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Showing posts with label learning disabilities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learning disabilities. Show all posts

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

ANXIETY is one of the conditions our subscribers are most concerned with when it comes to raising or educating twice-exceptional children. An article in the Vancouver Sun describes a researcher's efforts to develop a "screen" for anxiety in kindergarten, when kids are screened for vision and hearing. According to the article, about ten percent of kindergartners have anxiety at a level sufficient to interfere with school work or friendships. Read more. Separately, other researchers speculate that intelligence may have "co-evolved" with worry, noting that the two traits both correlate with certain brain activity. In subjects with generalized anxiety disorder, the researchers found a positive correlation between intelligence and worry; in "normal" subjects, high IQ had a negative correlation with worry. Find out more.
LD IN COLLEGE. A Chicago Tribune article explores why some college students eligible for special services in college may forgo those, and also looks at the kinds of services available to college students with LDs. Find the article.
AUTISM. Those with a stake in how the DSM-5 handles the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders might be interested in an article by a psychiatrist involved in the revision process. He explains the process and explains why the DSM's standards are so important. Find the article. Separately, NPR's Diane Rehm Show on April 11th considered the implications of recent research on our understanding of autism. Find the show. Finally, Harvard University researchers are developing a quick, simple, and supposedly accurate tool for detecting autism in young children. The tool involves a small set of questions and a short home video, and, according to a write-up of the research, "could reduce the time for autism diagnosis by nearly 95 percent, from hours to minutes, and could be easily integrated into routine child screening practices to enable a dramatic increase in reach to the population at risk." Find out more.
INTELLIGENCE MAPPED. A research team based at the University of Illinois has reported mapping the physical architecture of intelligence in the brain. The researchers used patients with brain injuries to infer how specific brain structures are associated with various cognitive tasks. Included in the map are areas associated with general intelligence and executive function; included with the study write-up is a graphic showing where those areas are supposedly located. Read more. 

APRIL 20th EVENT IN NEW YORK. An all-day event on April 20th at Nassau Community College in New York will focus on how educators can help twice-exceptional students succeed. The event is titled "Unlocking Potential": Cost-free Strategies to Improve Underachieving Students' Performance. Find out more. 
THE GIFTED HOMESCHOOLERS FORUM is now providing online courses for gifted and twice-exceptional students, according to the organization. The first two courses are scheduled to begin in September. Find out more. 
AND FINALLY, THIS. The company Zaner-Bloser, "one of the premier publishers of research-based reading, writing, spelling, vocabulary, and handwriting programs," has held and announced the winners of the 21st Annual National Handwriting Contest, in which over 325,000 students participated. Entries were judged on size, shape, spacing, and slant. This contest is of interest to us because of the sheer number of entrants, because based on our own sons' education experiences we weren't sure that handwriting was actually taught anymore, and also because we thought everyone now keyboarded instead of writing. Find out more about the contest.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

LD MISCONCEPTIONS. PBS Newshour focused on LDs recently and offered a primer in the issue, noting that kids with LDs drop out of school at a rate 2.5 times their non-LD peers. Listed and explained were five beliefs, including "Learning disabilities usually correspond with a low IQ." Find out how the writers dispel that and other misconceptions. One of the broadcasts in the series focused on LDs and the arts, how the arts can allow students to show strengths and build confidence; find a write-up of the show.
TEACHING KIDS WITH LDs. A Scientific American article notes that lots of private schools will  help kids with LDs succeed, but that such opportunities are usually lacking in public schools. The article profiles a Canadian elementary school program called THRIVE where one teacher helps 15 kids that "normal classrooms have left behind, defeated, and, too often, deflated." The article explains how the teacher plays to strengths which may include spatial aptitudes. Read more about techniques that can apply to most 2e kids.
JONATHAN MOONEY. To get a glimpse of how this author and lecturer engages with his audiences, take a look at a piece he wrote for ADDitude Magazine titled "How I Channeled My Energy Into Success." Read how he couldn't sit still, and how, as he says, his advocates saved him. Find the article.
RTI AND 2e. This Wednesday the 28th NAGC offers a webinar on RTI that will cover the use of RTI with gifted and 2e learners. From the NAGC blurb: "RTI identification criteria and gifted students may elude detection solely through classroom achievement measures, RTI approaches need to be adapted for gifted children and supplemented." Find out more. 
DYSLEXIC ADVANTAGE NEWSLETTER. At their website, the Drs. Eide offer a chance to sign up for their newsletter. The March edition points to a variety of resources on the topic.
AUTISTIC ADVANTAGE. A man with Asperger's who graduated from college with a 4.0 grade average but whose success in finding a fulfilling job was not good finally founded AutVantage, according to the Jackson, Mississippi, Clarion Ledger, "a startup information technology company focused on employment opportunities for autistic professionals." Read the story. Separately, a study indicates that people with autism "have a greater than normal capacity for processing information even from rapid presentations and are better able to detect information defined as 'critical.'" Read more.
ESSAY CONTEST. Rand McNally is sponsoring an essay contest for kids in grades 7-12 asking them to respond to the question, "What's the one place in the U.S. that truly inspires you?" The contest organizers offer a $10,000 scholarship to winners, so get that gifted writer you know to this site to find out more.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

