"HE JUST NEEDS TO WORK HARDER." It's not dyslexia. That's what a mother in Florida kept hearing as her bright young son went through his first years of school. Finally she arranged private testing that revealed the indicators of dyslexia, and she began tutoring her son in reading, improving his abilities, improving his grades, and improving his scores on state standardized reading tests to their highest level. Mom is now a certified dyslexia tutor and dyslexia testing specialist, according to her column in the Lakeland (Florida) Ledger. Her son has presumably stopped proclaiming that school is stupid and that he is stupid. Read the article.
NATIONAL PARENTING GIFTED CHILDREN WEEK is coming up -- the week of July 19-25, as a matter for fact. Find out more at SENG or at NAGC. Both sites suggest ways you can use the designation to increase awareness of gifted children and their education -- ways like, say, mentioning the week on your blog. :)
UNWRAPPING THE GIFTED, Tamara Fisher's blog, contains a lengthy post from July 8th in which Fisher addresses the issue of twice exceptionality and then interviews a long-time gifted friend who has mild cerebral palsy. Find it. (Fisher also mentions 2e Newsletter as a resource, along with eight other links.)
NOTHING TO DO WITH 2e but still interesting. An article in Science Daily describes how neuroscientists have located where fear is stored in the brain -- in lab rats, anyway. Turns out that a form of brain imaging indicates that "the basolateral nucleus in the region of the brain called the of amygdala [is] the place where fear conditioning is encoded." Read the article.
BOOKS FOR KIDS was the topic of a recent New York Times column by Nicolas Kristof, where he offered his list of best children's books ever. He followed up on his blog with recommendations from "some real experts on children's literature" -- his kids -- who provided more recommendations. But then Kristof invited readers to submit their recommendations. He apparently has a bibliophilic following -- as we write this posting, over 2,500 readers had responded with their favorites. Find the recommendations.
THE IDEA FAIRNESS RESTORATION ACT will, according to Wrightslaw, help parents recover expert witness fees in due process hearings and litigation. Wrightslaw urges those potentially affected by this legislation to call their representative on July 9th, tomorrow. More information for the activists and advocates in the 2e community.
NEUROEDUCATION -- a combination of neuroscience, psychology, and education -- is moving "close to prime time as researchers gain a more sophisticated understanding of how young minds develop and learn," says an article at the Dana Foundation site. Findings from the field are influencing how classes are organized and taught. The article notes that research into specific conditions, such as dyslexia, can lead to insights that help everyone learn. The article includes examples of recent applications of "neuroeducation." Find the article.
ARE GIFTED CHILDREN BORN OR MADE? That's the question addressed by a brief article on Voice of America's website. The article focuses on talented musicians. Find it.
FREE GIFTED/TALENTED EDUCATION SEMINARS. The University of California at Irvine offers free, web-based seminars on a variety of GATE topics, including relating to gifted youngsters, differentiation, the parent/teacher connection, and IQ testing. Go here to read a press release. Find the seminars here.
SAY IT AIN'T SO! Seems like as long as we've been doing 2e Newsletter we've reported on the yearly battles to maintain Javits GT education funding in the U.S. budget. We assumed things would improve with the new administration, but NAGC reports that President Obama's 2010 budget eliminates the token amount ($11 million) that is the benchmark for the program's funding. If you're not tired of advocating for this funding, go to NAGC's site to see what you can do.
SPREADING THE WORD, ONE MEDIA OUTLET AT A TIME. The site of News Channel 5 in Tennessee has a piece introducing the concept of "twice exceptional" to its audience. We can't claim any of the credit for it, but it's great to see spreading awareness of the challenges faced by our gifted, LD kids. Find the article.
VALEDICTORY TIME. Find out what's on the mind of seven gifted high school students in New York City as they prepare to get on with their lives, courtesy of The New York Times. Of note: four of the seven are from immigrant families. One student's response to a question about how it feels to graduate and embark on the rest of your life, answerable in one word, said: "Finally?" Read it.
