.
I read somewhere that if you do 25-5 minute ratios of schoolwork to break-times will get stuff done efficiently. Maybe let him play five minutes of video games or something in between, but be there to make sure that he only does it for five minutes. If you can’t be there to watch, don’t bother doing it. This comes from his side of the fence. I have serious issues with the internet when trying to get work done. It’s so so so so so so bad.