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Student Publications
Author: Myriam Abu Khalaf
Title:
Brilliant learners "Exceptional
learners with disabilities"
Area: Education
Country :
Profile:
Program: Master in Social and Human
Studies- Education
Available for Download:
Yes
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Twice �Exceptional students
Gifted students with disabilities
Introduction
Gifted students with disabilities
are at risk because their
educational and social emotional
needs often go undetected. The
resulting inconsistent academic
performance can lead
educators to believe
twice-exceptional students are not
putting forth adequate effort.
Hidden disabilities may prevent
students with advanced cognitive
abilities from
achieving their potential. The
frustrations related to unidentified
strengths and disabilities
can result in behavioral plans
become the focus to their
interventions.
The behaviors are managed but the
underlying disabilities are never
addresses. School
can become a very frustrating
experience for struggling
twice-exceptional students, their
teachers and parents.
A collaborative effort between
classroom teachers, special
educators, gifted educators
and parents is needed to identify
twice- exceptional students and
implement strategies to
meet their diverse needs. It is
essential that the disabilities are
identified early so
appropriate interventions can be
provided at optimum times
.Unfortunately, the struggles
of many twice-exceptional students
go unnoticed for many years
resulting in learning
gaps and undeveloped potentials.
Twice �exceptional students will
continue to be at risk until
educators can learn about
and understand the educational and
social/emotional needs of
twice-exceptional students.
Educators can implement strategies
to develop their potential, to
identify learning gaps
and provide explicit instruction, to
support the development of
compensatory strategies,
to foster their social /emotional
development, and to enhance their
capacity to cope with
mixed abilities
The goals:
1- Recognize and nurture outstanding
potential so that gifted students
with
disabilities may become all that
they are capable of becoming
2- How these types of student can
can be integrated in the society.
Description
The twice �exceptional students are:
students who are identifies as
gifted and talented in
one or more areas of exceptionality
(specific academics, general
intellectual ability,
creativity, leadership, visual,
spatial or performing arts).
Characteristics of
Twice-Exceptional Children
The following list should be viewed
as characteristics which are typical
of many children
who are gifted and who also have a
disability, rather than
characteristics which all such
children possess. These
twice-exceptional children do not
form a simple, homogeneous
group; they are a highly diverse
group of learners.
2
Indicators of Cognitive/Affective
Strengths
� Have a wide range of interests
that are not related to school
topics or learning.
� Have a specific talent or
consuming interest area for which
they have an exceptional
memory and knowledge.
� Are interested in the big picture
rather than small details.
� Are extremely curious and
questioning.
� Possess high levels of
problem-solving and reasoning
skills.
� Have penetrating insights.
� Are capable of setting up
situations to their own advantage
often as a coping method.
� Are extremely creative in their
approach to tasks and as a technique
to compensate for
their disability.
� Have an unusual imagination.
� Are humorous often in bizarre
ways.
� Have advanced ideas and opinions
which they are uninhibited in
expressing.
� Have a superior vocabulary.
� Have very high energy levels.
Indicators of Cognitive/Affective
Problems
� Have discrepant verbal and
performance abilities.
� Have deficient or extremely uneven
academic skills, which cause them to
lack academic
initiative, appear academically
unmotivated, avoid school tasks, and
frequently fail to
complete assignments.
� Are extremely frustrated by
school.
� Have auditory and/or visual
processing problems which may cause
them to respond
slowly, to work slowly, and to
appear to think slowly.
� Have problems with long-term
and/or short-term memory.
� Have metrical difficulties
exhibited by clumsiness, poor
handwriting, or problems
completing paper-and-pencil tasks.
� Lack organizational skills and
study skills; often appearing to be
extremely messy.
� Are unable to think in a linear
fashion; have difficulty following
directions.
� Are easily frustrated; give up
quickly on tasks; are afraid to risk
being wrong or making
mistakes.
� Have difficulty explaining or
expressing ideas,
getting-to-the-point, and/or
expressing
feelings.
� Blame others for their problems
while believing that their successes
are only due to
luck.
