Twice Exceptionality: Strategies to Support Student Needs

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Twice Exceptionality Strategies to Support
Student Needs

• Noel Estrada-Hernández, PhD, CRC
• Susannah M. Wood, PhD
• The University of Iowa

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Overview

• Background of the topics (who and why).
• Discuss the unique personal and psychosocial
  characteristics of twice-exceptional students.
• Describe characteristics that relate to
  psychosocial adaptation, and attitudes toward
  disabilities and giftedness.
• Explore different strategies that can be used to
  address the specific needs of twice-exceptional
  students.
• Present practical implications for educators.

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Case Study

• Robby is a new 16 year-old student in your class.
  This is his third new school.
• Documentation indicates that throughout his
  school career Robby has had accommodations made
  for visual impairments.
• In your first meeting with him, you notice that
  he has a larger vocabulary than most 16 year
  olds, can talk knowledgably about his disability
  and has a delightful and witty sense of humor.
• His one theme is that he feels that he was not
  challenged at all in his past school and in the
  future, he wants a job that will keep him
  thinking.
• As he leaves you think that talking to him was
  like talking to a 30-year old.

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Definitions and Characteristics
Learning disabilities ADHD Autism Aspergers
syndrome dyslexia Emotional/behavioral
concerns Sensory integration dysfunction Auditory
processing disorder Visual processing
deficits Visual impairment Deaf Other physical
challenges

• Students with disabilities
• Disability categories
• Diagnosis/assessment
• Twice exceptional students
• Problematic definitions
• Difficult identification

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Psychosocial Aspects of Disabilities

• Visibility of disabilities
• Manifestations of disabilities
• Behavioral and functional limitations
• Perceived skills and other traits
• Other factors such as race, SES, education,
  access to services like health care,
  transportation, social activities

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Think about it.

• Definitions of disability are closely related to
  societys perception of the disability. The
  individuals experience with the disability, more
  difficult, involves both the definition of the
  disability and societys response to it
• Smart, 2001

Could the same be true of giftedness?
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Case Study Continued

• In scanning Robbys file you notice that
• In his first school he took the ITBS, scoring
  very high in verbal abilities.
• His g.p.a. from his last school showed consistent
  C averages.
• Teacher notes report the following. Robby is
  described as
• friendly,
• curious- he asks a lot of questions,
• easily bored and distracted, easily
  frustrated, seems bored but does not perform up
  to his potential in most assignments,
• seems hostile to authority figures,
• doesnt seem to need the accommodations we give
  him, after all, his grades are average.

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Psychosocial Aspects of Disabilities

• Stages of development and developmental tasks
• Stigma
• Personal vs. social meaning of the disability and
  gifted experience
• Psychosocial adaptation process
• Models to identify factors

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Hierarchy of stigma and disability

• Least Stigma
• Physical
• Cognitive
• Intellectual
• Mental
• Most Stigma

Less ambiguity
More ambiguity
Since giftedness is frequently conceptualized
within the cognitive and intellectual realms,
what level of stigma could be attached to it?
What about talent?
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Reactions to disability and giftedness

• Cognitive how does the person choose to think
  about the disability?
• Behavioral how active is the person in dealing
  with his/her disability-related issues?
• Affective how does the person manage his/her
  emotions related to the disability?

• Cognitive how does the person choose to think
  about their gifts/talents?
• Behavioral how active is the person in working
  with his/her giftedness and related issues?
• Affective how does the person manage his/her
  emotions related to the gift or talent?

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Reactions to disability

• A positive response to a disability does not view
  normality as the absence or cure of the
  disability, but rather conceptualizes normality
  as the integration of the persons identity,
  family, social system, income, social
  participation, professional identity, and
  sexuality after condition is medically
  stabilized
• Smart, 2001

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Psychosocial Aspects of Twice-Exceptionality

• Educational interactions with educators,
  confusion and frustration, frequent difficulty in
  mastering seemingly easy material
• Familial parental involvement in individuals
  development and advocacy efforts
• Socialization peers perceptions of
  giftedness/disability effects in social settings

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Psychosocial Aspects of Twice-Exceptionality

• Passing Wright (1962) described passing as a
  behavioral response on behalf of an individual
  with a disability intended to avoid unpleasant
  social interactions.
• Self-concept - If someone is learning disabled,
  how can they be gifted?

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Support Strategy One Exploring Resiliencies

• Services provided to these students should focus
  on both gifts and disability needs as a means of
  developing new or nurturing existing coping
  skills or resiliencies
• Individual Strengths/Compensation Strategies
• Avocational Assets
• Supportive Relationships

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Support Strategy Two Acknowledge, Normalize
Empower

• Acknowledge, normalize and address consumer
  feelings of anxiety, distrust, and anger. Explore
  of where and how feelings have developed.
• Work towards hearing both aspects of the
  consumer. Articulate/demonstrate, positive
  regard, empathy, care and empowerment.
• Dialogue about diagnosis/reconcile the
  paradox.
• Provide group and individual services.

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Case Study Continued

• You and Robby have a chance to talk after class
  about his educational career thus far. He says
• In my last school, I either talked too much or
  too little. Asked too many questions or not
  enough. Never showed my work, never helped
  classmates with theirs. I could never win with my
  teachers or the other kids. My teachers saw me
  as blind so if I couldnt do my work that was
  okay. I found I could get away with a lot. I
  didnt have to do as well. They always would say
  I was never performing up to my potential but
  no one bothered to tell me what that could be. I
  stopped asking questions when I overheard one
  teacher calling me a smart ass. I thought then,
  why bother? Frankly, I dont expect much to
  change here.

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Support Strategy Three Teach Life-Long Skills

• Depending on the innate or previously learned
  skills, students may require introduction to
• Academic skills
• Organization
• Time management
• Study skills
• Career skills
• Where and how to find occupational information
• Career/person fit
• Use of technology skills
• Personal/social
• Anger management
• Pro social/communication skills

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Support Strategy Four Grow Collaborative
Relationships

• Know your service providers
• Parents/guardians
• Special education/gifted teachers and
  coordinators
• School counselors
• Rehabilitation counselors
• College counseling or disability services
• There is room for collaboration!
• There is need for preparation!

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Implications Teacher Education

• Develop knowledge base on new concepts /
  terminology
• Multicultural
• Case management
• Psychosocial aspects
• Counseling children/adolescents
• Developmental theory
• Gifted and special education classes

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Implications Teacher Education

• Branch out teach others
• Attend professional development opportunities
  together
• Colloquia
• Workshops
• conferences
• Host your own
• Brown-bags
• Strategy/brainstorming teams
• Research groups
• Panel discussions
• Action-research teams
• Open communication its okay not to know and to
  ask for help!

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Case Study

• Given what you know about Robby
• What more would you want to know?
• What allies or collaborative relationships would
  be helpful here?
• What would happen to the case if Robby was a
  culturally diverse student?
• How would you work with Robbys
• Emotions
• Cognitive needs
• His desire for a future stimulating job
• Visual impairment

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How to contact us

• Susannah M. Wood, PhD
• N 348 Lindquist Center,
• The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
• susannah-wood_at_uuiowa.edu
• Noel Estrada-Hernández, PhD, CRC
• N 366 Lindquist Center,
• The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
• noel-estradahernandez_at_uiowa.edu