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Gifted children - Case study of a twice exceptional child (K)
A parent shares her story of her 'twice exceptional' son.
Drew as a toddler
Drew has always been different. Rather than talking as a typical
toddler—Drew experimented with language in song. He put everything to
a tune. “I’m walking up the stairs, I’m walking up the stairs, hi ho
the dairy-o, I’m walking up the stairs.”
After attending an after school art class he came home teaching his 5-year-old sister the difference between transparent, translucent, and opaque items. At Sunday school that same year, his Sunday school teacher became frustrated with the 3-year-olds mixing and blending the play dough colors. So, her solution was to give each child just one color. Drew announced, “That is fine. I will just make a monochromatic collage!” The astonished teacher found me before the church service to share this story.
When it was time for Drew to go to school, things went pretty well at first. Drew’s teachers loved him—although his gregarious nature sometimes caused a few problems. However, taking written tests began slowly to be a problem for Drew. I attributed it to him being a boy and having lower fine motor skills than most kids his age. Drew stayed in this type of “survival” mode until fourth grade.
During fourth grade, Drew was assessed through the district’s evaluation system that screened him for any special needs. Drew was quickly identified as Learning Disabled with a severe processing problem. LD children have average to above average intelligence. Drew’s IQ was certainly in the above average category—no surprise to me! A discrepancy of 20 points or more between aptitude (ability) and achievement (what the child can actually do) is needed to identify a student as “LD.” Drew had some areas with a 40 point discrepancy. My gifted son was identified as LD. He now fell under the label of “twice exceptional.”
Drew is now a freshman in high school. As the mother of a “twice-exceptional” child, I have spent years trying to educate my colleagues to the notion of understanding how a child could be “twice exceptional”—identified as gifted and as learning disabled based on federal and/or state criteria. The definition of a learning disabled child usually includes a phrase similar to “has average or above average intelligence.” Just with that information alone, it seems to make sense that a high number of these LD students could also be categorized as gifted and talented. Looking at some of the signs of a “gifted” child, you can also recognize these traits in many LD children as well:
These students may struggle reading a social studies text book but can create a collage or other visual with symbols of every major event of the Civil War and can explain it completely to their classmates. Twice exceptional children may have trouble writing a complete sentence but they can lead a class discussion on centrifugal force after a class trip to the local fair. In the world of education, these students sometimes struggle. In the real world of problem-solving, they will more than likely be those who thrive!
Unfortunately, most regular education teachers/counselors do not have training in special education or in gifted education. As parents of these amazing kids, we have to be their strongest advocate. A special education coordinator who knows Drew, pulled me aside and said, “Drew is going to struggle in school. However, he is going to be one amazing adult. I cannot wait to see what he does in the future.” Her son is also “twice exceptional” and double majored in college and is doing great things as an adult. The future is bright for these creative, wonderful kids!
By Kristie Brown - Kristie currently teaches a Gifted Program in two elementary schools. She is also the mother of two 'gifted' children.
Is your child 'twice exceptional?' We would love you to share your story in the comments below.
Drew as a toddler
After attending an after school art class he came home teaching his 5-year-old sister the difference between transparent, translucent, and opaque items. At Sunday school that same year, his Sunday school teacher became frustrated with the 3-year-olds mixing and blending the play dough colors. So, her solution was to give each child just one color. Drew announced, “That is fine. I will just make a monochromatic collage!” The astonished teacher found me before the church service to share this story.
When it was time for Drew to go to school, things went pretty well at first. Drew’s teachers loved him—although his gregarious nature sometimes caused a few problems. However, taking written tests began slowly to be a problem for Drew. I attributed it to him being a boy and having lower fine motor skills than most kids his age. Drew stayed in this type of “survival” mode until fourth grade.
During fourth grade, Drew was assessed through the district’s evaluation system that screened him for any special needs. Drew was quickly identified as Learning Disabled with a severe processing problem. LD children have average to above average intelligence. Drew’s IQ was certainly in the above average category—no surprise to me! A discrepancy of 20 points or more between aptitude (ability) and achievement (what the child can actually do) is needed to identify a student as “LD.” Drew had some areas with a 40 point discrepancy. My gifted son was identified as LD. He now fell under the label of “twice exceptional.”
Drew is now a freshman in high school. As the mother of a “twice-exceptional” child, I have spent years trying to educate my colleagues to the notion of understanding how a child could be “twice exceptional”—identified as gifted and as learning disabled based on federal and/or state criteria. The definition of a learning disabled child usually includes a phrase similar to “has average or above average intelligence.” Just with that information alone, it seems to make sense that a high number of these LD students could also be categorized as gifted and talented. Looking at some of the signs of a “gifted” child, you can also recognize these traits in many LD children as well:
- Intense reaction to noise, pain, frustration
- High activity level
- Highly creative
- High level of curiosity
- Wide range of interests
- Develops one interest in depth (an expert on something)
- Self-critical
- Observant
- Keen sense of humor
These students may struggle reading a social studies text book but can create a collage or other visual with symbols of every major event of the Civil War and can explain it completely to their classmates. Twice exceptional children may have trouble writing a complete sentence but they can lead a class discussion on centrifugal force after a class trip to the local fair. In the world of education, these students sometimes struggle. In the real world of problem-solving, they will more than likely be those who thrive!
Unfortunately, most regular education teachers/counselors do not have training in special education or in gifted education. As parents of these amazing kids, we have to be their strongest advocate. A special education coordinator who knows Drew, pulled me aside and said, “Drew is going to struggle in school. However, he is going to be one amazing adult. I cannot wait to see what he does in the future.” Her son is also “twice exceptional” and double majored in college and is doing great things as an adult. The future is bright for these creative, wonderful kids!
By Kristie Brown - Kristie currently teaches a Gifted Program in two elementary schools. She is also the mother of two 'gifted' children.
Is your child 'twice exceptional?' We would love you to share your story in the comments below.
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