� Are distractible; unable to
maintain attention for long periods
of time.
� Are unable to control impulses.
� Have poor social skills;
demonstrate antisocial behaviors.
� Are highly sensitive to criticism.
3
Analysis, discussion,
actualization
Gifted students are a
multidimensional process:
Gifted children means: those persons
between the ages of five and
twenty-one whose
abilities, talents, and potential
for accomplishment are so
outstanding that they require
special provisions to meet their
educational needs. Children under
five, who quality, may
also be served. Gifted students are
capable of high performance in any
or a combination
of these areas:
1- General intellectual ability
2- Specific academic aptitude
3- Creative, productive thinking
4- Leadership and human relation
skills
5- Visual and performing arts.
Provide Equitable Access to
Screening for Gifted Education
Services
All children (at the
district-designated assessment
grade/s) participate in the
screening
process. It is more likely that
exceptional abilities and evidence
of potential achievement
in traditionally underserved
children will be recognized.
Use Multiple Sources, Tools, and
Criteria for a Body of Evidence
Multiple sources and tools allow
children to reveal their
exceptionalities or potential. A
variety of assessment tools should
be used to collect information on a
student whose
background or talent area makes
him/her unique from others.
1- Intellectual Ability
2- Achievement
3- Behavioral Characteristics
4- Demonstrated Performance
Seek to find underachieving learners
who may be identified only through
ability testing;
likewise, seek to find
underachieving learners who may not
be identified through
traditional testing but whose
giftedness is obvious in focused and
deliberate observations
of performance on problem-solving
tasks. Use a balanced approach to
find
underachieving students with both
standardized test scores and
behaviors/performances.
Collect data about learners who have
documented learning needs in other
areas; e.g.,
Special Education. Ensure that
gifted education personnel
understand the categories of
disabilities and the specific
Special Education designations that
impact the learning
process.
4
Students with disabilities
It is most important and relevant to
student's educational success to
provide the best
research based instructional
intervention and support possible,
for some students, early
interventions will prevent the
educational difficulties from
becoming a disability.
1. Twice-exceptional students must
have disability .identified students
with
disabilities exhibit a marked
difference between ability and
achievement and
evidence of processing deficit.
2. In addition to the current
process of using the "discrepancy
formula" to determine
the presence of a learning
disability. IDEA reauthorization
allows districts to use
a process that determines if the
child responds to scientific
researches �Based
interventions.
Points to consider when
identifying gifted students with
disabilities:
1. Twice-exceptional students
typically demonstrate outstanding
performance in
either the verbal IQ or performance
IQ. If students have a significant
discrepancy
between Verbal IQ and performance
IQ, the full scale IQ will not be a
true
indication of their ability.
2. Twice-exceptional students
usually have higher scores on
vocabulary, similarities,
information, and comprehensive and
lower scores on arithmetic's, digit
span,
coding, and sequencing.
3. Achievement discrepancies can
exist between oral and written
expression, basic
reading skills and reading
comprehension, mathematical
reasoning and
calculation...
4. Discrepancy between verbal and
non verbal scores may be present on
the
Cognitive Abilities Test.
5. Students may be performing at
grade level and be eligible for
twice-exceptional
programming because they have a
discrepancy between ability and
achievement.
6. Twice-exceptional students tend
to struggle with executive
functioning
organization, memory, written output
and sometimes reading decoding and
math
calculation.
Individual Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA) and Twice-Exceptional
Students
When Congress approved the
Reauthorization of the Individuals
with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) in November of
2004, IDEA acknowledged the needs of
twice-
exceptional children for the first
time. It added gifted and talented
students who have
disabilities to the groups of
students whose needs have priority
in U.S. Department of
Education grants to guide research,
personnel preparation, and technical
assistance.
The National Association for Gifted
Children regarding specific learning
disabilities on
their web site. Below is the text
regarding specific learning
disabilities, which is the type
of disability with the highest
incidence in the twice-exceptional
population? Although
districts may, they are not required
to accept a discrepancy between
ability and
performance in determining whether a
student has a learning disability.
