This article, titled Gifted and Learning Disabled: Twice Exceptional, written by the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, was originally sponsored by the now defunct Office of Educational Research and Improvement which has become the Institute of Educational Sciences.

This article discusses the characteristics, identification and cirriculum needs of gifted students with learning disabilities. The article divides these children into three catagories:

• Students identified as gifted but who are having trouble in school
• Students identified as having learning disabilities but whose exceptional abilities have not been recognized
• Students in regular ed whose disabilities and talents tend to mask each other

This is a rather long (150 page) case study titled Talents in Two Places: Case Studies of High Ability Students with Learning Disabilities Who have Achieved is from the National Reasearch Center for the Gifted and Talented (1995), was originally sponsored by the now defunct Office of Educational Research and Improvement which has become the Institute of Educational Sciences. The report covers 12 students with Learning Disabilities who did well in College. It contains interviews with the students and parents, follows their student records and consideres what may have helped them in college. Read the abstract for more details.

by Colleen Willard Holt

Gifted students with disabling conditions remain a major group of underserved and understimulated youth (Cline, 1999). The focus on accommodations for their disabilities may preclude the recognition and development of their cognitive abilities. It is not unexpected, then, to find a significant discrepancy between the measured academic potential of these students and their actual performance in the classroom (Whitmore & Maker, 1985). In order for these children to eeach their potential, it is imperative that their intellectual strengths be recognized and nurtured, at the same time as their disability is accommodated appropriately.

by Linda E. Brody and Carol J. Mills
May/June 1997
Journal of Learning Disabilities
Volume 30, Number 3, pp.282-286
copyright by PRO - ED, Inc.


Abstract
Many people have difficulty comprehending that a child can be gifted and also have learning disabilities. As a result, children with special needs that result from both their high abilities and their learning problems are rarely identified and are often poorly served. This article explores the current policies and practices with regard to defining, identifying, and educating this population. Recommendations are included that would help ensure that students who are gifted and have learning disabilities receive the intervention needed to help them achieve their full potential.