Articles - 2004

Articles, 2004

December (Issue 8)

October (Issue 7)

August (Issue 6)

June (Issue 5)

April (Issue 4)

February (Issue 3)

	December 2004 Contents *The Tortoise Hypotheses* *Meeting the Needs of Gifted Underachievers - Individually!* **The 51st Annual NAGC Convention** A Total Fit: Twice-Exceptional Learners and the Autonomous Learner Model A Conversation with Drs. Higgins and Nielsen Who are the Gifted? Ask the New WISC-IV. Reversing Patterns of Underachievement *Book Review: Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades and What You Can Do About It* *Column: Meredith Warshaw −Talking to Children about Their Special Needs* *Column: Judith Halsted on Books* *Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm* *News and Events* *Letter from the Publishers* Only on the Web Annemarie Roeper – A Different Approach to Assessment Academic Coping Skills for Gifted Students with AD/HD Top of Page		Article Previews Complete articles are available to subscribers in the Subscribers Only area of this website. To order this issue, click here: *The Tortoise Hypotheses,* by George W. Dorry, Ph.D. The premise is simple: some gifted people act like the tortoise and some like the hare in the ancient Aesop’s fable. The hares speed through tasks, sometimes making errors along the way; and the tortoises take their time. The characters in the fable are predisposed by their nature and physical form to do so. Why do some gifted people act like tortoises? *Continued* Meeting the Needs of Gifted Underachievers - Individually! by Joan Franklin Smutny, M.A. As noted by the National Excellence report (Ross, 1993), there is a “quiet crisis” in the education of gifted students today – “quiet” because few people raise their voices on behalf of underachieving gifted children in our schools. *Continued* **The 51st Annual NAGC Convention Taking part in the 2004 National Association for Gifted Children’s Convention in Salt Lake City (November 3 through 7), one might get the impression that 2e has arrived. Continued** A Total Fit: Twice-Exceptional Learners and the Autonomous Learner Model The goal of this session was to answer the question: How do we mesh the Autonomous Learner Model with twice-exceptional learners? *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives A Conversation with Drs. Higgins and Nielsen “The word is out about twice-exceptional!” exclaimed Elizabeth Nielsen. “How incredible in my lifetime. It’s such a joy.” *Continued* Who are the Gifted? Ask the New WISC-IV. The focus of this session was the updated children’s IQ test, the WISC-IV (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, fourth edition). The presenters asked the question: How well does the WISC-IV do in identifying gifted kids? *Continued* Reversing Patterns of Underachievement, by James R. Delisle and Sandra L. Berger It’s not uncommon for 2e learners to have difficulties with some aspect of reading or writing. *Continued* *Book Review: Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades and What You Can Do About It,* by Dr. Sylvia Rimm Reading Dr. Sylvia Rimm’s book gives parents of twice-exceptional children a great deal to ponder. *Continued* Column: Talking to Children about Their Special Needs, by Meredith Warshaw People often wonder when and what, if anything, they should tell their children about their special needs. This topic is quite emotionally loaded for parents, especially if they have had difficult times coming to terms with their children’s diagnoses. *Continued* **Column: Judith Halsted on Books – Millicent Min, Girl Genius In many books that feature gifted children or young people, the giftedness is unlabeled and remains subtle. Readers may not attribute events in the plot to unusual ability in the main characters, and adults discussing the storyline can be as open or veiled as they wish about the "G" word. Continued Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm** "Help! My nine-year-old gifted daughter is very sensitive to general remarks made by teachers in the classroom." SeContinued Top of Page Return to Archives
	October (Issue 7)
	October 2004 Contents *Accommodating 2e Students* *Asperger's and Beyond: Strategies that Work for Educators and Parents* *What are Asperger’s and PDD-NOS?* *Giftedness: Rising Awareness in the Media* The sorry state of gifted education, a Review of Genius Denied *Holding Back Our Brightest Students,* *a Review of* A Nation Deceived Assistive Technology Website *The IEP* *Answering Some Questions on Goals and Objectives* *Another Kind of Plan* *Can Schools Do Enough?* *Creating Environments for Developing Talent* *Gifted Visual-Spatial Learners – The School Struggle* *Universal High School: A Public School Program that WORKS for Our KidsUniversal* *Column: Judith Halsted on Books* *Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm* *News and Events* *Letter from the Publishers* Only on the Web Surviving Homeschooling the Sensitive Child Top of Page		Article Previews Complete articles are available to subscribers in the Subscribers Only area of this website. To order this issue, click here: *Accommodating 2e Students,* by Linda C. Neumann Most twice-exceptional students have little difficulty grasping concepts or generating ideas. What trips them up might be writing their ideas legibly, or doing calculations accurately, or following all of the steps in the instructions. *Continued* Asperger's and Beyond: Strategies that Work for Educators and Parents, by Susan Kraus Parents of children with invisible disabilities are often cranky. They tend to brace themselves for criticism and “bad news” when meeting with educators. Continued *What are Asperger’s and PDD-NOS?