AUDITORY SAMPLING LINKED TO DYSLEXIA. Recent research indicates that the way the brain processes auditory rhythms in phonemes may underlie dyslexia. From a write-up of the study: "Our results suggest that the left auditory cortex of dyslexic people may be less responsive to modulations at very specific frequencies that are optimal for analysis of speech sounds and overly responsive to higher frequencies, which is potentially detrimental to their verbal short-term memory abilities." Read more.
NEWS ON AUTISM. Another recent study indicates that disorders such as AD/HD or LDs may often accompany autism, complicating diagnosis and treatment. The study also indicated that some kids "outgrow" a diagnosis of ASD. Read about the study. Separately, a study of twins where only one of the twins was affected with ASD seems to indicate that the twin with lower birth weight was more likely to develop the diagnosis. To the researchers, this indicates that environmental factors also play a role in the development of ASD. Find out more. Finally, Autism Speaks has responded to the recent reports of changes in the way ASD might be defined in the DSM-5, changes some feel would leave some children ineligible for an ASD diagnosis and resultant services. The organization states, "Autism Speaks’ position is that it will be vitally important to collect meaningful information on how the change impacts access to services by those affected by autism symptoms." Read more.
GIFTED IN HOUSTON. The Houston, Texas, Independent School District (HISD) has identified about 15.6 percent of its students as gifted, more than twice the percentage in other Texas schools and  higher than the national average. The Texas Watchdog questions whether including so many students in the gifted pool allows gifted programs to truly serve the top learners. The article also includes figures indicating the composition of the HISD gifted pool: 42 percent of Asians in the district are identified as gifted, 40 percent of white students, and 7 percent of African-American students. HISD is 60-plus percent Hispanic and 25 percent African-American. Read more.
DISABILITY REDEFINED? Education Week notes that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education has issued a letter that might expand the range of students for whom schools must provide special ed services. According to the article, the OCR's guidance states: "Students who, in the past, may not have been determined to have a disability under Section 504 [of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973] and Title II [of the Americans with Disabilities Act] may now in fact be found to have a disability under those laws." Read about it, and if we find out more we'll pass it on. 

