Twice Exceptional Students

Essential Question: How can educators identify and meet the needs of students that require multiple learning accommodations?

What is Twice Exceptional?

Twice exceptional students are students with gifted abilities and a learning disability. These disabilities include:

Sources: (Rimm & Davis) & (Moody)

VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS HEARING

ADHD

Autism

Orthopedic

Speech Impedime

nts

Temple Grandin Autistic

Brain-damagedDeaf

IQ of137

Steve Jobs

Dyslexic Changed our world

foreverCo-founder & CEO of

Apple

According to the US Department of Education up to 6% of 6 million students served under IDEA may be twice exceptional.

THAT MEANS 360,000 STUDENTS!

What is Twice Exceptional?

Sources: (Rimm & Davis), (MindBox Productions) , (Fox) (IMDb)

Gifted StudentHigh Achiever

Twice Exceptional

A twice exceptional student needs additional services throughout the special education spectrum. Some needs are apparent and can be identified easily, while others cannot. According to an article written by the University of Connecticut, twice exceptional students could exhibit the following characteristics: Source: Beckley

• Aggressiveness• Carelessness• Frequently off-task• Deficient in tasks

emphasizing memory and perceptual abilities

Source: Beckley

How Do We Identify Twice Exceptional Students?

How Do We Identify Twice Exceptional Students?

This contradiction of having giftedness and a learning disability leads to helplessness and frustration for a student.

Giftedness• Independent• Internally motivated• Accurately interpret and

communicate with non-verbal communication

Learning Disability • Shows frustration and anxiety

about academic tasks• Avoids or hurries through such

tasks• Has difficulty concentrating

Source: (Clark)

Paradoxical Learner: The harder the task, the better they perform.

Twice exceptional students exhibit characteristics of both gifted learners and those with learning disabilities. These characteristics include:

It’s all about the… DATA

There are stigmas that hinder students from being identified as twice exceptional. Some of these stigmas include: • The student is passing, so all is well.• The student cannot go through RTI and CISS concurrently.• The student is underperforming in advanced/TAG class.• The student is in an on-level class and doing well, but has an IEP.

Why Do Gifted Students Need Special Education Programing?

According to the National Association for Gifted Children, the 2004 re-authorization of IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, began to recognize children who are gifted and talented may also have disabilities.

Source: (NAGC)

Why Do Gifted Students Need Special Education Programing?

What CAN be done: • Remediate deficits caused by disability• Accommodate the learning experience to minimize the impact of the disability

on learning• Provide opportunities for development of special ability • Challenge them to their full use of potential

Source: (Clark)

ADVOCATE for your students!

“Those who work with the gifted need to become aware of what can be and is being done to promote services for the gifted learners with disabilities so that their educational experience can work not only toward keeping the disability from becoming handicapping, but also towards actualizing the high potential of these students” (Clark).

Source: (Winebrenner)

How Do We Serve Twice Exceptional Students Instructionally ?

A great method to ensure all students have uniquely challenging content, including twice exceptional students, is highlighted through Susan Winebrenner’s article, Teaching Strategies for Twice-Exceptional Students :

• Meet all learning styles• Concepts Details• Short Term Goals• Tie Content• 5 Senses Are Important• Details, Details, Details! Specific Instruction• Technology for Productivity

Source: (Baum)

How Do We Serve Twice Exceptional Students Emotionally ?

“Twice exceptional students require an environment that nurtures their gifts, attends to the learning disability, and provides emotional support to deal with their inconsistent abilities” (Baum).

• Focus attention on the development of the gift• Provide nurturing environment that values individual differences• Encourage compensation strategies• Encourage awareness of individual strengths and weaknesses

Source: (Clark)

What are some specific ways to serve Twice Exceptional Students?

Some effective practices for finding and serving Twice Exceptional students include:

• Actively seeking gifted students among students with disabilities• Make students an active part of class• Facilitate social interactions first, then let them take over• Encourage cooperation in learning tasks and change partners often• Modify instruction as needed, but no more than necessary• Provide different types of learning experiences• Individualize pace and choice of instruction• Hold high expectations

Apply Your Learnings

Each of you will be broken up into groups of 3-4 and provided a student detail sheet. You group will consider your student’s gifted characteristics and learning disabilities in order to construct accommodations and modifications for the following lesson on your provided T-Chart.

Read two short stories. Compare and contrast the setting, characters, plot, and theme in both stories.

BibliographyBaum , Susan . "Gifted But Learning Disabled." Gifted But Learning Disabled. EC Digest, n.d. Web. 1 June 2014. <http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/Gifted_learning_disabled.html>.

Beckley, Dawn . "Gifted and Learning Disabled: Twice Exceptional Students." NRC/GTSpring '98 Newsletter-� . University of Connecticut, n.d. Web. 1 June 2014. <http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/newsletter/spring98/sprng984.html>.

Brody, L. E., & Mills, C. J. (1997). Gifted children with learning disabilities: A review of the issues. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30, 282-297.

Clark, Barbara. "Chapter Twelve." Growing up gifted: developing the potential of children at home and at school. 2nd ed. Columbus: Merrill, 1983. . Print.

Davis, Gary A., and Sylvia B. Rimm. "Chatper Fifteen ." Education of the gifted and talented. Fifth Edition ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1985. Print.

"Famous People With Dyslexia." The Power Of Dyslexia. MindBOX Productions, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 1 June 2014. <http://www.thepowerofdyslexia.com/famous-dyslexics/>.

Fox, Charles P. . "Special Education Law Blog: Programming for Twice Exceptional Students." 'Special Education Law Blog'. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2014. <http://blog.foxspecialedlaw.com/2013/03/programming-for-twice-exceptional-students.html>.

Moody, Cherylynn . "Twice Exceptional." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 1 June 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiQKhHs04J0>.

"NAGC White Paper: Twice-Exceptionality." NAGC -. National Association for Gifted Children, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 1 June 2014. <http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=5094>.

"Steve Jobs Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 1 June 2014. <http://www.biography.com/#!/people/steve-jobs-9354805>.

"Temple Grandin." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 1 June 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0334880/>.

Warshaw, M.S.S., M.A., Meredith G. . "Uniquely Gifted." Top 10 Pieces of Advice for Parents of Children. N.p., 1 Jan. 2002. Web. 1 June 2014. <http://www.uniquelygifted.org/top10.htm>.

Winebrenner, Susan. "Teaching Strategies for." . INTERVENTION IN SCHOOL AND CLINIC, 1 Jan. 2003. Web. 1 June 2014. <http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/eric/fact/teach-strat.pdf>.