* The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR (fourth edition, text revision) lists five pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). *Continued* Giftedness: Rising Awareness in the Media It’s not often that stories about the needs of the gifted are the basis for stories in the media. But in 2004 things have changed. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives The sorry state of gifted education, a Review of Genius Denied This book is a frank appraisal of the sorry state of gifted education in the United States today. *Continued* Holding Back Our Brightest Students, *a Review of* A Nation Deceived Try your hand at this quiz. It’s a chance to test your knowledge on acceleration – commonly known as grade skipping. *Continued* Assistive Technology Website It’s not uncommon for 2e learners to have difficulties with some aspect of reading or writing. Many students, for example, find that an assistive technology device such as the AlphaSmart electronic keyboard allows them to avoid the agony of slow and labored handwriting. *Continued* The IEP, by Erin Fetzer Perhaps the best way to ensure that the needs of the students with gifts/learning disabilities are being met is through the use of an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP). *Continued* *Answering Some Questions on Goals and Objectives* According to the U.S. Department of Education, an IEP must include certain information about a student’s current educational performance, about the unique needs that result from the student’s disability, and about how the student’s needs will be met. An important part of this information is goals and objectives set for the student. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives *Another Kind of Plan* Many 2e students have IEPs and 504 plans that address their deficiencies – their disabilities and difficulties in the areas of learning, attention, and behavior. But what about their strengths? Should there be a plan to address the development of their gifts and talents? *Continued* *Can Schools Do Enough?* When Dr. Karen Rogers does IQ testing, she creates an individualized educational plan to go along with the test results. This written report describes a child’s strengths and weaknesses and gives recommen-dations to the child’s parents and school. She wondered what happens to those reports over time. Does the information they contain change children’s lives or does the report get filed away and ignored? *Continued* *Creating Environments for Developing Talent* The Melbourne Convention Centre, located by the Yarra River, was the impressive venue for the 10th Biennial Conference of the Australian Association for the Education of Gifted and Talented (AAEGT). *Continued* **Gifted Visual-Spatial Learners – The School Struggle, covered by Sara Tuckerman In her presentation Helen Dudeney explained that many gifted students who begin to struggle at school in their second or third year are gifted visual-spatial learners (VSLs). These children must be correctly identified and have appropriate curriculum modifications put in place in order to succeed in school. Continued Top of Page Return to Archives Universal High School: A Public School Program that WORKS for Our Kids, by Kiesa Kay A bright-eyed student flops into the beige recliner and pulls her math homework from her backpack. Another one lounges on the blue loveseat reading Into Thin Air. A young man with red, tousled hair pulls the bow across the strings of his cello…. It’s another ordinary day at Universal High School in Longmont, Colorado. Continued Column: Judith Halsted on Books – The Books of E.L. Konigsburg When reading is a challenge, leisure reading may be neglected. A child who willingly slogs through the reading required to complete schoolwork may simply not want to continue slogging in free time. Continued Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm Is my son just being a typical gifted child or should I have him evaluated? See what child psychologist Sylvia Rimm has to say. Continued** Top of Page Return to Archives
	August (Issue 6)
	August 2004 Contents *Types of Assessments and Evaluations* *Assessment Q & A with Dr. Deirdre Lovecky* *The Challenge of Assessing 2e Children* *Interpreting Test Results* *Arranging for Testing and Assessment* *Counseling: A Primer for Parents of Talented Youth* Northwestern's CTD Gifted Development Center Celebrates 25 Years Who Needs Normal Anyway? *A Place to Bond: Summer Camp for 2e Kids* *Column: Judith Halsted on Books* **Column: Meredith Warshaw − Effectively Sharing Information with Schools Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm News and Events Letter from the Publishers Only on the Web WISC-III vs. WISC-IV Neuropsychological Assessment: Answering Some Basic Questions** Top of Page		Article Previews Complete articles are available to subscribers in the Subscribers Only area of this website. To