From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

FIGHT OVER GT, LD SERVICES. A mom and a school district in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, have been locked in a struggle for over a decade over services for her two sons, one of whom is evidently both gifted and LD. Services for both exceptionalities are part of the dispute. The mom wanted services and requested a number of due process hearings. According to an account of the dispute, the school district called the mom's behavior "vexatious." Read the account and form your own opinions...

FANTASY MOVIES FOSTER CREATIVITY? Researchers at Lancaster University in the UK say that watching fantasy movies such as Harry Potter films may improve their imagination and creativity. The subjects, aged four to six, reportedly performed "significantly better" on creativity tests after watching 15-minute clips from a Potter film. Read more.Separately, The New York Times reports that fiction can "stimulate the brain and even change how we act in life" -- this according to research involving brain scans. Read the article.

GIFTED TESTING IN THE UK. Gifted eleven-year-olds in the UK will be administered special "SATs," or national curriculum assessments, the results of which will be part of a school's performance. The rationale for the testing: to "encourage teachers to devote more time to high ability children," according to the Telegraph. NAGC in the UK supports the move. Read more.

DSM-V AND AUTISM. If you're following the debate over autism diagnosis in the upcoming DSM-V, you might be interested in an opinion piece/debate in New Scientist. Find it.

JACK KENT COOKE SCHOLARSHIPS. The application for 2012 scholarships through the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is April 15. Eligible candidates come from low- to medium-income families and will start 8th grade this fall. Find out more. 

AD/HD AND FISH OIL An ADDitude online feature covers fish oil and other supplements as possible treatments for AD/HD. Find the feature.

WRIGHTSLAW. Special Ed Advocate takes on the issue of what to do when services specified in an IEP are not provided. Read more.

OCD WORKSHOP IN MANHATTAN. The Child Mind Institute has scheduled a family workshop on OCD on April 3 in the evening. Find out more.

ANXIETY IN DC. On April 17, Dr. Daniel Pine is scheduled to present "Current Thinking about Anxiety: The State of the Science." Read more.

EDUCATION WEEK is currently offering free downloads of some of its "Spotlight" sponsored white papers. They cover topics such as bullying, STEM, and personalized learning. Find them.

MORE AD/HD -- 66 percent more diagnosis in the past 10 years, as a matter of fact. An article at ScienceDaily attributes the change to increased awareness of the condition. Read it.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

2e STORY. As an 11-year-old, broadcaster and author Nelson Lauver was evaluated by the family doctor, who concluded that Lauver "had limited intelligence and lacked serious motivation," according to an article at PennLive.com. Social promotions kept him going from grade to grade until he graduated at the bottom of his class. At age 29, Lauver discovered that he had dyslexia. He has authored a memoir, Most Unlikely to Succeed, The Trials, Travels and Ultimate Triumphs of a ‘Throwaway’ Kid. Find out more. 

HEARING AND ACADEMICS. An article in THE Journal states, "a growing body of research indicates hearing loss--even a minimal amount--can have a dramatic effect on everything from attention and behavior to academic performance." According to the article, about 20 percent of K-12 students might have some type of hearing difficulties. Read the article.

UNWRAPPING THE GIFTED. Still sharing her experiences from Edufest, Tamara Fisher related four "epiphanies" shared with her by teachers at the conference. One started out this way:

• Fisher: What did you used to think and believe about gifted students and gifted education? 
• Teacher: I used to believe that gifted ed starts in 3rd grade and that students who are gifted always do well academically unless they are lazy.

Can you guess where that leads? Find Fisher's blog and the rest of the teacher's insight.  

BRAINWORKS. Carla Crutsinger continues on the topic of handwriting and dysgraphia in a Q&A titled "Is It Laziness or Is It a Handwriting Problem." Got a kid with bad handwriting? Check out the newsletter. (And be sure to read the introductory "dialog" between teacher and pupil.)

FISH OIL AND BRAIN POWER. Thinking about using fish oil (DHA) supplements to improve focus in that 2e kid you know? Check out an article in the Los Angeles Times that covers the claims and the evidence for the effectiveness of the supplement.

AUTISM AND PRONOUNS. Children with autism may refer to themselves as "you," an error reflecting "a disordered neural representation of the self," according to a new study. Brain imaging showed "diminished synchronization" in two brain areas during pronoun use. The error may also be connected with an inability to shift viewpoints. Read about the study.

WISC-IV DISCREPANCIES. A thread at the "Gifted Issues Discussion Forum" at the Davidson Institute website concerns big gaps between processing speed and working memory scores, on the one hand, and perceptual reasoning and verbal comprehension on the other. You might know that such gaps can be markers of twice exceptionality. Find the thread.

AND FINALLY, THIS. A University of Essex study of video gamers indicates that rather than running away from something during play, the gamers are actually trying on new traits or characteristics -- in effect, according to the researchers, "running towards their ideals. They are not escaping to nowhere, they are escaping to somewhere." Read more to understand that gamer in your household.