Educating Gifted Students with Disabilities

1
Educating Gifted Students with Disabilities

• The Twice Exceptional Guide
• An Overview

2
Who is Twice Exceptional?

• Students who are BOTH
• Identified as gifted in one or more areas
• Have one or more disabilities
• Twice exceptional students are not exceedingly
  rare but are often overlooked. Their
  disabilities and gifts may sometimes mask each
  other
• With sufficient support, twice exceptional
  students are high achievers

3
Chapter Overview

• Characteristics of Twice Exceptional Students
• Social and Emotional Needs
• Strength-Based Instructional Planning
• Instructional Strategies and Interventions
• Differentiated Lesson Planning
• Supporting Teachers in Service 2E Students

4
Key Issues Assessment

• Identifying gifts and strength areas
• Diagnosing challenges
• Finding motivators
• Immediate interests
• Long term goals
• Addressing special challenges in accurately
  assessing 2E students

5
Key Issues Focusing on Strengths

• Resisting impulses to focus on deficits and
  remediation
• Using success in strength areas to build academic
  self-efficacy and self-esteem
• Creating accommodations and support for accessing
  cognitively appropriate (usually above grade
  level) content

6
Key Issues Planning

• Connecting IEPs, WEPs (and WAPs)
• Counseling students on long term educational
  planning and future career options
• Planning for educational transitions

7
Key Issues Adapting Instruction

• Aiming high and scaffolding up
• Setting appropriate expectations
• For most gifted students, achieving at grade
  level is underachievement

8
Key Issues Adapting Instruction

• Proven Strategies
• Using big picture essential questions as
  advance organizers
• Curriculum compacting
• When and why less is often more
• Using time saved to maximize growth
• Flexible grouping
• By ability
• By interest
• By learning preferences

9
Key Issues Adapting Instruction

• Proven Strategies (2)
• Teaching meta-cognitive skills
• Using intellect of 2E students effectively
• Teaching thinking skills to leverage cognitive
  abilities and compensate for disabilities
• Affective education
• Addressing the social and emotional aspects of
  giftedness
• Addressing the social and emotional aspects of
  dealing with a disability
• Dealing with asynchronous development

10
Key Issues Popular Recipes for Disaster

• Overlooking the gifted side of 2E students
• Limiting access to advanced opportunities until
  2E students master the basics
• Using participation in gifted services as
  rewards/punishments for behavior
• Frequent use of gifted students (2E or otherwise)
  as tutors
• Placing too high a premium on perfection

11
Key Issues What Special Education Leaders Can Do

• Educate colleagues on 2E students
• Advocate for advanced/enriched learning
  opportunities for exceptional students in regular
  classrooms and in gifted identification and
  services
• Refer students with disabilities for gifted
  screening and support appropriate assessment
• Collaborate with gifted specialists on IEPs and
  WEPs
• Read and share the ODE Twice Exceptional Guide
• www.ode.state.oh.us Search Twice Exceptional

12
Questions or Assistance

• Contact Mary Rizza or Rosemary Pearson at
  gifted_at_ode.state.oh.us