From the Publishers of 2e Newsletter

DISABILITIES IN THE U.S. The U.S. Census Bureau has released an analysis of disabilities in school-age children. About 2.8 million children (5.2 percent) were categorized as having a disability as defined by IDEA. Of those, perhaps 4.5 percent were cognitive disabilities. Find out more.
BLOCKS AS A LEARNING TOOL. A New York Times article about blocks in the classroom contained an anecdote about a presumably 2e child. After an apple-picking field trip, the child, described as a struggling second-grader, "went to the block corner and built an incredibly complex structure, a tractor engine, and she was able to talk about how all the parts moved,” according to a teacher, who continued: “We need to be looking at this student in a very different way.” Read the article.
WRIGHTSLAW'S current edition of Special Ed Advocate contains articles that might clear up certain questions and issues about RTI and how schools implement it. Find the issue.
AD/HD'S AFFECT ON MOMS is the topic of a study reviewed by David Rabiner in his Attention Research Update newsletter. As you might guess (or know), parenting a child with AD/HD can lead to stress, and the study documents how and when stress levels might elevate by taking an "electronic diary" approach to tracking events and stress. Find the newsletter.
EDUCATOR OF 2e HONORED. Ben Shifrin, Head of Jemicy School in Owings Mills, Maryland, was recently inducted to the Hall of Fame of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Jemicy School provides a highly individualized, flexible, and challenging education for above-average to gifted college-bound students with dyslexia or other related language-based learning differences. According to the IDA, Jemicy's philosophy is based upon building the academic and higher order thinking skills of bright young people through applied research and time-tested multisensory learning. Jemicy serves the whole child, celebrating each student's strengths while exploring individualized skills and strategies that will build the foundation for success in school and in life. Find more information here or here.
WORRIED ABOUT PSYCHIATRIC MEDS FOR KIDS? A member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has written an article for parents on concerns in children's meds, including "polypharmacy," when a child is on multiple psychiatric meds at the same time. Find the article.
AND FINALLY, THIS. A study has indicated that more creative people are more likely to cheat, but that there is no link between intelligence and cheating. According to the study authors, "people who are creative or work in environments that promote creative thinking may be the most at risk when they face ethical dilemmas." Got a creative kid? Find out more.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

LD ON COLLEGE APP: TELL OR NOT? A New York Times blog explored the issue of what to reveal on a college application about one's learning challenges. According to the article, whether to disclose might depend on the impact on performance of the LD; students with strong grades might not want to disclose. Also in the article: a pointer to sources of information about colleges supporting students with LDs. Read more.
COULDN'T MAKE IT TO NAGC, wrapping up this weekend? Tamara Fisher blogs about her experiences there at "Unwrapping the Gifted."
DEBORAH RUF, in  her e-newsletter, pointed us to "Nobel Conference 47: The Brain and Being Human." Not only does the conference site offer resources for each presenter's topic, but it also provides a video archive so that site visitors can view videos of presentations. The topics are more general than 2e- or LD-specific, but brain mavens might want to check out the site. Thanks, Deborah. 
MATT COHEN, special ed attorney who has written for 2e Newsletter, has an article in his November e-newsletter titled "Beware the IQ Score," discussing challenges to the common belief that IQ is constant. Find the newsletter or download the article (as a Word document) from the Monahan & Cohen website.  
ATTENTION RESEARCH UPDATE, David Rabiner's newsletter, has been posted for October. The subject: what's important to families as they make decisions in seeking treatment for AD/HD in a child. Find the newsletter. 
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR READERS. An article in the most recent edition of 2e Newsletter mentioned Bookshare, a tool to help struggling readers by providing books in a way that can be both seen and heard on the computer. Bookshare is free for schoolchildren. Got a problem reader? Find out more about Bookshare.
BOOKS FOR DYSLEXIC KIDS. The Telegraph of London published a column in observance of Dyslexia Awareness Week, noting books from a British publisher devoted to bringing out works for struggling readers. Find the column. Separately, The LA Times noted research from Stanford University indicating that intelligence is unrelated to dyslexia -- "evidence of dyslexia was shown to be independent of IQ scores." Read more.
THE AUTISTIC ADVANTAGE? A Canadian researcher "has strongly established and replicated the abilities and sometimes superiorities of autistics in multiple cognitive operations such as perception and reasoning," according to ScienceDaily. As in an item in one of our recent blog posts, the researcher notes that standard IQ tests can be inappropriate in gauging the strengths of the autistic mind. Read more.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

ASSESSING ASPIE INTELLIGENCE. A new study indicates that individuals with Asperger's rate higher on an intelligence test called Raven's Progressive Matrices than on scales such as the Wechsler tests. The Raven's test evidently emphasizes reasoning, novel problem-solving abilities, and high-level abstraction. A ScienceDaily report on the study concluded, "...the authors emphasize that autistic spectrum intelligence is atypical, but also genuine, general, and underestimated." Read the report.

UNWRAPPING THE GIFTED. Tamara Fisher says "gift a teacher a book about gifted education," and provides a list of books suggested  by her readers. Find it. Along with her idea, we suggest that if your child is twice-exceptional you gift a book on that topic -- or a subscription to the ever-handy 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter. 

