School Advocacy Consultation

By Barbara Gilman, M.S.

Is your child frustrated with the slow pace of school?

Is the pullout gifted program inadequate?

Are classroom accommodations not offered?

Does your school refuse to accelerate for social reasons?

Is there NO gifted program (“all children are gifted”)?

Has your advanced child been refused identification due to IQ screeners, creativity tests, or a messy desk?

Is your Twice-Exceptional child receiving accommodations for weaknesses only—or just seen as average?

Has testing been done that affects your child’s options and you have unexpected or inconsistent scores?

GDC consultants deal with a wide range of topics, but school advocacy and testing issues are my particular concerns. If you have been struggling with your child’s school or simply need guidance in what to ask for, consultation may ease your pain! As part of the consultation process, you will complete all typical GDC paperwork, plus a School Advocacy Questionnaire, so that I can review your situation before we speak. You may wish to consult my book, Academic Advocacy for Gifted Children: A Parent’s Complete Guide, in preparation for our conversation—or if you have a meeting scheduled with school personnel and need advocacy advice. Our office will be happy to ship it to you (please let us know how quickly you need it).

While we are unable to write reports or provide written recommendations to schools unless we test your child, consultations offer you the unique opportunity to discuss your child, in depth, with a specialist. You may receive an insider’s view of test score interpretation, advice about appropriate curriculum options, or specialists to see to address or rule out problems. In all cases, we will discuss strategies to support your child best. Have pen and paper ready. Advocacy is needed for gifted students from elementary to college age, and varies with level of giftedness. Fortunately, help is also available for advocates!

We are pleased to be able to offer this service to you at a rate of $150/hr.

Call 303/837-8378; 1-888-GIFTED1 to arrange
a consultation with Bobbie.

Consultation charges are prorated based on 15-minute increments.
MasterCard and VISA accepted.

NAGC "Hot Topics" Handout

References for:
Testing Your Gifted Child: A Springboard for Effective Advocacy by Barbara
Jackson Gilman.

View the article from the
Duke Gifted Letter, Spring 2006 issue (Vol. 6, No.3) here.

What people are saying about Bobbie's presentations:

I just wanted to thank you again so much for your willingness to come speak with our students. I know that our students truly enjoyed hearing from you!

The work you do is so inspiring and much needed! It's people such as yourself
that are making this world an okay place to be, amidst the seemingly increasing
negativity, especially in the educational field and working with our youth.

For information on having Bobbie present to your
organization, please contact us!

DISCLAIMER: At the Gifted Development Center, we are skilled at working with the entire range of giftedness, including profoundly gifted, and with children from 3 1/2 through adolescence. We also work with gifted adults. We have expertise in diagnosing learning disabilities. However, we do NOT have expertise with severe attentional deficits, autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Delay, or severe emotional problems, such as manic depression, schizophrenia, etc. Specialists in these areas should be sought, if applicable.