2e IN CANADA. At the Canadian Parents website is a forum called "Gifted and Learning Disabilities?" Not sure why the question mark is there, maybe forum members are still not convinced it's possible (any answers on that from Canada? :-) ), but we know our Canadian friends are eager for 2e news and resources in their fair country. Find the forum, which is a subset of a "Bright and Gifted Children" area.
PLACEBO IN KIDS CHANGES CAREGIVER BEHAVIOR. Science Daily reports a study showing that parents and educators who assume a child is receiving stimulant medication for AD/HD tend to view those children more favorably and treat them more positively -- regardless of whether the children were actually medicated. So instead of "seeing is believing," we have "assuming is believing." Find the article.
MORE NEWS as the week goes on...
"BEST BLOGS." We're pleased to be included in the Doctors Eide's picks for "Top 10 Dyslexia Blogs" at www.blogs.com. Go there to see the rest of the list. Also at blogs.com right now, a list of "10 Best Brain Blogs." Find it. By the way, if you haven't visited the Eides' "Dyslexic Advantage" blog lately, it's been much expanded since it opened a short while ago; go there.
A MOM RECOUNTS: TWO 2e DAUGHTERS. In the online Daily Kos (the source of the name is a long story, Google it), a mother blogs about her two 2e daughters and their experiences as they grew up in different school districts in Texas. Some familiar situations for 2e parents, but also some surprises. Read it.
ON THE CASE. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on Monday, June 22nd, involving tuition reimbursement for a child who a district never found eligible for special ed services and never provided any; the parents unilaterally withdrew their child, placed the child in a private school, and requested reimbursement from the public school district. Shortly after the decision, Pete and Pam Wright of Wrightslaw issued a review of the decision along with supporting documents. Got issues with whether your school district is providing a FAPE for your twice-exceptional child? Go to Wrightslaw. [UPDATE 1: The New York Times and Education Week also reported on the decision.] [UPDATE 2: CEC, the Council for Exceptional Children, later in the week issued a statement expressing concern with the Supreme Court's decision. From the statement: "Unilateral placement lawsuits are expensive and divert much needed resources from classrooms to private schools. Moreover, this ruling may encourage parents to bypass the IEP process entirely." Read it.]
ADVOCATING FOR PRIVATE PLACEMENT. Coincident with the Supreme Court decision, this week's issue of Special Ed Advocate from Wrightslaw carries a story of a mother's experience in documenting her case, using advocacy skills, and winning a private placement for her autistic son. Also in the newsletter -- how to create a paper trail. Find Special Ed Advocate.
FAPE-RELATED LEGALITIES IN MILWAUKEE. The Milwaukee Public School System has been ordered to search for students from 2000 to 2005 who should have received special ed services but didn't, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The object: providing compensatory services to the students if necessary. Find the article.
ATTENTION RESEARCH UPDATE for June has been posted by David Rabiner on his website. In this issue, Rabiner reports on a study indicating that fluid IQ -- our ability to adapt our thinking to new situations -- is improved by working memory training. Find the review.
ADVICE FOR THE GIFTED. In her most recent posting on "Unwrapping the Gifted," gifted educator Tamara Fisher offers high-ability kids some of the same advice she gives her own students -- "Ask for help," for example, "Love hard work," and more. Find the blog.
SILLY BUT CERTAINLY QUALIFYING AS DISPLAYS OF GIFTEDNESS... as well as displays of several varieties of "intelligence." The manufacturer of Duck brand duct tape sponsored a contest called "Stuck at Prom" for 2009 high school prom attendees who wear "complete attire or accessories made from duct tape." Judging is on the basis of workmanship, originality, color, accessories, and, to stimulate the economy, "quantity of duct tape used." The prizes: scholarships. The company has posted pictures of the finalists and urges site visitors to vote for their favorites. If nothing else, these kids are creative (not to mention industrious; according to the pictures, one couple spent 700 hours on the project, using 40+ rolls of tape). Enjoy the finalists.
MORE NEWS AND RESOURCES as we find them.