ATTENTION RESEARCH UPDATE. The September edition of David Rabiner's newsletter, now posted on his site, describes a study of how the "stigma" of being treated for AD/HD might affect adolescents. Got a 2e adolescent with AD/HD? Check out Rabiner's newsletter.

ANESTHESIA IN YOUNG CHILDREN can be something to worry about, according to the Mayo Clinic, becuase it can increase the chance of learning disabilities by over 100 percent.  Got a child under two? Read more.

FORDHAM STUDY. If you paid attention to the recent Fordham study that asked whether current educational practice underdevelops gifted kids, you might be interested in a discussion of the topic at The New York Times site. 

CASH FOR AP ACHIEVEMENT. The New York Times reported on a Massachusetts experiment that provided cash incentives to both students and teachers for success in Advanced Placement courses. The results? More students taking those courses, and a higher percentage qualifying for college credit. Read more.

GIFTED TEEN SURVIVAL GUIDE. Free Spirit Press has released the fourth edition of this book, which is based on surveys of almost 1,400 gifted teenagers. One of the revisions: inclusion of new information on twice-exceptionality. (Way to go, Free Spirit!) Find out more about the book at the publisher's website.

VIDEO COMPETITION. If you have a smart, young, penurious media maven in your house, the American Bankers Association has a video competition that might appeal. The competition aims to "inspire teens to explore the value of saving money and share their thoughts for all to see," according to the sponsors. Find out more at the ABA site.

AND FINALLY, THIS. Thinking of starting your child into team sports early? Say, at age 3? It might not be a good idea, according to at least one researcher, to immerse them in organized sports rather than unstructured play.  In fact, the researcher says, "Most children should not commit, or specialize, in one sport until they are age 15." Find out more in Health News from UPI.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

AD/HD: PARENTING TOLL. The site LiveScience has posted an article about the toll paid by parents of children with AD/HD. The particular young person profiled is gifted, and the article quotes the mother as saying, "He has a really high IQ and he's really gifted, and he comes home from school and says how stupid he is." (Sound familiar?) The article describes some research into the stress involved in parenting an AD/HD child. Find the article.
NCLD REPORT. The National Center for Learning Disabilities has published a report on the prevalence and effects of learning disabilities in the United States, as well as clarifying what an LD is. From the report: about 4.7 million Americans 6 and older are reported to have LDs; and about 11 percent of college undergraduates reported having an LD. Find out more.
ATTENTION RESEARCH UPDATE. The July issue of this newsletter has been posted. In it, David Rabiner described a study examining the question, "Does AD/HD medication treatment in childhood increase adult employment?" While in general the study indicated that "adults with ADHD have poorer educational outcomes, report more psychiatric difficulties, and are more likely to be unemployed than other adults," it also found a correlation between treatment with medication in childhood and higher likelihood of employment in adulthood. Read Rabiner's interpretation of the study.
THE GIFTED DEVELOPMENT CENTER has released its July newsletter. It offers a discount for GDC services for families who are homeschooling, and the "Ask Kimmy" column addresses the question "Why should I have my gifted child assessed at the GDC if I am homeschooling?" Find out why.
THE DAVIDSON INSTITUTE has issued its July eNews Update. This issue offers news of DITD programs, legislative and policy news from around the U.S., web-based resources, and pointers to recent gifted-related articles you (and we) might have missed. Read the newsletter.
UNWRAPPING THE GIFTED.  Tamara Fisher reports from Edufest, a yearly gifted ed conference held in Boise, Idaho. She shares responses to three questions she asked fellow conference-goers:
  • What do you wish the people back home knew or understood about gifted education and/or gifted students? 
  • What is an "a-ha!" moment you've had here so far this week?
  • What is something you have learned or gained that you will be taking back with you?
AD/HD AND DSM. About.com reports that the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders may include changes in the way AD/HD is diagnosed. The changes include:
  • Restructuring the subtypes
  • Adding symptoms
  • Providing more detailed symptom descriptions. 
FLORIDA SCHOOL FOR HIGH-FUNCTIONING AUTISTICS. This fall, the Monarch Academy in Daytona Beach will open to serve K-12 ASD kids who are ready for the classroom. Find out more.
AD/HD RESOURCES. A web-based community called ADDConnect offers groups centered around particular AD/HD issues; the group is for parents of kids with AD/HD and for adults with AD/HD, and is sponsored by ADDitude Magazine. Find it.
ACTING OUT can be good, find researchers, when it means physically acting out text in word problems. Students who did so solved the problems more accurately and with less distraction. The reason? Something called embodied cognition, which "posits that meaning in language comes when words or phrases are mentally mapped onto memories of real experiences and perceptions." Find out more.



