G IFTEDNESS VS. L EARNING D ISABILITY By: Kendra Yeager

D EFINE G IFTEDNESS Children who give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields. “Children and youth with outstanding talent who perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment.” - US Department of Education, 1993

W HAT A RE G IFTED C HILDREN …  Socially Diverse  Emotionally Diverse  Intellectually Diverse  Culturally Diverse

A REAS OF G IFTEDNESS  Intellectual Ability  Very bright individual throughout all subjects/areas  Creative or Productive Thinking Ability  Individuals who often give unique ideas, responses, or solutions to problems  Leadership Ability  Individual that shows the ability to direct and organize activities within groups of students  Visual/Performing Arts Ability  Individual that stands out within visual art forms, drama, dance, music, and/or creative writing

M YTHS OF G IFTED S TUDENTS  Everything comes easier  Need very little attention  High achievers  Teacher’s pet  Comes from middle or upper class families  Well-organized  Know all the answers

D EFINE L EARNING D ISABILITY LD is a persistent condition of presumed neurological dysfunction in which an individual exhibits a significant discrepancy between intellectual ability and academic achievement despite regular instruction and educational opportunity. If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn

T YPES OF L EARNING D ISABILITIES  Dysgraphia  Writing Difficulty with the physical task of forming letters and words with a pen and paper.  Dyscalculia  Math Difficulty understanding and using math concepts and symbols.  Dyslexia  Reading Difficulty spelling words, navigation, and mixing up letters within words and words within sentences while reading.  Dyspraxia  Language Difficulty with language comprehension; mix up words and sentences while talking.  Non-Verbal Learning Disorder  Motor, Visual, and Social Skills Difficulty in skills by demonstrating below-average motor coordination, visual spatial organization, and social skills.

C HARACTERISTICS OF L EARNING D ISABILITIES  Reading Skills:  Poor decoding skills  Slow reading rate  Difficulty controlling eye movements across the page  Spelling Skills:  No understanding of common spelling rules  Frequent spelling errors of high frequency words  Written Expression Skills:  Poor writing fluency  Extremely weak proofreading skills  Inability to take notes or copy information from a book or a board

C HARACTERISTICS OF L EARNING D ISABILITIES C ONTINUED  Oral Language Skills:  Inability to blend sounds together to form words  Difficulty pronouncing sounds  Disorganized recall of facts or details  Mathematical Skills:  Poor mathematical fluency  Inability to use basic facts within more complex calculations  Memory Skills:  Weak ability to store and retrieve information efficiently  Weak ability to hold information for immediate use  Reasoning Skills:  Difficulty recognizing, transforming, or using specific information to reach general conclusions.

C OMPARING G IFTEDNESS VS. L EARNING D ISABILITY  Excellent Long-Term Memory  Performs Better with Challenging Work  Thrives on Complexity  Advanced Verbal Skills  Extensive Verbal Skills  Poor Short-Term Memory  Struggles with Easy, Sequential Material  Struggles with Rote Memorization  Weak in Language Mechanics  Difficulty with Spelling and Phonics GiftednessLearning Disability (LD)

O VERLAPS Students with Disabilities Gifted Students Highly Gifted Students Students who are Twice-Exceptional (2e) All Students

R EFERENCE National Association for Gifted Children MSJC disabilities-characteristics.aspxhttp:// disabilities-characteristics.aspx Washington-Types of LD NCLD- Giftedness and Learning Disabilities issues/giftedness/giftedness-learning-disabilities issues/giftedness/giftedness-learning-disabilities Gifted Kids