Parents' primer

When the assessment results arrive, parents can greet them with a mixture of emotions: amazement, relief, concern, and sadness are just a few. On top of this jumble of feelings is often a sense of helplessness. You find yourself wondering, "Now that I finally have some idea of what's going on with my child, what do I do about it?"

Here's a guide for overwhelmed parents. Following these steps will get you started on your long journey toward coming to terms with and meeting the needs of your 2e child.

Hoagies' Gifted − Carolyn K.'s amazing array of resources for both gifted and 2e families

Uniquely Gifted − Meredith Warshaw's extensive collection of information on twice-exceptional issues and resources. Meredith, a 2e Newsletter columnist and Editorial Advisory Board member, includes sections especially for parents, for professionals, and for kids. The site includes a table of contents that makes it easy to find what you're looking for, plus a great listing of books to check out.

LDonline − A site that describes itself as the "leading website on LDs for parents, teachers, and other professionals." Go right to LD in Depth to get up to speed on the basic issues and terminology of learning and attention issues. Especially useful are the glossaries of LD terms, professionals, and acronyms. Also of interest are the Q & A columns by experts.

SchwabLearning − A site that focuses on learning and attention difficulties. It was created by the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, a private charitable foundation that supports programs in learning disabilities and human services. The site is organized into four main areas: identifying LDs, managing the issues that arise from LDs, connecting with other parents, and resources.

Wrightslaw − The place to go to learn about special ed law and advocacy for children with disabilities. Stop first at the Message for New Parents to get started on the road to understanding your rights and advocating for your child. Check out the law library and advocate library areas of the site, plus visit the Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities, a listing of advocates, clinics, associations, and other special needs resources for each state.

Step 2: Join an online community. There's nothing better when you're feeling overwhelmed than to connect with others who face the same issues you do. All of the sites mentioned in Step 1 either offer online communities or provide links to them. Some have a broad focus, while others are quite specialized. One that focuses on twice-exceptional kids and families is gt-special, run by 2e Newsletter columnist Meredith Warshaw.

Just what is an online community? It's an email discussion group (also referred to as a listserv) where you can post questions or make comments and get responses from other parents. Parents share their ideas and experiences with one another. Even if you aren't ready to post questions or comments, you can learn a tremendous amount by reading the posts of others.

Step 3: Subscribe to 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter, of course! As a subscriber, you'll get six issues per year of the only publication aimed at the intersection of giftedness and learning difficulties; plus you'll have online access to all back issues.

Once you've completed these three steps, pat yourself on the back. You're off to a good start!

August, 2004