Teaching_The_Gifted_Learner

Teaching The Gifted Learner While much research has been focused on the gifted learner, there has been little attention on the gifted but handicapped or disabled individual. Kay Kiesa has termed this group of individuals the “twice exceptional”.1 The research that has been done in this area has examined identification strategies and characteristics of the gifted handicapped child. Whitmore and Maker have suggested obstacles to identification of the gifted and handicapped child.2 These hindrances to identification include the stereotypical belief that disabled persons are below normal, developmental delays, incomplete information about the child resulting in overlooking an area of strength that might be displayed in nonacademic settings, and a lack of opportunity to demonstrate superior ability because of the highly verbal nature of school tasks and the use of ability testing in special education. These hindrances make the students that are finally recognized even more worthy of study. As educators there is a need to know how these students differ from other special needs/handicapped children and yet how they are like other gifted individuals. What are they doing differently' What is the key to their success despite their limitations' The researcher’s goal in this gifted, students, strategies, success, limitations, children, child, been, working, study, special, identification, handicapped, areas, yet, social, school, same, researcher’s, researcher, research, physical, need, methods, make, made, intervention, individuals, important, ideas, hindrances, group, giftedness, gifted/handicapped, first