ATTENTION SPAN AND TECHNOLOGY, PART I. A looong article in The New York Times examines the effects of technology and immediate reward/feedback on young people. The issue: whether "developing brains can become more easily habituated than adult brains to constantly switching tasks — and less able to sustain attention." The story profiles several students, including one "whose ability to be distracted by computers is rivaled by his proficiency with them"; his grades range from F to A. Also profiled: a young woman who sends and receives 27,000 texts a month. Find the article, and consider what it means for your twice-exceptional child or student.
ATTENTION SPAN AND TECHNOLOGY, PART II. Are attention spans increasing? Being diminished? A short essay in The New York Times Magazine considers "attention span." From the essay: "A healthy 'attention span' becomes just another ineffable quality to remember having, to believe you’ve lost, to worry about your kids lacking, to blame the culture for destroying." The author's conclusion? Find it.
AD/HD PERSPECTIVE. The author of the new book Buzz about herself and her son as the family dealt with his (and her) AD/HD wrote a column in the Washington Post summarizing some of her experiences and her opposition to the $5B "AD/HD-industrial complex." If you thought you spent a lot of time and money as you tried to deal with your gifted-AD/HD child, check out her column.
GIFTED COMPETITORS. The annual Siemens Foundation competition in math, science, and technology is coming to a close. Regional winners are being announced, and the final judging occurs on December 6th. If you'd like to read about some amazing young people and some amazing projects, check out a press release about regional winners from New York and Indiana; and see other press releases at the Siemens Foundation site. Separately, the Wendy's  High School Heisman competition, which recognizes high school seniors for excellence in academics, athletics, and leadership, has posted state winners at the competition's site. 
IDEA'S ANNIVERSARY. The Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) is 35 years old, and the U.S. Education Secretary expressed his commitment to it while also acknowledging that not every child with a disability gets a "world-class education."  Read more. Separately, an Education Week writer notes that the number of students identified with specific learning disabilities has dropped in recent years; find out how and why. 

REMINDER: AD/HD NOT AN LD. An article in USA Today reminds us that some of the learning challenges faced by twice-exceptional children are not actual, legal, learning disabilities. For example, AD/HD  is not an official LD; neither are emotional disorders. The difference is important in areas such as IEPs. See the brief article.
GIRLS AND AD/HD, AUTISM. A Swedish study suggests that many girls with autism or AD/HD who seek professional help might have their difficulties played down or misinterpreted. Read more.
ANXIETY is often one of the conditions our 2e Newsletter subscribers are concerned about in 2e children, according to survey responses from new subscribers. Depending on your attitude toward meds versus nutritional supplements, you might be interested in a study of herbal remedies on anxiety. Some researchers say that some nutritional and herbal supplements can be effective and without serious side effects. Find out which. (Note, however, that the study was probably conducted on adults.)
AD/HD, DEPRESSION. A report says that children diagnosed between ages 4 and 6 with AD/HD are ten times more likely to report depression as adolescents. The lesson: take that early diagnosis seriously. Find out more.
UPCOMING WEBINARS of interest to the gifted and gifted/LD community include:
  •  SENG offers a for-fee webinar on October 28th called "I'm not old enough for college, but I'm ready for to learn -- preparing children with the social-emotional skills for success." Find out more.
  • ASCD offers a free professional development webinar on October 14th called "Strategies for Maximizing Student Memory," with Judy Willis. Find out more.
2e ACHIEVERS. In 2e Newsletter we've begun a series of articles profiling successful adults who are twice-exceptional; our first profile was of economist Diane Swonk. While we see plenty of 2e adults at sites like this one, we would welcome suggestions from readers for people to profile (or votes for people at the Great Schools link) -- at least somewhat well known and successful in spite of (or because of) their combined exceptionalities. Make a suggestion. Thanks!

