Editorial

Meeting the Needs of Students Who Are Twice Exceptional

Mary Ruth Coleman, Christine Harradine, and Emily Williams King, Guest Editors

This issue of TEACHING Exceptional Program, please visit www.jackkent- Connecticut and members of the
Children features several articles on cookefoundation.org. This is an excit- National Research Center on Gifted and
meeting the needs of children who are ing time and we hope that this special Talented. The issue of motivation is a
twice exceptional. The term twice excep- issue will be a key piece of a growing huge one for students who are twice
tional was coined by James J. Gallagher movement to meet the needs of stu- exceptional, so the lessons learned
to denote students who are both gifted dents who are twice exceptional. about motivation are especially useful
and have disabilities. In this issue, we The articles in this issue offer key as we think about how to meet their
focus on these students. This is an excit- ideas on best practices to nurture the needs.
ing time to turn our focus to these chil- academic, social, and emotional needs The fourth article, “Academic
dren and their needs. With the re- of students who are twice exceptional. Strategies That Work for Gifted Students
authorization of the Individuals with We have also included a resource list With Learning Disabilities,” by Dr. Mary
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), we that can be used to guide the gathering Ruth Coleman extends the basic learn-
see for the first time that gifted students of additional information. The lead arti- ing principles identified by the National
with disabilities are mentioned as a pri- cle, “The Eye of the Storm: Services and Research Council to offer specific guide-
ority group of students whose needs can Programs for Twice-Exceptional Chil- lines for addressing students who are
be addressed with federal funding. The dren,” by Drs. Dennis Higgins and twice exceptional. Mary Ruth explores
actual language in IDEA can be found Elizabeth Nielsen sets the tone for the how time, structure, support, and com-
in: issue. Using the metaphor, the eye of the plexity can be used to ensure the aca-
storm, Dennis and Elizabeth share over demic success of these students.
PART D-NATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO 20 years of experience and research on Dr. Edwin Ellis offers us food for
IMPROVE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN how to create educational environments thought on the current myths we oper-
WITH DISAIBITIES; in SUBPART 4- that help twice-exceptional students ate under as we think about the educa-
GENERAL PROVISIONS; SEC. 681. thrive. They offer concrete examples tion of children with disabilities in “Big
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR SUB- through sharing the outcomes for two Ideas about Teaching Big Ideas.” Ed
PARTS 2 AND 3. Under (d) PRIORI- students who have participated in the challenges us to think about the big
TIES; (3) projects that address the needs Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) ideas that guide our teaching and he
of (J) children who are gifted and tal- Twice Exceptional Program. This pro- gives us a clear and strong argument for
ented. gram has been in place since the early the incorporation of big ideas in our cur-
1990s and is a model program for meet- riculum and pedagogy. Ed’s article is a
The inclusion of twice-exceptional ing the needs of students who are both rallying cry for the inclusion of mean-
children in Federal Law is a major step gifted and disabled. Dennis and ingfulness, importance, and complexity
forward to help advocate for meeting Elizabeth are the founders of the APS in all that we do with our students.
their needs. The Council for Exceptional program. Article number six, “Puzzles,
Children (CEC) and TAG (The In the second article, “Addressing the Mysteries, and Picasso—A Summer
Association for Gifted) are working with Social and Emotional Needs of Twice- Camp for Students Who Are Gifted and
the National Association for Gifted Exceptional Students,” Emily Williams Learning Disabled” by Nina Yssel,
Children on strategies to ensure that, as King discusses the social and emotional Judith, Margison, Tracy Cross, and John
the regulations for IDEA are developed, needs of students who are twice excep- Merbler, describes a summer enrich-
we have guidelines on how this new tional. She begins with information on ment program at Ball State University
priority should be addressed. the identification of students who are for students who are twice exceptional.
CEC has another exciting undertak- twice exceptional noting the specific In this program, students were given
ing that pertains to students who are areas of concern for their emotional and opportunities for enrichment and in-
twice exceptional. CEC, in partnership social development and concludes with depth exploration of topics in science
with the Frank Porter Graham Child strategies for support of social and emo- and the arts. The program also included
Development Institute at the University tional needs. The third article, “Making a social/emotional component.
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will be a Difference: Motivating Gifted Students The final article in this special issue
working with the Jack Kent Cooke Who Are Not Achieving” turns our is a reflective piece, “What We Have
Foundation. This work will assist the focus toward the students who are not Learned: Experiences in Providing
Cooke Foundation in selecting 3 to 5 thriving in school in spite of their gift- Adaptations and Accommodations for
students who are twice exceptional for edness. This article is co-authored by GT/LD Students” written by Rich
their Young Scholars Program. For more Drs. Del Siegle and Betsy McCoach who Weinfeld, Linda Barnes-Robinson, Sue
information on the Young Scholars are both faculty at the University of Jeweler, and Betty Roffman Shevitz.

