| Subscriber Alerts
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Schwab Learning has announced that it will be closing www.SchwabLearning.org at the end of this year. The reasons given in the announcement were: 1) increased availability of information about LDs, and (2) the wish to focus Schwab Learning resources on selective grant-making to other organizations. It is possible that SchwabLearning.org resources will continue to be available through other organizations. In the meantime, 2e Newsletter says thanks to the Schwabs for their dedication and long-term financial support toward the goal of helping families of children with LDs.
Next issue of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter: mid-November. (Not yet a subscriber? Go here.) Back issues of 2e Newsletter are available.
The next issue of this briefing: early November.
Feel free to pass on this briefing to others you might know with an interest in raising or teaching high-ability children with learning differences. |
Giftedness and Exceptionalities in the News
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USING THE 2e WORD. The Baltimore Sun led off a story called "Kids Who Don't Fit the Mold" by describing the situation of a gifted young boy with AD/HD. The story continued, "Alex is what is now known as 'twice-exceptional'..." and goes on to describe the work of a Baltimore-area nonprofit group called Individual Differences in Learning Association (IDL). The group has created a two-hour video on twice-exceptional learners. Read the article.
We came, we saw, we calculated. That's the motto (in Latin) of Tennessee's recently opened Governor's Academy, according to the Tennessean. The academy currently enrolls 24 gifted teens with plans to build to 200. The article also describes other efforts by state and local school districts to address gifted students in Tennessee. Read the article.
AD/HD OR EYE PROBLEMS? The New York Times described a young girl who, as an infant, was withdrawn and avoided eye contact and who later "did everything she could to avoid reading and writing." Her diagnoses, variously: autism spectrum disorder, neurofibromatosis, AD/HD, anxiety disorder, depression. Finally, an ophthalmologist discovered convergence insufficiency (CI), where the eyes do not work together at close range. The article notes that five of the symptoms of AD/HD overlap with CI. Read it.
KIDS WHO DON'T FIT IN is the title of a Newsweek article about quirky, non-conformist children and what to do about them... or not. "Previous generations of parents could embrace, or overlook, their child's tics, quirks or eccentric personalities much more freely than the moms and dads of today," asserts the author. If you read this article, chances are you'll recognize at least one of the quirky kids described.
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION is a weakness in kids who can't prioritize, organize, and shift information around mentally. A Boston Globe article says that the concept of executive function, along with working memory, is "bursting onto the educational scene." The article describes Lynn Meltzer's work on the topic, teachers' reactions to the label, and several tools for improving executive function.
SERVING 2e KIDS FOR 25 YEARS. The founder of the Quaker School at Horsham, Pennsylvania, dedicated to serving bright students with learning difficulties, says that the memory of one particular student was the inspiration for the school. "He was insightful. He was brilliant," George Rowe said of the student he had encountered earlier in his career. "But he couldn't read." The school opened in 1982 with three children and two teachers, and now serves 68 students in a brand-new, custom-designed building. Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer.
See http://del.icio.us/2eNewsletter for news items we've saved recently on specific topics such as AD/HD, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, etc.
Note: Some of these news items came to our attention through ScienceDaily, EdNews.org, CEC SmartBriefs, and other aggregators. |
From Other Newsletters and Digests
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Attention Research Update. In September, David Rabiner provides an overview of research on neurofeedback treatment for AD/HD. Read it.
EdNews. On September 19th, Michael Shaughnessy interviewed Stephen Schroeder-Davis on anti-intellectualism in high schools. ("A typical American secondary school in the 21st century is among the least hospitable places to be a scholar or an intellectual.") On September 26th, Shaughnessy interviewed Les and Leslie Parrott about communicating with children and communicating with your children's school.
SchwabLearning. Material offered online at SchwabLearning in recent issues included partnering with the teacher and the connection between LD and social skills (September 4); tips on handling homework (September 11); an excerpt from a Schwab Learning-sponsored book on helping teens with LD develop self-determination (September 18); and three articles on implementing IEPs (September 25).
