Twice-Exceptional Students Gifted Students with Disabilities
An Introductory Resource Book
Colorado Department of Education 201 East Colfax Avenue Denver, Colorado 80203-1799
Advanced by Design REACH-Out and Nurture Exceptional Abilities
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Colorado Department of Education
201 E. Colfax Avenue Denver, Colorado 80203
William J. Moloney Commissioner of Education State of Colorado
Colorado State Board of Education
PAMELA JO SUCKLA Chairman
JARED POLIS Vice-Chairman
RANDY DEHOFF
EVIE HUDAK
PEGGY LITTLETON
KAREN MIDDLETON
D. RICO MUNN
CLAIR ORR 3
The Colorado Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or age, in access to, employment in, or provision of any of CDE’s programs, benefits, or activities.
The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding this policy:
Please contact either: Patrick Chapman Wendi Kispert Colorado Department of Education Colorado Department of Education 1560 Broadway, Suite 1450 201 East Colfax Avenue Denver, CO 80202 Denver, CO 80203 Phone: 303-866-6780 Phone: 303-866-6815 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
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Table of Contents
Introduction 8
Mission and Definition 9
Twice-Exceptional Students - Strengths and Challenges 10
Characteristics 11
Identification 15
IDEA and Twice-Exceptional Students 21
Strategic Planning 24
Programming 25
Creating an Individual Student Plan 34
Instructional Strategies 39
Parenting Twice-Exceptional Children 47
Case Studies 49
Recommendations for Case Studies 61
Annotated Bibliography 73
Resources on the World Wide Web 83
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Contributors
The Colorado Department of Education’s Twice-Exceptional Students Gifted Students with Disabilities Introductory Resource Book is the result of a cooperative effort between Special and Gifted Educators.
Tanni Anthony Margarita Bianco Barb Bieber Jeannette Cornier Daphne Pereles Jacquelin Medina Adena Miller Sheryl Muir Kathy Thurman Beverly Trail
Advanced by Design REACH-Out and Nurture Exceptional Abilities
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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 and social/emotional issues. For some twice-exceptional students, behavior plans become the focus of their interventions. The behaviors are managed, but the underlying disabilities are never addressed. 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.
It is the intent of this resource book to provide the framework to identify twice- exceptional students and select appropriate strategies so gifted students with disabilities can achieve their full potential.
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Mission
Recognize and nurture outstanding potential so that gifted students with disabilities may become all that they are capable of becoming.
Colorado Definition
Twice-exceptional students are:
1. Students who are identified as gifted and talented in one or more areas of exceptionality (specific academics, general intellectual ability, creativity, leadership, visual, spatial, or performing arts); and also identified with:
2. A disability defined by Federal/State eligibility criteria: perceptual communicative disability (learning disability), significant identifiable emotional disability, physical disabilities, sensory disabilities, autism, or ADHD.