Where On the Path Might One of Your Students Fall?
Identified as Gifted but No Disability Identification
Has your student been identified as gifted without the disability having been identified? This often happens when, in early elementary school, the student's advanced thinking or abilities were noticed, and it isn't until the work begins to get harder--anywhere from 4th grade to college--that the gifted student's ability to compensate for the disability breaks down and the student begins to "underachieve." Identification of their disabilities could offer these students an understanding of their academic difficulties, ease their frustration with school, and make the difference between success or failure in academic endeavors.
Possible clues that a gifted student has a disability:
- lack of skills to organize, complete, and submit work
- absence of social skills
- social anxiety that prevents the student from participating in classroom activities, even inhibiting the ability to think properly
- children who exhibit sensory challenges
- students who show flashes of brilliance but underachieve
- high performing except when timed
- conceptually grasps math concepts but has difficulty memorizing math facts