Oyster Update and other stuff

The title indicates my intention to post some of Scooby's oyster project stuff on here, but the formatting got all wonky and after trying to fix it for about an hour I gave up.  Plus, I just discovered there are two more large components to this project and one more medium sized one, and I got quite discouraged.  I thought we were done.  But there's still a "Final" (which is mostly a compliation of all the steps done so far, plus the inclusion of a weekly journal.  Which I knew nothing about, and doesn't exist.  Sigh) and a presentation board with oral report.  And before those, an abstract.  Really, this project is GREAT but holy moley is it huge. 

Facebook followers may have noticed a recent posting that said I was researching Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Gifted Children.  Does this sound familiar to anyone? If it doesn't, you haven't spent much time around Scooby lately.

"Children who have ODD are often disobedient. They are easily angered and may seem to be angry much of the time. Very young children with the disorder will throw temper tantrums that last for 30 minutes or longer, over seemingly trivial matters. In addition, the child with ODD often starts arguments and will not give up. Winning the argument seems to be very important to a child with this disorder. Even if the youth knows that he or she will lose a privilege or otherwise be punished for continuing the tantrum or argument, he or she is unable to stop. Attempting to reason with such a child often backfires because the child perceives rational discussion as a continuation of the argument. Most children with ODD, however, do not perceive themselves as being argumentative or difficult. It is usual for such children to blame all their problems on others. Such children can also be perfectionists and have a strong sense of justice regarding violations of what they consider correct behavior. They are impatient and intolerant of others. They are more likely to argue verbally with other children than to get into physical fights. Older children or adolescents with ODD may try to provoke others by being deliberately annoying or critical. For example, a teenager may criticize an adult's way or speaking or dressing. This oppositional behavior is usually directed at an authority figure such as a parent, coach, or teacher."

Several articles I read said that gifted children are often "mis-diagnosed" with ODD or other conditions such as ADD, ADHD, Bi-polar disorder, and depression.  The earmarks of their "gifted-ness" are often confused with the symptoms of these other disorders.

ODD also is kind of a catch-all diagnosis for behavior that doesn't quite fit any other classification.  It also has very little recommended "treatment" or suggestions, other than certain behavioral "therapy" which I'm still looking into.

We had a couple of episodes this week that were completely horrible. At school, he's fine.  But at home a tiny little event seems to set him off and it spirals into something truly unrecognizable.  I don't feel like going into details about it now, but it was enough to prompt a search for help.

In other news, I had a conference with Cinderella's teacher because her grades, particularly in writing and "Work Habits" have dropped dramatically this quarter.  Her teacher says she's rocking in her chair, and that is preventing her from getting her work done.  No idea WHY she's rocking in her chair, and she doesn't do it at home.  At home, she's the most focused one during homework time, and has no trouble with the material.  Her teacher has given her permission to stand up, move around, lie on the floor, whatever it takes for her to get her work done.  I've discussed it with Cinderella, but she can't give me any reasons for it and just says she'll try to sit still.  We'll see what happens.

Tarzan seems fine. I'm sure his turn is coming.