twice exceptional

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/