TEACHING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN ■ SEPT/OCT 2005 ■ 5

This team has more than 15 years of
Get Ready to Vote for CEC's
experience working with students in
Montgomery County Maryland Public Board of Directors
Schools who are twice exceptional.
Collectively, they reflect on this experi-
ence and share the lessons they learned
with us so that we can all benefit from
It's time for CEC members to vote for incoming mem-
their wisdom.
bers of CEC's Board of Directors. This is your oppor-
We sincerely hope that you find the
tunity to ensure that the individuals, who represent your
articles and information in this special
wishes for the future of special education, as well as
issue useful, practical, and even per-
CEC's future direction, are elected into office.
haps inspiring. Please call on us if we
You can read about the candidates and their views
can be of any further support to you as
on CEC's Web site, www.cec.sped.org. The position
you think about meeting the needs of
of Student Member is appointed by the Board of
students who are twice exceptional.
Directors and will not appear on the ballot.
As guest editors, we wish to thank
The election will be conducted by individual secret
Alec Peck and Stan Scarpati for allowing
ballot. Members are encouraged to vote online on
us to work with them, for supporting
CEC's Web site, www.cec.sped.org, or you can
this effort, and for their patient advice
vote by mail.
as things unfolded. We are grateful to
them! Slate of Candidates for 2006

President Elect
Reference
Mary Ruth Coleman
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Harold Tarriff
Act, Pub L. No. 108-446 (2004). Section
681, (d), (3), (J). Member-at-Large (3 positions)
Elizabeth Drame
CEC has just received an exciting Beverly McCoun
grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Dave Roels
Foundation that recognizes students Jim Siders
who are twice exceptional. The pur- Azure Dee Smiley
pose of the grant is to assist the Gloria Taradash
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation in find-
Member-at-Large Classroom Ranks
ing outstanding students who are
Carol Eisenbise
twice exceptional for their Young
Martha Harris
Scholars Program. The Young
Amanda Hopkins
Scholars Program is designed to sup-
port outstanding middle school stu- Member-at-Large Diverse Ethnic and Multicultural
dents who also have extreme finan- Groups
cial needs. The Foundation offers Jonathan Stout
these young scholars financial and Roberta Unger
academic support to help them be
successful. CEC will be working Student Member
directly with Mary Ruth Coleman at Caroline Marrett
the Frank Porter Graham Institute to
locate twice-exceptional students Students to Elect Representative
who may be nominated for the CEC's Student members will also elect a student to represent
Young Scholars Program. For more them at the CEC Representative Assembly. Candidates are:
information about this exciting pro- Lynn Cain
gram, visit jackkentcookefounda- Samantha Hucks
tion.org and/or contact Richard
Mainzer at RICHARDM The election occurs September 19–October 24,
@cec.sped.org. 2005. For more information about the candidates,
go to the CEC Web site, www.cec.sped.org.

6 ■ COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN