-Does he have special needs? Is he gifted? -Twice-yes

When a student is different it is not easy to find a right approach for teaching him/her, because general techniques do not work. But when a student is “double-different”, it is more likely to be “double-difficult”. This case is referred to twice-exceptional students or, in other words, gifted students with learning disabilities. How to identify such unordinary children? How to find the best way of teaching them?

Talented children with special needs may be initially identified with one of the exceptionalities: a disability. It happens especially when talent is not so conspicuous and a disability has sensory or physical nature, such as visual impairment. Ignorance of child’s talent may lead to placing him/her into a special school, where his/her skills will be ignored and consequently lost (Lovett & Lewandowski, 2006).  However, if disability is not evident and school uses intelligence and ability test scores to assess students, the results of twice-exceptional children may show the middle level of academic progress, which more likely deprive such students from any special program, neglecting their needs (Ruban, 2005). Hot debates about how to identify such children did not provide only one feasible solution. Nevertheless, there are possible options such as “rating scales of creative behavior” and “classroom observation” (Lovett & Lewandowski, 2006, p. 520), which can tell about students’ skills more information than IQ test.

After identifying a child as “twice-exceptional”, the question how to teach them appears immediately. Some educators prefer special programs, such as the Renzulli’s model of talent development, which, providing a special approach for each student, gives them an opportunity to enhance their creativity (Ruban, 2005). Other teachers work with such children intuitively, taking into account their unusual peculiarities and combine teaching methods for learning difficulties and giftedness. For instance, a child with learning problems who prefers tactile-kinesthetic type of information perceiving requires “multiple opportunities for movement” (Winebrenner, 2003, p.134) with a proviso not to bother his/her peers. On the other hand, this child may show high results and from time to time needs to work on different activities while others continue to do previous tasks. 

In conclusion, twice-exceptional students are very thin-skinned in terms of their learning needs, which may be identified only with careful analysis of their skills and behavior. Thus, teachers who work with such children must be twice-qualitative and competent in order to distinguish their nature and contribute to the students’ development, supporting their talents and helping them to cope with their problems.

 

References

Lovett, B. J., & Lewandowski, L. J. (2006). Gifted Students With Learning Disabilities Who Are They?. Journal of learning disabilities, 39(6), 515-527.

Ruban, L. M. (2005). Identification and assessment of gifted students with learning disabilities. Theory into practice, 44(2), 115-124.

Winebrenner, S. (2003). Teaching strategies for twice-exceptional students. Intervention in School and Clinic, 38(3), 131-137.