A Case Study of Giftedness and Specific Learning Disabilities: Bridging the Two Exceptionalities

Abstract

Despite being unable to dress himself, sit still on a chair, or write a legible sentence, Scott was, from a very early age, able to build whole cities from construction blocks, able to complete complex puzzles, and verbally precocious. Even with his disabilities and their contrast with his academic talent, he completed K-12 school and went on to excel at university. This case study represents the challenges many parents experience with identifying their children's disability and giftedness and ensuring that both exceptionalities are optimally developed. Through this case study, the roles an education system and the parents of such a child must assume if this development is going to happen are highlighted. Recommendations for identification, service provision, professional development for teachers, and collaboration among all parties connected with such students are made. AbstractDespite being unable to dress himself, sit still on a chair, or write a legible sentence, Scott

Non-cognitive Characteristics of Gifted Students With Learning Disabilities: An In-depth Systematic Review

“…The bottom row gives the total number of characteristics mentioned by each publication. This shows that the five publications with the highest number of marked characteristics (>20) are individual or multiple case studies (Vespi and Yewchuk, 1992 ; Hua, 2002 ; Reis and Colbert, 2004 ; Al-Hroub, 2011 ; Wormald et al, 2015 ).…”

“…This finding may indicate that the inter-individual duality between well-adjusted behavior and the externalizing behavior problems of G/LD students could be the result of differences in the level of support these students receive from their social environments. Other studies reported high levels of curiosity and eagerness to learn in their subjects, despite the vastness of strong negative feelings and stressors experienced in their academic situation (French, 1982 ; Wormald et al, 2015 ). Another finding shows that G/LD students tend to exhibit an internal locus of control ( n = 6), in that they see themselves as responsible for their own successes and failures (Vespi and Yewchuk, 1992 ; Reis et al, 2000 ).…”

“…It is not always clear if the contrasts are differences between individuals and/or if they exist within individuals. However, when analyzing marked characteristics per publication, a high level of intra-individual variability/duality in the subjects can be observed, especially in the case studies from Assouline et al ( 2010 ), Hua ( 2002 ), and Wormald et al ( 2015 ). The same subjects show pronounced dualities both across different clusters and within clusters.…”

“…A final notable finding concerns the often-mentioned characteristic of social withdrawal ( n = 7). Wormald et al ( 2015 ) mention that for their subject, the mental and physical strain of dealing with his difficulties and frustration with school burdened his ability to maintain close social relationships, which led him to withdraw socially and isolate himself.…”

“…Several authors note that some students were so affected by negative school experiences resulting from the discrepancy between their high potential and learning disabilities that they sought professional counseling (Reis et al, 2000 ; Reis and Colbert, 2004 ). Unfortunately, for some students this discrepancy and painful experiences led them to feelings of depression, trauma and suicidal thoughts (Reis and Colbert, 2004 ; Wormald et al, 2015 ). A sense of frustration also seems to be ever-present within the population of twice-exceptional students.…”