The new law
would allow districts to use a
process that determines if the child
responds to scientific,
research-based interventions.
Currently in Colorado, several
districts and the state have
begun conversations about this, and
guidelines are being developed and
piloted.
5
IDEA EVALUATIONS, ELIGIBILITY
DETERMINATIONS,
INDIVIDUALIZED
EDUCATION
PROGRAMS
AND
EDUCATIONAL
PLACEMENTS.
Evaluation Procedures.-
* Specific Learning Disabilities.-
IN General when determining
whether a child has a specific
learning disability as
defined, a local educational agency
shall not be required to take into
consideration
whether a child has a severe
discrepancy between achievement and
intellectual ability in
oral expression, listening
comprehension, written expression,
basic reading skills, reading
comprehension, mathematical
calculation, or mathematical
reasoning.
ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.- In
determining whether a child has a
specific learning
disability, a local educational
agency may use a process that
determines if the child
responds to scientific,
research-based intervention as a
part of the evaluation procedures.
Learning Disabilities in IDEA
Conduct of evaluation.- In
conducting the evaluation, the local
educational
Agency shall -
Use a variety of assessment tools
and strategies to gather relevant
functional,
developmental, and academic
information, including information
provided by the parent,
that may assist in determining -
1. Whether the child is a child with
a disability; and
2 the content of the child's
individualized education program,
including information
related to enabling the child to be
involved in and progress in the
general curriculum, or
for preschool children, to
participate in appropriate
activities;
not use any single procedure,
measure, or assessment as the sole
criterion
For determining whether a child is a
child with a disability or
determining an appropriate
educational program for the child.
Use technically sound instruments
that may assess the relative
contribution of
cognitive and behavioral factors, in
addition to physical or
developmental factors.
Additional requirement.- Each
local educational agency shall
ensure that -
tests and other evaluation
materials used to assess a child
under this section
1. Are selected and administered so
as not to be discriminatory on a
racial or cultural
basis.
2. are provided and administered in
the language and form most likely to
yield
accurate information on what the
child knows and can do academically,
developmentally, and functionally,
unless it is not feasible to so
provide or
administer
3. Are used for purposes for which
the assessments or measures are
valid and
reliable.
4. Are administered by trained and
knowledgeable personnel.
5. Are administered in accordance
with any instructions provided by
the producer of
such tests.
6
The child is assessed in all areas
of suspected disability; and
assessment
tools and strategies that provide
relevant information that directly
assists
persons in determining the
educational needs of the child are
provided.
assessments of children with
disabilities, including homeless
children with
disabilities, children with
disabilities who are wards of the
State, and children
with disabilities in military
families, who transfer from one
school district another
school district in the same academic
year, are -
1. Coordinated with such children's
prior and subsequent schools as
necessary to ensure timely
completion of full evaluations.
2. completed within time limits -
3. established for all students by
Federal law or State plans
4. That computes the commencement of
time from the date on which such
children are first referred for
assessments in any local educational
agency.
. SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY.-
A. IN GENERAL. - The term
'specific learning disability' means
a disorder in 1 or 2
More of the basic psychological
processes involved in understanding
or in using
language, spoken or written, which
disorder may manifest itself in the
imperfect ability to
listen, think, speak, read, write,
spell, or do mathematical
calculations.
B. DISORDERS INCLUDED. - Such
term includes such conditions as
perceptual
disabilities, brain injury, minimal
brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and
developmental
aphasia.
C. DISORDERS NOT INCLUDED.-
Such term does not include a
learning problem
That is primarily the result of
visual, hearing, or motor
disabilities, of mental
Retardation, of emotional
disturbance, or of environmental,
cultural, or economic
Disadvantage. Although they are not
included in this section of IDEA
which is limited to
Specific Learning Disabilities, many
states, including Colorado, do
include these other
categories of disorders as factors
when determining if a student is
Twice-exceptional.
Six steps to Strategic Planning
for Twice-Exceptional Students
1. Identify stakeholders. The first
step in implementing change is to
identify the
stakeholders, those people who will
be impacted by the change or will
play a role
in implementing change. Stakeholder
groups for twice-exceptional
education
should include representatives from
gifted education, special education,
classroom
teachers, administrators,
counselors, students, and parents.
