Overlap of Giftedness and Social Emotional Functioning Dr. Marc A. Gerber, School Psychologist

Gifted Children with Disabilities Children can be gifted and also have learning and attention issues. Some children have exceptional ability in some academic areas and significant learning difficulties in other areas. Many of these children go through school without being identified. It is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of twice-exceptional learners in U.S. schools. There are no hard numbers because so many of these students are never formally identified as being gifted, having a disability or both.

Disability Classifications Autism Deafness Deaf-Blindness Emotional Disturbance Hearing Impairment Intellectual Disability Learning Disability Multiple Disabilities Orthopedic Impairment Other Health Impairment (including ADHD) Speech or Language Impairment Traumatic Brain Injury Visual Impairment

Criteria For Disability Classifications Meet criteria for one of the 13 disability Disability must impact academic performance and impair ability to access general education curriculum May not be due to lack of appropriate instruction in reading or math May not be due to limited English proficiency

Michael Bright, insightful, enthusiastic Requires frequent redirection to task Calls out without raising hand Walks around the classroom without permission Forgets/loses homework Doesn’t finish classwork or tests on time

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (OHI) Inattention: wanders off task, lacks persistence, has difficulty sustaining focus, disorganized Hyperactivity: move about constantly, including in situations in which it is not appropriate Impulsivity: makes hasty actions that occur in the moment without first thinking about them

Anisah Writes beautifully Knows everything about flowers and plants Spelling bee winner Low mood for extended period of time Loss of interest in friends and leisure activities Stomach aches with no medical cause Doesn’t want to attend school Refuses to participate in small groups

Emotional Disturbance (depression) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships Inappropriate behavior under normal circumstances Pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression Tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems

Ahmed Reading Comprehension and Numerical Operations at 99th% FSIQ 99th% Circumscribed interest in trains (formerly dinosaurs) Difficulty with change in schedule/routine Difficulty establishing friendships and with social interactions

Autism 1 in 42 boys, 1 in 65 girls 8 to 10 months: failure to respond to name, reduced interest in people and delayed babbling Toddlers: difficulty playing social games, don’t imitate the actions of others and prefer to play alone Social challenges Communication difficulties Repetitive behaviors Circumscribed Interests (affinity therapy) Sensory Processing Problems

Angela 4th grade reading on 12th grade reading level Struggling to pass math class despite ample motivation and effort Difficulty with spatial processing (e.g., moving a chair through a doorway) Needs calculator to complete even the most basic computations

Learning Disability (dyscalculia) Learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which manifests itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations

Subclinical Issues Testing anxiety Mild depression Mild generalized anxiety Features of ADHD w/o significant educational impairment Physical injuries (short-term services) High-functioning autism (Social Communication Disorder, Asperger Syndrome)

Support Without Special Education Outside counseling At-risk school counseling Psychiatric evaluation Other medical intervention 504 Plan Behavior Plan w/o formal evaluation Teacher/Parent consultation