twice exceptional
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Twice Exceptional
Gifted Students with Disabilities
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 - IDEA
’04• Specific Learning Disabilities
• Speech or Language Impairments
• Emotional Disturbance
• Deafness; Hearing Impairments
• Orthopedic Impairments or Physical Disabilities
• Other Health Impairments
• Visual Impairments
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
• Gifted and Talented
• Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities. - (Title IX, Part A, Section 9101(22), p. 544)
Gifted Students
• Common Complaints
The curriculum is not challenging
The instructional pace is too slow
Too much information is repeated
Few opportunities to study personal interests or study in more depth
Emphasis on mastery of facts, rather than thinking skills
Three Types of Unrecognized Twice
Exceptional Students
Identified as Gifted Only
• Identified as gifted but still struggling in school
• Academic achievement does not meet the expectation for a gifted student
• Performance difficulties improperly attributed to poor self-concept, lack of motivation, or laziness
Identified as Learning Disabled Only
• Have an IEP for a learning disability
• Exceptional gifts are not recognized or properly addressed
• Defined by what they cannot do instead of what they can do
Not Identified as Gifted or Learning
Disabled• In general ed classrooms
• Considered to be of average ability and not qualified for gifted or special education services
• Giftedness helps them compensate for their learning disabilities
• Two exceptionalities mask each other or cancel each other out
Obstacles to Identification
• Myth #1
• Gifted students are good at everything.
Obstacles to Identification
• Myth #2
• Gifted children are always mature, self-directed, and well behaved.
Obstacle to Services
• Myth #3
• Gifted children don’t need any extra help. They are smart enough to figure it out themselves
So how do we recognize twice exceptional
students?
Common Attributes
Extremely uneven academic abilities
Noticeable discrepancies between verbal and non-verbal aptitude test scores
Sophistication, perception, and insight that seems beyond their years
Exceptional creativity and imagination
Wide-ranging knowledge and interests
Excels at art, music, science, mathematics, mechanics, or technology
Common Attributes
Superior mathematical reasoning skills
High abstract reasoning ability
Auditory and visual processing problems
Handwriting that is illegible - refusal to do written work
Difficulty with rote memorization, spelling, phonics, and decoding words
Extensive and advanced speaking vocabulary, which is much more sophisticated than written vocabulary
Common Attributes
Extreme frustration with school
Supersensitivity - emotions can overpower reasoning
Perfectionism and unreasonable self-expectations
Lack of organizational and study skills
Often inattentive in class
highly distractible
Struggles with easy, sequential tasks
Frequently does not complete assignments
Evaluation Process
• Identify Giftedness
• Identify Disabilities
Evaluation Process
• Formal assessments
individually administered intelligence tests
diagnostic achievement tests
tests of aptitude
tests of creativity
Evaluation Process
• Informal assessments
evaluation by experts or teachers
classroom observation
peer evaluations
parent interviews
auditions (performing)
Strategies for Educators
Early identification!!!
Focus on their special gifts
Allow alternative methods of presentation/communication
Provide technological supports
Teach them about their disability
Acceleration - Skip grades, AP and Honors Courses
Strategies for Educators
Provide a stimulating, intellectually challenging learning environment
Use different methods of delivery of instruction
Focus on experiential rather than instructional learning
Teach meta-skills, time management and self management
Tutoring and Mentoring
Famous and Successful People
Who Are or WereTwice Exceptional
Tom Cruise
Henry Winkler
Jay Leno
Whoopie Goldberg
Robin Williams
Stephen Hawking
Thomas Edison
Were these people twice exceptional?
Leonardo da Vinci
Pablo Picasso
Albert Einstein
Contributions
It is of vital importance not only to identify, but to support and nurture the gifts of all students including those who are twice exceptional so that we may all reach our greatest potential.
Can you imagine the world today without the contributions of these great thinkers?
ResourcesNCLB - http://ed.gov/nclb
IDEA ’04 - http://idea.ed.gov
Gifted Children - http://www.nagc.org
Students with Disabilities - http://www.cec.sped.org
Twice Exceptional
http://tinyurl.com/nagc-twiceexceptional
http://tinyurl.com/cec-twiceexceptional
http://www.uniquelygifted.org
http://2enewsletter.com/