order this issue, click here: *Types of Assessments and Evaluations,* by Linda C. Neumann Twice-exceptional children may undergo many types of assessments or evaluations. These may be done by the school or done independently. Here’s an overview of some of the tests parents are most likely to encounter with their 2e kids. *Continued* *Assessment Q & A with Dr. Deirdre Lovecky* 2e Newsletter had the opportunity to pose some questions about assessment to Deirdre Lovecky, PhD... Continued *The Challenge of Assessing 2e Children* Twice-exceptional children may go for years without being recognized as either being gifted or as having a learning difficulty or disability. Dr. Linda Silverman gives some reasons why... *Continued* *Interpreting Test Results* Do your eyes glaze over when you try to interpret your child’s test results? Do you wish you’d taken that statistics class instead of avoiding it? Well, don’t despair. Here’s a primer on the basics of interpreting test scores. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives Arranging for Testing and Assessment, by Kathi Karney This article was condensed and adapted with permission from “Frequently Asked Questions About Testing And Assessing Giftedness,” by Kathi Kearney. *Continued* *Counseling: A Primer for Parents of Talented Youth* At the start of this session, Dr. Sidney Moon explained that the wide array of counseling professionals can be bewildering for parents seeking help for their children. Her goal was to give parents a clear overview of why gifted and talented children (including twice-exceptional and underachieving children) might need counseling, what types of services are available, and who provides these services. *Continued* Northwestern's CTD The Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University serves the gifted community of the Midwest. Located in Evanston, Illinois, the center has assisted more than 500,000 families with gifted students ages 4 to 18. *Continued* Gifted Development Center Celebrates 25 Years For psychologist Dr. Linda Silverman, early July was a time to party. The place was Denver; the guests were several hundred friends, colleagues, and supporters; and the occasion was the 25th anniversary of the Gifted Development Center. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives Who Needs Normal Anyway? by Kelsey Ganes This year, my mom and I decided to go out to the Gifted Development Center’s 25th anniversary conference and PG camp. For six glorious, lovely, amazing, wonderful days, I spent time with kids my age who understood me... *Continued* *A Place to Bond: Summer Camp for 2e Kids* Plenty of kids went away to camp this summer – to camps of all kinds, from music camp, to sports camp, to computer camp. But only 12 kids were lucky enough to go to a unique camp held on the campus of Ball State University in Indiana. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives *Column: Judith Halsted on Books – In Search of Intellectual Challenge* Though it may seem counter-intuitive, I count intellectual challenge among the emotional needs of gifted children. *Continued* **Column: Effectively Sharing Information with Schools, by Meredith Warshaw Once you have assessment results, you need to figure out the best way to share information for handling your child’s special needs with people at your child’s school. It is important to do this in a way that maximizes the effectiveness of your communication. Continued Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm How do I know if my boys are gifted, and does it really matter? See what child psychologist Sylvia Rimm has to say. Continued** Top of Page Return to Archives
June (Issue 5)
	June 2004 Contents *Advocacy: Peter and Pamela Wright* *Empowered Parents: Long Island Twice-Exceptional Children's Advocacy* An Interview with Rich Weinfeld: How One School System Came to Get It for 2e The School System that "Gets It": Overview *A Profile: The Montgomery County Public School System* Wrightslaw Advocacy Seminar Book Review: From Emotions to Advocacy, The Special Education Survival Guide Interview with Special Education Advocate Peter Wright And Don't Forget the Wrightslaw Website *Organization Profile: SENG* *AEGUS 2004 Conference − Learning Outside the Lines* *Serving the Gifted/Talented Student with an Emotional/Behavioral Disability* **Column: Meredith Warshaw − Homeschooling 2e Children Column: Judith Halsted on Books Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm News and Events Letter from the Publishers Letters from Readers Only on the Web: Conference Coverage: AEGUS** Top of Page		Article Previews Complete articles are available to subscribers in the Subscribers Only area of this website. To order this issue, click here: *Advocacy: Peter and Pamela Wright,* by Linda C. Neumann Those involved with 2e children, or with any child who has a learning disability, want to know how to make sure those children get the special education they’re entitled to. *Continued* *Empowered Parents: Long Island Twice-Exceptional Children's Advocacy,* by Linda C. Neumann The first school district in the country to provide programs specially designed to meet the needs of twice-exceptional children is located in Westchester County, New York. The program is considered a model for educating these unique