A Case Study of Giftedness and Specific Learning Disabilities: Bridging the Two Exceptionalities

Abstract

Despite being unable to dress himself, sit still on a chair, or write a legible sentence, Scott was, from a very early age, able to build whole cities from construction blocks, able to complete complex puzzles, and verbally precocious. Even with his disabilities and their contrast with his academic talent, he completed K–12 school and went on to excel at university. This case study represents the challenges many parents experience with identifying their children’s disability and giftedness and ensuring that both exceptionalities are optimally developed. Through this case study, the roles an education system and the parents of such a child must assume if this development is going to happen are highlighted. Recommendations for identification, service provision, professional development for teachers, and collaboration among all parties connected with such students are made.

Keywords:

• adjustments
• adolescents
• challenges
• disability
• parents
• schooling
• siblings
• twice exceptionality

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Catherine Wormald

Catherine Wormald is a lecturer at the University of Wollongong in Australia. Her research interests include twice-exceptionality, giftedness, special needs, and teacher education. She has made a number of presentations on twice-exceptional issues in Australia. She has had her research published in the Australasian Journal of Gifted Education, the New South Wales Association of Gifted and Talented Children’s journal, Gifted, and has had a book chapter published and coedited the book Dual Exceptionality. E-mail: [email protected]

Karen B. Rogers

Karen B. Rogers is Professor of Gifted Studies in the Gifted Education and Special Education department in the School of Education, Leadership, and Counseling at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her current research interests include twice-exceptional education, gifted program development (identification and service provision), implementation, and evaluation, cognition, and research synthesis techniques. She has published seven books, 24 book chapters, and over 200 journal articles on various aspects of gifted and twice-exceptional education. E-mail: [email protected]

Wilma Vialle

Wilma Vialle is a professor in educational psychology and Associate Dean International at the University of Wollongong in Australia. Her research interests include gifted education, developmental psychology, social justice, and underachievement. Ongoing research projects include an international study of effective teachers of the gifted, a longitudinal study of adolescent academic and social–emotional outcomes, the development of expertise in competitive Scrabble players, and the development of spiritual understanding in children. Professor Vialle has published extensively on gifted education topics and was presented with the Eminent Australian award by the Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented in 2006 for her services to gifted education. E-mail: [email protected]