2. Organize a steering committee.
The steering committee must include
representative from each stakeholder
group. Select members who are
innovators
and early adaptors. This group will
guide the work in developing a plan
and
implementing change.
3. Build collaboration. A
collaborative team effort is
recommended to address the
unique needs of twice-exceptional
students. Work to develop a
collaborative
effort through training and
discussions. Remember, each
stakeholder group must
have a voice and must become part of
the collaboration
7
4. Determine Needs and Identify
problems and/or issues. Identify the
concerns of
each stakeholder group. What are the
specific needs of twice-exceptional
students
and what are the problems/issues
that prevent these needs from being
met?
5. Develop an action plan. Having a
clear understanding of what you want
to
accomplish unifies the commitment of
the team. The action plan should
include:
goals, strategies to achieve goals,
anticipated resistance or obstacles
you may
encounter, resources needs, and May
a way to measure progress/success.
6. Implement and sustain change. To
sustain change it must be integrated
in to the
educational system. Determine how
identification and programming can
be
integrated into the system that
already existed. Plan for extensive
training and
written documentation to support
successful implementation of the
plan
Programming Strategies for
Gifted Students with Disabilities
The needs of most twice-exceptional
students can be met in the regular
classroom
through appropriate identification
and an individualized approach.
However, the
classroom teacher must have support
from both gifted educators and
special educators to
Implement effective strategies. The
best results are achieved when there
is collaboration
between the classroom teacher,
gifted educator, special educator,
parents, and the student.
Programming for twice-exceptional
students must include strategies to:
� nurture the student's strengths
and interests
� foster their social/emotional
development
� enhance their capacity to cope
with mixed abilities
� identify learning gaps and provide
explicit instruction
� support the development of
compensatory strategies
A Continuum of Services
The unique characteristics of
individual students should determine
the type and level of
support services the student
receives. Some twice-exceptional
students will require more
intensive services than others.
Because gifted and twice-exceptional
students differ in a
variety of ways, their needs require
appropriate placement along several
continuums:
A continuum of services is the
variety of delivery and programming
options available to
gifted and talented students for
meeting educational and affective
needs.
A continuum of delivery of
services refers to where
twice-exceptional students receive
services: general classroom,
resource room, classroom cluster
groups, interest groups,
magnet classrooms, and special
schools for gifted students,
vertical team groups, learning
clusters for special interests or
topics, mentorship's, or special
education.
The continuum of learning
refers to the content standards and
benchmarks, K-12, that
allow for continuous learning and/or
acceleration based upon progress
monitoring and
student achievement in the content
benchmarks.
8
A continuum of programming
options refers to the curricular and
affective opportunities
provided through implementation of
programming components (structure,
content
options, differentiated instruction,
and affective guidance.)
Nurture Students' Strengths and
Interests
Programming for gifted education
seeks to nurture and develop the
strengths and interests
of students. All gifted students
require balanced gifted programming
over time. These
programming components for gifted
education are based upon national
standards,
research, and best practices in
gifted education. Implementing these
strategies will
improve students' motivation,
develop confidence, and support
student achievement.
These are the recommended
programming components to nurture
gifted potential in
twice-exceptional students:
Strength/Interest Accommodation
1- Differentiated Instruction
2- Affective Guidance & Counseling
3- Acceleration
4- Content Extension
5- Higher Order Thinking Skills
Acceleration
Acceleration is the appropriate
movement of a student and/or
curriculum by pace or place
to match learning opportunities with
student strengths, readiness, and
needs.
� Single Subject Acceleration: The
delivery of curriculum by either
moving the child into
a higher grade level or providing
higher grade-level curriculum in
age-based classrooms.
� Concurrent Enrollment: Attending
classes in more than one grade or
building. (E.g. A
middle school student attends a
class at the high school).
� Post-Secondary Options: High
school students are allowed to spend
part of their day
attending classes at a local college
or university and receive both high
school and college
credit.