Wrightslaw. The September 19th edition of Special Ed Advocate provided strategies to resolve school problems early, techniques for effective parent/teacher relationships, and tips to help your child have a good year. The September 26th edition focused on the Wrights' retelling of a class action suit against Milwaukee Public Schools over identifying and evaluating students with behavioral or psychological problems. |
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Resources for Parents, Educators, and Kids
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See Hoagies' Gifted What's New Page for recent happenings, including a quote from Satchel Paige and an invitation to share stories with a journalist who has "yet to find any adults who were designated gifted as children and did not think they were able to find at least some of the intellectual stimulation they craved at school or on their own."
Relocate-America.com has released its 2007 list of "America's Top 25 Places to Live to Go to School." While our readers tend to have different needs and focuses than most parents and teachers, you may see the list and nominate your own schools at the company's site.
The US General Services Administration (GSA) has redesigned its website Kids.gov. The administration says that the site is "simple to navigate and has lots of interesting, educational content on a wide array of subjects. Best of all, parents and educators can trust that the sites on Kids.gov are safe and trustworthy."
October 16 is the deadline for nominating a student with disabilities for CEC's "Yes I Can" award. Details at the Council's website.
Schwab Learning has launched an interactive tool for parents who suspect their child may have a learning problem. "When Your Child Struggles with Learning: A Step-by-Step Guide for Getting Help" takes parents on a virtual journey through the complex process of getting the help they need to determine if a learning disability is present, covering topics from considering why a child might be struggling in school, through the formal evaluation for learning disabilities, to tips for how to advocate on a child's behalf, according to the organization.
Interested in keeping up with the reauthorization of NCLB? The Education Commission of the States (ECS) has launched a single source for "who's saying what" about renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). According to ECS, the database captures the recommendations of 15 national organizations for revising specific NCLB requirements and provisions, as well as how recent education reform priorities should be part of the NCLB discussion. Visit the site.
A HEATH Resource Center report looks at college freshman with disabilities based on the 2004 Freshman Survey. More students taking the survey reported having a "learning disability" than any other kind. HEATH is part of George Washington University. |
Events
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October 11-13, New England Conference on Gifted and Talented Education, "New Developments in Gifted Education." Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland, Maine. Keynotes: Sally Reis, Robert K. Greenleaf, Nadia Webb. More information.
October 25-26, Nueva School Gifted Learning Conference, Hillsborough, California. For educators and parents. Speakers include Brock and Fernette Eide, Joseph S. Renzulli, Deborah L. Ruf, Robin Schader, Linda Silverman, and Joan Franklin Smutny. More information.
October 31-November 3, 58th Annual International Dyslexia Association Conference, Dallas, Texas. More information.
November 7-10, 19th Annual Conference on AD/HD, CrystalCity, Virginia. By CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder).
More information.
November 7-11, NAGC 54th Annual Convention, Minneapolis, Minnesota. For educators, other professionals, and parents. More information.
March 6-9, 2008, Annual Conference of the Council of Parent Attorneys & Advocates Conference (COPPA), Anaheim, California. For attorneys, special education advocates, and parents. More information.
April 2-5, 2008, Convention and Expo of the Council for Exceptional Children, Boston, Massachusetts. Henry Winkler, keynoter. For teachers, administrators, students, parents, paraprofessionals, and related support service providers to students with exceptionalities, disabilities, or giftedness. More information.
April 4-6, 2008, Intelligence at Risk: Transforming the Educational Paradigm, UniversalCity Hilton, Universal City, California. By AEGUS (Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students). For educators, parents, and clinicians. More information.
Please note: Fall is the time for may state gifted associations to hold conferences. For state association conferences relating to giftedness, see Hoagies' website. For additional conferences on learning differences, see the website of the Council for Exceptional Children. |
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