A Conversation with

Drs. Dennis Higgins and Elizabeth Nielsen

 December, 2004

	“The word is out about twice-exceptional!” exclaimed Elizabeth Nielsen. “How incredible in my lifetime. It’s such a joy.” Nielsen and her colleague/husband Dennis Higgins are, to a large extent, the reason why the word is out. Their mission since the 1980s has been to train teachers, give presentations, and write articles about the kids they study and work with, those who are twice-exceptional. What sparked their interest in these children was having one of their own. After hearing a teacher express her concern that their daughter would probably never learn to read or write, the two set off on the path	They Said She Would Never Read or Write They said she would never read or write And her struggles would keep us up at night And we’re scared that maybe they are right But she’s so bright And they are right only in part She reads our hearts. © 1989 D. Higgins
		A guitar is part of the paraphernalia that accompanies Dennis Higgins when he goes to address an audience. The lyrics above are part of the song about his daughter that he sang at the start of a session he helped present at the NAGC conference.

that they’re still following nearly two decades later, shifting their focus from gifted to twice-exceptional learners.

Higgins, with training in special and gifted education, was working for the public schools in Albuquerque, teaching gifted children. “The Albuquerque school district was very unusual for the time [early 1980s] – resourceful and unique in its approach,” he explained. “It had many programs for gifted kids from resource room to self-contained full-day program for the highly gifted.”

Nielsen, also trained in special and gifted education, came to teach at the University of New Mexico because of the collaboration that takes place between the university and the public schools. By the mid-1980’s she began to focus her attention on the 2e population.

By this time the Albuquerque school district had a pilot program in place for twice-exceptional students, serving a small number of children in a full-day special class. But Nielsen and Higgins both wanted more, for their daughter as well as for others in the district. They worked with the school district to secure federal funding to greatly expand the program. With the help of two Javits Grants, they worked to create a program that would identify 2e students from grade school through high school, make programming and services available to them, and provide university training for the teachers of these students.

Dennis Higgins and Elizabeth Nielsen are proud of what they were able to accomplish in the area of teacher training, the first of its kind to focus on twice-exceptional children. “We were flying the airplane as we were building it,” stated Higgins. He explained that the intensive summer training institutes they conducted drew people from all over the country. A requirement was that administrators accompany teachers. Parents participated as well. “The interaction [among these three groups] enhanced the program,” Higgins explained. Adding to the experience was the summer school program for 2e children that coincided with the training sessions. These classes gave trainees the chance to see the techniques they were learning put into practice.

Both Higgins and Nielsen are pleased that the work they started with the Javits grant money is continuing. The programs are now a permanent part of special education in the Albuquerque school district, and they have the backing of district administrators.

Today Dennis Higgins works as a full-time teacher in an Albuquerque elementary school. There he teaches in a self-contained classroom for twice-exceptional students. In addition, he teaches at the University of New Mexico. Elizabeth Nielsen also continues to teach at the university as well as write, and do research on twice-exceptional topics. Both speak and consult with school districts on twice-exceptional issues. Together they are working on a book that will combine the academic with the real-world side of 2e education.

And what about their daughter? “The teacher who said she would never read or write opened our eyes,” states Nielsen. “That led to the grants, to the teacher training, and to a daughter in college who is reading and writing.” Their daughter’s accomplishments,  Nielsen explained, came about through “a collaborative effort with the school.”

“The strength we bring to this field,” Nielsen continued, “is in combining the university side with actual experience. We can say what works with confidence because we’ve done both.”   

For more information on the work that Dennis Higgins and Elizabeth Nielsen did through the Javits grants, see the book Uniquely Gifted: Identifying and Meeting the Needs of the Twice-Exceptional Student, edited by Kiesa Kay (Avocus, 2000). 

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