WE MISSED PART OF NAGC'S recent report on gifted education in the United States. In our most recent posting, we pointed to a summary of the report -- "State of the Nation" -- but did not point to the "State of the States" document, the full report; we assumed it was a for-fee publication, our bad. You may find links to the various components of the biannual report at the NAGC site. Be advised that the full "State of the States" report is 293 pages long and covers topics such as state education agencies, GT funding and mandates, identification of GT students, programs, personnel preparation, related policies and practices, and lots of tables. One table consists of state report cards. Another is a three-part, state-by-state assessment of areas needing attention. For example, in our home state of Illinois, funding for gifted education is assessed as "most in need," while the representation of minority students in GT education is assessed as "in need." You may also find the way your state defines giftedness in Table 11.

TECHNOLOGY AND READING. In past posts, we've pointed to articles about Kindle and how it might affect all students, not just GT/LD learners. An article in Education Week explores "the risks and rewards of electronic reading devices" in general. And at CNN Money, you may read about a camera that reads text aloud, the Intel Reader, a device the article calls "profoundly different" from other readers. Instead of using electronically packaged and transmitted text, as the Kindle does, the Intel Reader captures text on a printed page and pronounces it aloud. The article calls the device "a potential godsend for those who struggle to read standard text because of learning disabilities or vision problems." One drawback: the just-released reader costs $1500. Find out more from the article or from Intel.

ASD AND FINE MOTOR SKILLS. Researchers have found that fine motor control, as manifested in handwriting, is different in children with ASD than in typically developing children. According to an article in Psychology Today, the researchers feel that the difference may provide clues about problems with socialization and communication in children on the autism spectrum. Find the article.

DYSLEXIC DIFFICULTY FOCUSING ON RELEVANT AUDITORY INPUT. A Northwestern University study reported in Yahoo News and Science Daily finds that dyslexic children have difficulty focusing on "relevant, predictable, and repeating auditory information," instead becoming distracted by sounds such as banging lockers or scraping chairs. According to the Science Daily piece, "The study suggests that in addition to conventional reading and spelling based interventions, poor readers who have difficulties processing information in noisy backgrounds could benefit from the employment of relatively simple strategies, such as placing the child in front of the teacher or using wireless technologies to enhance the sound of a teacher's voice for an individual student."

IF YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT WIRELESS PHONE USAGE by your child, check out an article in Science Daily about a Swedish study that found links between wireless phone usage and biological changes in the brain as well as to overall health. Find it.

FINALLY, RESEARCH RESULTS YOU WANT TO HEAR -- from the American Chemical Society and the Journal of Proteome Research, no less. A clinical trial has shown that eating an ounce and a half of dark chocolate a day for two weeks reduces the levels of stress hormones in highly stressed people. While the study did not specifically mention those who raise and teach twice-exceptional children as being highly stressed, this may be the first study to explain how chocolate has those, mmmm, comforting effects. Read about the study. Or, if you're brave and scientifically inclined, read the study.

From the Week of August 9th

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL FOR KIDS WITH LDs. An article in the San Diego Union-Tribune featured Winston School, a small (100-student) private school in Del Mar. According to the article, students at the school have LDs that include AD/HD, dyslexia, and Asperger's. All of the students graduating from Winston this year have evidently been accepted at two- and four-year colleges. Read the article.

LD AT U OF T. The University of Texas' Daily Texan says that 1262 students at the school are registered with the office that provides services for students with LDs. The article quotes the director of that office as saying, "Many of them, although they may have areas of relative weakness, are incredibly bright and gifted in the areas that they do excel at." The school provides resources and one-on-one assistance from instructors. Find out more.

SMART INFANT, SMART ADULT. From the news center at Case Western Reserve: "Infants who excel at processing new information at 6- and 12-months-old typically excel in intelligence and academic achievements as young adults in their 20's, according to a study directed by Case Western Reserve University Psychologist Joseph Fagan." The results stem from a longitudinal study of infants tested in their first year of life. Find the news item.