� Rocky Mountain Talent Search:
Students take the SAT or ACT in
middle school and
can qualify for advanced level
courses at universities throughout
the country.
� Correspondence/Distance Learning:
Courses taken within or outside
regular school time
for personal interest or credit.
� Advanced Placement/International
Baccalaureate: Students take AP or
IB high school
courses and take a test to qualify
for college credit.
� Independent Study: Students pursue
an area of interest in-depth or
required curriculum
at a pace that meets their
individual needs.
Content Extension
Content Extension is providing
greater depth or breadth to the
educational experiences
through enhanced curriculum or
academic programs and competitions.
Content Extension
should be a systematic plan for
extending students' learning in the
following ways:
9
� Opportunity for real-life research
and independent study
� Academic programs and competitions
� Mentors
Higher-Order Thinking Skills
Curriculum for twice-exceptional
students should challenge their
thinking and problem-
solving skills. The Socratic
questioning method helps students
formulate questions and
think through problems.
Twice-exceptional students often
struggle with executive
processes. They have a difficult
time organizing, prioritizing, and
generalizing
information. Teachers can help by
modeling and teaching met cognitive
skills. Use think
aloud to help students develop their
thinking language.
Higher-Order Thinking Skills
include:
� Analytical Thinking
Skills--various cognitive processes
that deepen understanding of
knowledge and skills.
� Critical Thinking Skills--various
thinking skills that are used to
analyze and evaluate in
order to respond to an argument or
position.
� Executive Processes--various
cognitive skills involved in
organizing, synthesizing,
generalizing, or applying knowledge.
� Creative Thinking Skills--various
cognitive skills that are involved
in creative
production.
� Creative Problem Solving--Provides
an excellent structure for helping
twice
exceptional students learn how to
creatively solve problems.
Social/Emotional Support
Twice-exceptional students need a
nurturing environment that supports
the development
of the students' potential. An
encouraging approach is recommended
over implementing
measures from a punitive
perspective.
Teachers provide a nurturing
environment when:
� They value individual differences
and learning styles;
� The development of student's
potential is encouraged;
� Students' readiness, interests,
and learning profile shape
instruction;
� Excellence is defined by
individual growth;
� Flexible grouping is used for
instruction;
� Students are assessed in multiple
ways;
� Instruction includes activities
for multiple intelligences.
10
Social/Emotional Issues
Making friends can be difficult for
twice-exceptional students. They may
need help
developing peer relationships and
opportunities to work with peers of
similar abilities and
interests. Friendship groups help
twice-exceptional students learn how
to make and keep
friends.
Twice-exceptional students can be
very self-critical and this can lead
to dysfunctional
perfectionism. Counseling is needed
to address their unique needs and
should be
available on an as-needed basis.
Developing an awareness of their
strengths and challenges is
beneficial for twice
exceptional students. Role playing
can help students learn how to
become a self-advocate
and how to ask for help when it is
needed.
Lack of organizational, time
management, and study skills can
have a negative impact on
the emotional well-being and school
performance of twice-exceptional
students. They
need explicit instruction to develop
those skills and specialized
intervention services
related to challenge areas.
Learning how to set personal goals
and how to develop sequential steps
or a series of
short-term goals to achieve
long-term goals can be beneficial
for twice-exceptional
learners. Career and college
guidance is essential for these
students.
Steps to Create an Individual
Plan
The focus of the individual plan
must be to develop the student's
strengths. Success in the
strength areas promotes the
development of a strong self-concept
and self-efficacy.
Instruction that builds on the
student's interests can motivate
them to persevere when
learning challenges cause them to
struggle in school. Appropriate
assessments must be
used to identify hidden disabilities
and learning gaps. Twice-exceptional
students need
explicit instruction in their
specific deficit areas. Teaching
students compensatory
strategies helps them learn
strategies they can use
independently to be successful.
Identify Students' Strengths,
Interests, and Challenges.
Select Specific Strategies Based
on Student Needs.
� Strength/Interest-Based
Accommodations
� Accommodation to Access Learning
� Explicit Instruction for
Compensatory Strategies
� Explicit Instruction for
Intervention/Remediation
11
Complete the Twice-Exceptional
Strategies Plan.
Educational Planning for a
Continuum of Abilities
Strength/Interest-Based
Accommodations
These are instructional strategies
that provide a stimulating
educational environment
emphasizing high-level abstract
thinking, creativity, and a
problem-solving approach.
They build on intrinsic motivation
and promote active inquiry,
experimentation, and
discussion. Emphasis is placed on
students' readiness, interests, and
learning profiles.
Teachers shape instruction with
multi-option assignments that enable
students to use their
strengths to demonstrate their
knowledge. Examples: Pre-testing and
compacting the
curriculum to eliminate unnecessary
drill; orbital studies related to
some facet of the
curriculum that allow students to
investigate a topic in greater depth
and become the class
expert.
Accommodations to Access Learning
These are instructional and/or
behavioral strategies that, when
implemented, provide
students with access to the
curriculum. Accommodations do not
change the content of the
curriculum being taught. Rather,
they change how the content is
presented and/or how a
student demonstrates mastery.
Examples: Shortened assignments,
providing copies of
notes during a lecture, providing
extra time, and teacher-read
directions.
Explicit Instruction:
Compensatory Strategies
These are skills taught to students
that, when implemented by the
student, will allow
them to complete tasks
independently. The goal is to teach
a student compensatory
learning strategies so they will
learn to initiate the strategies
independently in order to be
successful in the learning
environment. Examples: Use of spell
checker, re-read aloud
when editing written work,
color-coding for organization, etc.
Explicit Instruction:
Intervention/Remediation
Utilize recommended assessments to
identify learning gaps and then
provide explicit
instruction/remediation in the
specific deficit area(s). Examples:
Identifying phonological
core deficits and providing explicit
instruction in segmenting and
blending speech
sounds.
Parenting gifted students with
disabilities
1. Create a home environment that
nurtures your child's strengths and
interests.
2. Build a working relationship with
your child's school and keep the
lines of
communication open between home and
school.
3. If your child is depressed
dislikes schools, underachieves or
develops behaviors
problems communicate your child's
problems and needs to the scrolls.
4. Work in partnership with the
school to identify your child's
learning and/or social
emotional problems
5. Collaborate with the school to
develop a suitable educational plan
for your child
that addresses his/her needs.
6. Help your child learn skills
needed to be successfully in
schools. Assist with
homework and projects, but do not
assume responsibility
12
7. Remember that the role of the
parents change as the child reaches
different ages.
8. equate successes with effort not
ability and view mistakes as a
values step in
learning
9. Help your child learn how to
become a self �advocate.
10. Encourage your child to develop
the skills necessary to become
independent life-
long learners.
11. Advocate for your child, but
don't overprotect him/her. Hold your
child accountable
for his/her behavior and achievement
Parent Advocacy
1. Build a working partnership with
your child's school
2. work with the school's staff to
improve educational opportunities
for all students
3. support the positive efforts of
teachers and school staff to meet
the individual
educational needs of students
4. participate on school committees
like the school's accountability
committee and
school enrichment or activity
committees
5. Volunteer your time to assist
with the activities or help in the
classroom media
center, computer lab, etc...
When Children Experience Problems
in School
1. Know the child.
� What are his/her special
interests, strengths, and struggles?
� How does the child interact with
peers, older children, younger
children?
� How does the child feel about
trying new things or making
mistakes?
2. Clarify the issues and try to get
a sense of the real problems by
discussing them
thoroughly with the child.
3. Schedule a meeting with the
classroom teacher.
� Approach the teacher with care and
sensitivity.
� Plan the meeting and topics to
discuss.
4. during the conference:
� Keep the conversation a positive
learning exchange.
� Start with positive comments about
the school and the teacher. Thank
the teacher
For ..............
� Communicate expectations and share
specific examples of the child's
work, feelings,
strengths, struggles, interests, and
after-school activities.
� Listen carefully to what the
teacher has to say.
� Express willingness to help
resolve the problem and work
collaboratively toward a
positive solution.