students. Just 30 miles away, on Long Island, 2e students have no such programs. *Continued* An Interview with Rich Weinfeld: How One School System Came to Get It for 2e The Montgomery County Public School District in Maryland, is considered a model – one of few in the country – for twice-exceptional education. Rich Weinfeld, GT/LD (gifted and talented learning disabled) Instructional Specialist, has been involved with the district’s programs for 2e students right from the start. *Continued* The School System that "Gets It": Overview Chances are, no matter where you live, you wish that your local school was one one of those that “gets it” when it comes to dealing with 2e learners. There aren’t very many schools that do. Parents of 2e kids in the Montgomery County Public School System in Maryland can count themselves lucky. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives A Profile: The Montgomery County Public School System, adapted from the article *“Academic Programs for Gifted and Talented/Learning Disabled Students,” by Rich Weinfeld, Sue Jeweler, Linda Barnes-Robinson, and Betty Shevitz* Determined to address the needs of the GT/LD students, educators in MCPS have spent 15 years creating dynamic, comprehensive programs for their GT/LD student population. *Continued* Wrightslaw Advocacy Seminar Earlier this year, 2e Newsletter observed the afternoon portion of the Wrights’ one-day Advocacy Seminar presented in Skokie, Illinois. *Continued* Book Review: From Emotions to Advocacy, The Special Education Survival Guide The Wrights lead the readers of this book on a journey from feeling overwhelmed to feeling confident and capable. *Continued* Interview with Special Education Advocate Peter Wright Peter Wright discusses finding a special education lawyer and answers other questions about advocacy. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives And Don't Forget the Wrightslaw Website Do you have trouble telling a 504 from an IEP? Are you overcome with dread at the thought of facing another meeting at your child’s school? Have you given up hope of ever getting the services your child needs? If your answer to these questions is yes, then you haven’t yet made your way to the Wrightslaw website. *Continued* *Organization Profile: SENG* “The gifted are often misunderstood, ignored, mistrusted, or ridiculed.” This statement appears in the brochure of an organization dedicated to addressing these problems. The organization is SENG, short for Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted. *Continued* *AEGUS 2004 Conference − Learning Outside the Lines* On April 23 and 24 parents, educators, and other professionals gathered at the University at Albany in Rensselaer, New York, for the annual conference of the Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students. Speakers focused on the theme Learning Outside the Lines, Discovering the Strengths of Gifted Underachieving Students. Here are some highlights from several keynote presentations. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives *Serving the Gifted/Talented Student with an Emotional/Behavioral Disability* An AEGUS conference session on the the need for both gifted/talented and special education teachers to combine their expertise for the benefit of the whole child. *Continued* *Column: Homeschooling 2e Children, by Meredith Warshaw* Looking back over the past school year, it may be apparent that the current school situation is not working. Increasingly, parents of 2e children are turning to homeschooling to meet their children’s idiosyncratic needs. *Continued* *Column: Judith Halsted on Books – Kissing Doorknobs* The drive to meet the educational needs of gifted children has fostered a network of tests and questionnaires designed to identify children who could benefit from special programs. From these we know that young gifted children may develop a large vocabulary, read early, and show unusual curiosity and persistence in finding answers to their questions – common intellectual characteristics of gifted children. *Continued* *Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm* Is acceleration the answer? See what child psychologist Sylvia Rimm has to say. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives
	April (Issue 3)
	April, 2004 Contents Does my Gifted Child have AD/HD? *Advocacy Workshop for Parents and Educators: Making Advocacy an Ongoing Campaign* Is It AD/HD? Is it VSL? Neither? Both? Twice-Exceptional and Attention Deficit Disordered What is it We’re Discussing Anyway? Gifted Children with AD/HD Federal Laws and the AD/HD Child Gifted girls with ADD AD/HD: Common Academic Difficulties & Strategies that Help *Hello Mudda...Hello Fadda - Time for Camp*** Column: Meredith Warshaw − Is It Just AD/HD? *Column: Judith Halsted on Books* *Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm* *News and Events* *Letter from the Publishers* *Letters from Readers* Only on the Web: *Conference Coverage: IAGC* *More on AD/HD* Top of Page		Article Previews Complete articles are available to subscribers in the Subscribers Only area of this website. To order this issue, click here: Does Your Gifted Child have AD/HD? by Kathleen Nadeau A parent who searches the Internet for facts on gifted children with AD/HD will find an array of confusing and