CALL FOR IMPROVED GIFTED ED. The president of the North Carolina Association for the Gifted and Talented and the president of NAGC jointly call for more opportunities for gifted students to excel. From the plea: "Contrary to the belief of some, high-ability students do not materialize out of thin air, and they certainly do not retain their capabilities absent ongoing support provided by appropriately trained teachers. They must be identified at the earliest stages possible and developed throughout their academic careers." Find out what they recommend.
E-LEARNING FOR GIFTED STUDENTS. One opportunity gifted students do have is that of e-learning. An article in Education Weekdescribes some of the available opportunities.
ASPIE CHALLENGES. "He had all the state capitals memorized as a toddler, shortly before he read the entire dictionary." Now 23, Spencer, who has Asperger's, faces challenges at college, for example professors who don't understand how the seemingly brilliant young man can have trouble with logistics and procedure. An article in the Sacramento Bee tells more about Spencer and also about a support group, Asperger's Support for Adolescents Plus (ASAP), teens and young adults. Read more.
GIFTED AND DYSLEXIC. A young man with dyslexia who made it through the Stanford JD/MBA program tells how he did it, why he invented the Intel Reader, and why he's passionate about advocating for those with disabilities. Read the blog on CNN, and see a segment from "The Human Factor," which profiles Ben Foss.
SPEAKING OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY, Education Week describes how the the acceptance of universal design for learning -- with its emphasis on accessibility to content by all -- has affected assistive technology. The article provides examples along with guidelines for how schools can acquire such technology. Read the article.
CONFESSIONS OF AN ADDIVA is the title of a book reviewed at About.com. The book is written by a woman with AD/HD. From the review: "In Confessions of an ADDiva, Roggli shares about her journey living with undiagnosed ADHD for more than 40 years and the changes that took place in her life following diagnosis" Read more.
GIFTED EDUCATION PRESS QUARTERLY. The Fall edition of this newsletter is out. You may find it here.
IEP PROCESS. Autism Speaks has released a 26-page guide for parents about IEPs. Visit Autism Speaks to find out more or download the guide.
AD/HD AND WRITING. A recent study from the Mayo Clinic indicates that kids with AD/HD are much more likely to show writing problems -- 66 percent of boys with AD/HD and 57 percent of girls exhibited problems. Read about the study.
PREPARING FOR COLLEGE WITH A LEARNING DISABILITY is the title of a guest blog recently at the Washington Post's "Campus Overload" feature.A young woman who recently earned an associate's degree from Landmark College, a school that focuses on students with LDs, offered a recap of her experiences there plus five tips for those with LDs who plan to attend college. Find the blog.
NEGATIVE THINKING AND TEEN ANXIETY. A person's outlook on an ambiguous situation may determine whether the situation induces anxiety, according to a new study. An approach called "cognitive bias modification of interpretations" may help those subject to anxiety interpret unclear situations in a more positive light, averting unnecessary anxiety. Got an anxious gifted or 2e teen? Check out the study. Separately, Psych Central offers the tip that routine high-level exercise may reduce anxiety in persons predisposed to panic attacks. Find out more.
MATT COHEN answers questions each month at LD Online. Among the topics he addresses for July are: getting a teacher to find ways to help a student with an LD learn best; whether it's appropriate for a teacher to recommend that a child be medicated for an LD; what to do when a school denies an IEP because of a student's success; and how to get accommodations for the LSAT, among others. Find it.
AD/HD ENTREPRENEURS. Smart Money tells the stories of four entrepreneurs who succeeded on their own in spite of AD/HD and because of it. The article covers both the energy and the challenges; one entrepreneur once booked two different dinners for the same night -- on different continents. Read more about these achievers.
NEUROSCIENCE AND EDUCATION. Education Week, in a feature on special ed, covers some of the ways neuroscience can help not just special ed but education in general. Among the topics: the ability to differentiate LDs based on brain imaging; and early identification of LDs through biomarkers. Find the article.
DYSGRAPHIA IN THE "REAL WORLD" is the featured topic in Carla Crutsinger's most recent Brainworks e-newsletter. Crutsinger offers four solid strategies for achieving success at work with an impediment such as dysgraphia. Find the newsletter.
RESOURCES. For information or support, don't forget a couple resources we've mentioned in the past. One is #gtchat, a weekly, international, Twitter-based discussion on a specific gifted topic, sometimes on 2e topics. For example, on June 24 the topic was AD/HD in gifted kids; and on May 27 it was "Understanding and Supporting Twice-Exceptional Learners." If you can't participate in the hour-long chats, transcripts are available at the #gtchat site. Another resource available on an ongoing basis is About.com: ADD-AD/HD. About.com is operated by The New York Times, which makes us assume the information is reliable. You can sign up for periodic updates on the topic of AD/HD or any other topic at About.com -- topics relevant to the 2e community include anxiety disorders, ASD, gifted children, and more. (But no dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia!?) Find About.com.