Without appropriate prereferral interventions, opportunities to have a profound positive impact may be missed. These may include best practices found in gifted education: daily challenge in specific areas of talent regular opportunities to be unique and work independently in passion and talent areas various forms of acceleration based on needs opportunities to socialize and to learn with like-ability peers and differentiated instructional delivery, including pace, amount of review and practice, and organization of content presentation (Rogers, 2007). Interviews with parents or guardians and the child, as well as instruments that provide data on the functioning of the child, help to determine appropriate prereferral interventions. Current functioning is the focus of the prereferral process (Boland & Gross, 2007). Prereferral is the process of obtaining a thorough understanding of a gifted child or adolescent by examining the frequency, severity, and duration of any presenting behaviors and whether any are problematic. Like Joey, a gifted child’s abilities and talents must be considered not only in the referral process and evaluation, but also in the prereferral intervention phase. They contacted a counselor/consultant who specializes in working with gifted children to help them with their advocacy. Although these services were helpful, Joey’s parents realized the paradoxes of their son and sought help for his intellectual needs and perfectionist tendencies. Occupational therapy and social work, as well as services for the family, were incorporated into Joey’s IEP. A Preschool Individualized Education Program (IEP) was developed that emphasized managing his sensory issues and meltdowns resulting from his obsessive nature and rigidity about rules. Joey’s teachers knew that he was a smart little boy, but their focus was on his negative classroom behaviors. The interested reader is referred to the book Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults (Webb et al., 2005) for a thorough discussion of diagnostic issues among the gifted population. In turn, clinicians receiving such referrals also may fail to assess the implications of giftedness when exploring potential diagnoses like Asperger’s Disorder. Even though twice-exceptional students are in the minority, identifying these students presents a significant challenge because gifted children who are misunderstood can be easily misdiagnosed by those not aware of the typical characteristics of gifted children (Hartnett, Nelson, & Rinn, 2004 Lovecky, 2004 Webb et al., 2005).Īll-too-often, well-meaning individuals urge parents to seek referrals for psychological evaluation without considering or understanding the typical characteristics of gifted children or the impact of intellectual ability on behavior and relationships. Programming for twice-exceptional students is difficult because their abilities often straddle both ends of the bell-shaped curve, with strengths and weaknesses needing to be addressed in order for interventions to be successful. There is no doubt that a gifted child can have Asperger’s Disorder and that this combination has a profound impact on both social interactions and schooling (Amend & Schuler, 2004 Cash, 1999 Neihart, 2000).Ī gifted child with a disability like Asperger’s Disorder (or a learning disability or Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder) is referred to as a twice-exceptional child. It is characterized by severe deficits in age-appropriate social interactions and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior or interests (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Questions arose: Gifted and quirky, Asperger’s Disorder, or both?Īsperger’s Disorder is a pervasive developmental disorder on the autism spectrum. Sensory issues and meltdowns also were present. He was clumsy, which affected his physical play with other children. For example, he failed to recognize how others felt, had unexpected rages without clear provocation, and often spoke in a formal and pedantic manner that turned others off. And yet, Joey’s socialization skills did not match his highly developed abilities. Joey’s advanced vocabulary, enjoyment of being with older children, and high level of motivation were noted by his parents and preschool teachers. ![]() He often devised his own scientific experiments-at home and at school. His intellectual curiosity was astonishing. As a 4-year-old, he knew more facts about climate zones, geography, and geology than most high school students. Joey loved nature more than anything else.
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