contradictory information. The public stereotype of a child with AD/HD is a young boy who does poorly in school, who is impulsive, highly distractible, and often a behavior problem at home and at school. Given this negative image of AD/HD, it’s no wonder that many articles argue against using this label for gifted students. *Continued* *Advocacy Workshop for Parents and Educators: Making Advocacy an Ongoing Campaign* Julia Roberts began her afternoon workshop by defining an advocate. It’s one who pleads for the cause of another; one who defends or maintains a cause. The cause in this case is giving gifted kids the opportunity to develop their exceptional talents. *Continued* Is It AD/HD? Is it VSL? Neither? Both? Psychologist and 2e Editorial Board member Dr. Linda Silverman has spent more than 20 years studying a type of learning style called visual-spatial. *Continued* Twice-Exceptional and Attention Deficit Disordered, by Marlo Payne Rice I believe that AD/HD is horribly over diagnosed in the twice-exceptional population. When you have a 2e child who is cognitively gifted but can’t take in enough information due to auditory, visual, or sensory processing issues, that child will manifest with the symptoms of AD/HD. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives What is it We’re Discussing Anyway? The special focus of this issue is Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), a misleading, confusing, and controversial label if ever there was one. *Continued* Gifted Children with AD/HD, by Dierdre Lovecky Gifted children with attention deficit disorder (particularly those with the Combined Type – inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity) show similarities and differences when compared with these two groups: other children (not identified as gifted) who have AD/HD and gifted children who do not have the disorder. *Continued* Federal Laws and the AD/HD Child "School is the only place people are often asked to read and write for no particular reason. One of our jobs as educators is to show kids the connections between what they are being asked to do in school and what they will be asked to do in the real world. In my opinion, if a homework assignment can't help to make that connection, it shouldn't be given." *Continued* Gifted girls with ADD, by Kathleen Nadeau Most parents today have heard a great deal about Attention Deficit Disorder. When they hear that term, it’s likely that a hyperactive little boy comes to mind. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives AD/HD: Common Academic Difficulties & Strategies that Help, by Sandra Rief Every child and teen with AD/HD presents his or her own unique profile of academic strengths and weaknesses. As high as one-third of students with AD/HD have accompanying learning disabilities, which makes the acquisition of some academic skills (i.e., learning how to read and write, understanding the abstract language and concepts of mathematics) much more difficult. These students are typically in need of more intensive academic intervention and supports. *Continued* *Hello Mudda...Hello Fadda - Time for Camp* With the end of the school year now in sight, it’s time to nail down those summer plans. If you’re still looking for the right summer program or camp for your kids, here are some resources. Continued Column: Is It Just AD/HD? by Meredith Warshaw Being the parent of a 2e child can be very stressful. So can being a 2e child. So, what can you do to reduce the stress? Continued** Column: Judith Halted on Books – Books and Making Friends In Some of My Best Friends Are Books I identified several categories of challenge for children who are growing up gifted. Developing a sense of identity that includes being gifted (different) is chief among them. Adults can help children struggling with identity questions by guiding them toward a positive self-concept, in part through reading and discussing books in which children take steps in this direction. *Continued* *Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm* What to do about 2e perfectionism? See what child psychologist Sylvia Rimm has to say. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives
February (Issue 3)
	February 2004 Contents Helping 2e Kids Cope with Homework, Tips from Seven Steps to Homework Success *Done Your Homework on Homework?* *Website Profile: Uniquely Gifted, Resources for Gifted Children with Special Needs* Organization Profile: Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students Research: Kids with Learning Disabilities and Homework Giving "Good Homework" for 2e Students, A Conversation with Chris Dendy How to Make it Meaningful, An Educator’s Tips for Practical Homework Do We Even Need Homework? Inspiration from a Graphic Organizer Susan Baum and the Alphabet Children Interview with Susan Baum Three Steps to Engaging and Assessing 2e's** Book Review: Priscilla Vail's Smart Kids with School Problems, Things to Know and Ways to Help Column: Meredith Warshaw − *Dealing with* Stress – Our Kids' and Our Own *Column: Judith Halsted on Books* – Dawn of Fear *Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm* *News and Events* *Letter from the Publishers* *Letters from Readers* Only on the Web: *Conference Coverage: Highlights from Dr. Susan Baum's Sessions* *More on Homework* Top of Page		Article Previews Complete articles are available to subscribers in the Subscribers Only area of this website. To order this issue, click here: Helping 2e Kids Cope with Homework, Tips from Seven Steps to Homework Success It’s a sight to warm a parent’s heart: A bright, young student working industriously at his home computer, fingers busily tapping away on the keyboard. The screen is filled with lines of text. It looks like homework’s getting done. But there’s one problem. Those same lines of text have been on the screen for the last two hours. The only typing taking place is instant messaging. *Continued* *Done Your Homework on Homework?