GET INVOLVED WITH THAT GIFTED KID, DAD. It's not just a mom's job. A University of Illinois expert in early childhood education claims that mothers and fathers play different roles and make different contributions to a child’s upbringing, but a father’s influence upon a child’s academic success later in life is felt the most when he’s involved from the very beginning. Brent McBride also says that fathers and father figures can have at least as much of a unique impact on a child as mothers do, and therefore should be seen as co-equal partners in parenting. Find the UI news release.

ANOTHER WEBINAR FROM OGTOC. Sally_L has scheduled another webinar, this one on September 14th and titled The Art of Gifted Advocacy. It features Barbara Gilman of the Gifted Development Center in Denver. Gilman is author of Academic Advocacy for Gifted Children. Find out more.

GRADE SKIPPING FOR THE GIFTED. In Education Week, Laura Vanderkam and Richard Whitmire revisit acceleration for gifted children as an "obvious, easy, inexpensive solution" to nurturing gifted students. Read the article.

ADVOCACY SUMMER SCHOOL, PART 3. Are you participating in the Wrightslaw Summer School for Advocates? If so, this week's lesson covers how to use information from tests to track your child's progress. Go to school.

AN INTERESTING LD RESOURCE came across our desk a short while ago. NCLD has issued "The State of Learning Disabilities (2009)." Here's what NCLD has to say about their effort: "NCLD offers this publication to policy makers, education professionals, media, parents and others to ensure that there is access to key LD data to and expand awareness about what LD is and whom the condition impacts." For that one "e" in your child's 2e equation, this report might offer perspective and statistics. Find the PDF.

TEXAS AND GIFTED. An article in the Dallas Morning News described the plight of gifted education in Texas -- no requirements of teachers to take graduate education programs in gifted education, few districts that pay teachers to take such programs, and no higher pay for teachers who do. Read about the state of gifted education in Texas here.

MORE ITEMS as the week goes on...

From the Week of May 31st

GIFTEDNESS, SCHOOL, AND PERSONALITY TYPES. Deborah Ruf, whose Minnesota company Educational Options evaluates and assesses gifted children, has posted three of her articles on personality type and the school environment, according to her e-newsletter. The articles are:

You may sign up for the Educational Options newsletter here.

FIGHTING FOR FAPE, REDUX. In the May/June issue of 2e Newsletter we published an article about a family fighting their school district for reimbursement for private education, contending that the school failed to properly educate their son. The New York Times now informs us that a similar case has reached the U.S. Supreme Court. In it, the family contends that the school denied special education services even though the child was never evaluated for AD/HD. The school says, cleverly, that because the child did not receive those services they are not required to reimburse the family for private education. Read more.

READING ABOUT EXCEPTIONALITIES. CEC SmartBrief pointed out to us that Publisher's Weekly just posted an article titled "Special Books for Special Needs." Along with two books addressing giftedness, the list includes books dealing with autism and Asperger's, OCD, AD/HD, and sensory integration issues. Find the article.

DISCLOSING DISABILITY. What to say, when to say it, who to say it to, and what not to say -- every parent of exceptional or twice-exceptional kids faces disclosure issues. On a site called Disability Scoop, a parent and therapist offers tips. Find it.

NEURAL GAMMA OSCILLATIONS. If you liked our item called "On the Matter of Attention" on the role of gamma waves in attention from the week of May 10th, check out a new article in Science Daily on the same topic -- gamma oscillation, attention, and intra-brain communication. Read it.

WORKING MEMORY PRIMER, STUDY. If working memory is an issue with that gifted child you know, check out an article on the topic at SharpBrains.com. According to the article, one in 10 students may have difficulties with working memory. The article covers the study findings and how working memory affects academic performance. Read it.

EDUWONK. There's a website by that name, and we like the connotation. If you're the type who might fit the label, check out "The Condition of Education 2009," just published by the U.S. Department of Education and brought to our attention by Education Sector, the owner of Eduwonk.com. The report summarizes developments and trends based on 46 indicators, the indicators being "a consensus of professional judgment on the most significant national measures of the condition and progress of education for which accurate data are available," according to the website. Go there and dig deep!