� Decide together what the child,
you, and the teacher will do.
� Determine a reasonable timeline
and establish when the effort will
begin and when
Progress will be evaluated.
5. after the conference:
� Keep the lines of communication
open.
� Schedule a follow-up meeting to
assess progress.
6. If the child continues to
struggle, ask that he/she be
referred to the school's student
Study team. This team will develop a
plan to meet individual educational
needs and
Recommend specific intervention
strategies. If problems persist, the
student study
Team will refer the child to special
education for assessment.
13
Conclusion
Twice exceptional-students are
difficult to identify because they
possess the
characteristics of gifted students
and the characteristics of students
with disabilities.
Gifted characteristics may mask
disabilities or disabilities may
mask gifted potential. The
strength, the disabilities or both
may not be identified.
When gifted students begin to
struggle in school, their
identification for gifted services
is
sometimes questioned. Just because
students have disabilities does not
mean they are not
gifted. Many eminent people have
struggled in school and later gone
on to make
substantial contributions to
society. Not achieving commensurate
with ability should
raise a red flag that there is the
possibility a disability may be
impacting learning.
Disabilities in gifted students can
go unnoticed for years and valuable
windows for
effective interventions are missed.
It is important to identify the
disability as early as
possible to prevent the development
of behavioral and social/emotional
issues.
Students identified with a
disability should be screened at the
district-designated
assessment grade/s to provide
equitable access to gifted education
services for all
students.
Strengths and disabilities may risk
mask each other and the student may
appear to have
average ability. However,
inconsistent performance may
indicate the presence of gifted
potential and disabilities. It is
important to focus on developing
potential and providing
strategies to help students when
they struggle. Research-bases
strategies for twice-
exceptional students can be
implemented before formal
identification is achieved.
Continue to look for indicators of
gifted behaviors that suggest a
disability
The Twice exceptional student's
strengths are:
� Superior vocabulary
� Highly creative
� Resourceful
� Curious
� Imaginative
� questioning
� Problem-solving ability
� Sophisticated sense of humor
� Wide range of interests
� advanced ideas and
Opinions
� Special talent or consuming
interest
Their challenges:
� Easily frustrated
14
� Stubborn
� Manipulative
� Opinionated
� Argumentative
� written expression
� Highly sensitive to criticism
� Inconsistent academic
Performance
� Lack of organization
And study skills
� Difficulty with social
Interactions
Programming
In a collaborative effort between
the classroom teacher, gifted
educator and special
educators, appropriate strategies
will be implemented to:
� Nurture the student's potential
� support their development of
compensatory strategies
� identify their learning gaps and
provide explicit instruction
� foster their social and emotional
development
� enhance their capacity to cope
with mixed abilities.
Personnel experience and
suggestions
In the school where I teach, I have
two cases of twice exceptional
students, one boy and
one girl. The boy has a problem in
his eyes and the girl has some how a
problem in
understanding the people around her.
Most of the time while I am
explaining the lesson I am really
surprise from the questions
that they asked me, so polite so
brilliant so organized and sometimes
very sociable.
In their eyes there is a special
light which I feel it but I can not
explain more.
These students need a special
treatment, they love to be
responsible. Those selves they
feel different and some of the
teacher are not enough educated in
this point so they treat
them like stupid and they are
surprised from their notes in
language and calculation
What I want to say is being
different from the others its an
advantage, it if the difference
we start ask question, we start to
collect information, we make many
researches to arrive
to the answers of the reality.
Being different is not a mistake,
its is important for us to know how
to deal with
differences.
To be different is how to continue
living and to change life to the
best in this world.
15
References
1- Baum, S.M. & Owen, S.V. (2004).
To Be Gifted & Learning Disabled:
Strategies for
Helping Bright Students with
disabilities.
2- Baum, S.M., Olenchak, F.R. &
Owen, S.V. (1998). Gifted Students
with Attention
Deficits: Fact and/or Fiction?
3- Bees, C. (1998). The GOLD
Program: A Program for Gifted
Learning Disabled
Adolescents. Roeper Review, 21
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