MORE NEWS as we find it...

From the Week of July 27th

SUPERSTARS OF ADVOCACY. When people call us or email us with questions about IEPs, 504s, or advocating for their student, we send them right off to the Wrightslaw website, founded by Peter and Pam Wright. The Wrights also publish a weekly email newsletter, Special Ed Advocate, with content to help parents advocate for children, and the topics often seem relevant to educators as well. During this summer the newsletter has concentrated on "Summer School for Parents." For example, this week's edition is about measuring educational test scores and why parents must understand test scores; the newsletter comes complete with assignments and readings. Also included in this issue: tips on getting a private, comprehensive, independent evaluation to identify learning issues and a plan for addressing those issues. See the the July 29th edition of Special Ed Advocate or go here for the archives.

"I BELIEVE CHILDREN WHO DON'T LEARN TO READ ARE THE VICTIMS OF 'TEACHING DISABILITIES.'" That's what 76-year-old educator Don McCabe says in an interview with EdNews.org's columnist Michael Shaughnessy about reading problems in students. McCabe, who says he's dyslexic, AD/HD, and CAPD (which makes him, along with his presumed exceptional high abilities, 4e, right?), has written an autobiography called To Teach a Dyslexic. Read the interview. (You can also read the interview that Shaughnessy did with us, the publishers of 2e Newsletter, awhile back; find that interview here.)

LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT. Once, while kayaking in a pleasant, shallow stream in Michigan, I came upon my younger son, whom my wife and partner had just kicked out of her two-person kayak; he was wading back down the stream to Lake Michigan. The reason he had been kicked out, apparently, was that when she'd say "paddle left," he'd paddle right -- and vice versa. We still kid him about his occasional lapses in differentiating right from left and worry a little about what it might mean for him as he drives a car. This week, the Washington Post published a piece by a woman who starts off the article with "I can't tell left from right," and then goes on to summarize her experiences and what she's learned about research ("precious little") in the area. She reports no link between left/right confusion and handedness (lefty or righty), but reports that women are more likely to admit the confusion than men. The author even discovered a blog site with a conversation on the topic. Left-click here :-) to read her article.

HOW ARE KIDS DOING? Two reports released recently focus on America's children and teens. One, America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2008, is a federal government report of data on issues related to children and families. The Forum on Child and Family Statistics says this about the indicators they report on: "Indicators are chosen because they are easy to understand; are based on substantial research connecting them to child well-being; vary across important areas of children's lives; are measured regularly so that they can be updated and show trends over time; and represent large segments of the population, rather than one particular group. The indicators are organized into seven sections, each focusing on a domain relevant to children's lives: family and social environment; economic circumstances; health care; physical environment and safety; behavior; education; and health. Find the report. The second report, The State of Our Nation's Youth, "compiles the results of a national survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates on behalf of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. The poll was conducted via telephone to 1,006 teens between 13-19 years old residing in the U.S during April 2008," according to a press release. The report is to be released August 5th and will be available for download.

ON THE AD/HD FRONT. Two news items this week about AD/HD caught our attention. One, by an MD at Harvard Medical School, described how low levels of iron in a child's blood may cause symptoms that suggest AD/HD. Read it. The other, an article at MedPage Today, described the prevalences of AD/HD and learning disabilities over recent years; according to a government study, the prevalence of AD/HD has increased slightly since 1997 but the number of LD children without AD/HD has remained unchanged. The report also discusses the co-occurrence of LDs and AD/HD. (For the report, learning disability was defined "to include specific items related to listening, speaking, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, written expression, mathematical calculation and reasoning.") Find the article.

MORE THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT. Here's the lead sentence from a Reuters Health article: "Children whose mothers used cell phones frequently during pregnancy and who are themselves cell phone users are more likely to have behavior problems, new research shows." Read the article. And here's the lead sentence from a University of Michigan press release: "University of Michigan researchers are studying connections between air toxins and K-12 student performance in Michigan -- and possibly whether air quality should be a factor when deciding where to build public schools." Read it.