* Try this quiz to see how your answers stack up against the research on homework. *Continued* *Website Profile:* *Uniquely Gifted, Resources for* *Gifted Children with Special Needs* It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you’re new to the 2e world. There’s so much to learn about giftedness, about learning difficulties, and about what happens when the two come together. Then there’s the jargon to get familiar with – the buzzwords and acronyms that everyone seems to toss around. If you find yourself in this situation, help is available on the Internet at the website Uniquely Gifted, created by 2e Newsletter columnist and editorial board member Meredith Warshaw. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives *Organization Profile: Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students* It’s no coincidence that the acronym for the Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students – AEGUS – sounds just like the word aegis, meaning protection or guidance. It was chosen by association founders, educators Susan Baum, Lois Baldwin, and Sue Levey, for just that reason. *Continued* *Research: Kids with Learning Disabilities and Homework* They have twice as much difficulty completing homework as average students... *Continued* *Giving "Good Homework" for 2e Students, A Conversation with Chris Dendy* Chris Dendy is a former educator, mental health professional, consultant on ADD/ADHD, and author of Teaching Teens with ADD and ADHD. Despite the title of her book, much of what she writes applies to children with learning as well as attention difficulties and is applicable to students in elementary school as well as those in middle and high school. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives *How to Make it Meaningful, An* Educator’s Tips for Practical Homework "School is the only place people are often asked to read and write for no particular reason. One of our jobs as educators is to show kids the connections between what they are being asked to do in school and what they will be asked to do in the real world. In my opinion, if a homework assignment can't help to make that connection, it shouldn't be given." *Continued* Do We Even Need Homework? by Mark Bade Stephan Aloia has a problem with homework. Not his homework. Homework in general. Aloia is a parent who has a website advocating the abolishment of homework. The site provides a “Homework Freedom Act,” a “Parental Injunction against Homework,” and other seditious readings and tools. What gives Aloia some credence is that he is a former principal turned university professor of special education, who says he has conducted research on homework for 20 years. *Continued* Inspiration from a Graphic Organizer, by Linda C. Neumann A 2e child I know once said, “If I could just hook my brain up directly to the computer, I could get my ideas down the way I want them.” That way, he could bypass the stage in his homework where he loses all momentum – when he’s staring at a blank piece of paper or a blank computer screen trying to tame the creative ideas tumbling around inside his head. Inspiration® is a software program designed to help learners from grade 6 through adult get around that thinking and planning roadblock. *Continued* Top of Page Return to Archives *Susan Baum and the Alphabet Children* Who are the alphabet children? According to educator and author Dr. Susan Baum, they’re children who are gifted and who have learning or attention deficits. Often these students demonstrate learning behaviors indicative of more than one diagnosis. *Continued* *Interview with Susan Baum* When Dr. Susan Baum started her career in the field of twice-exceptional education in the 1970s, her first class of bright kids with LDs were labeled “perceptually or neurologically impaired” or “minimally brain damaged.” Over the years her research and writings have helped change attitudes toward and understanding of gifted students with learning and attention deficits. *Continued* *Three Steps to Engaging and Assessing 2e's* How do we engage 2e students in learning and how do we assess what they know? By teaching for understanding with creative entry points and exit points – the beginning and end of lessons. Here is a guide for promoting understanding, developed by Susan Baum and Henry Nichols. *Continued* Top of Page Book Review: Priscilla Vail's Smart Kids with School Problems, Things to Know and Ways to Help The subject of Priscilla Vail’s book is a group of children she referred to as conundrum kids. They’re students who: …need recognition, understanding, and help from concerned adults because their bright promise is at risk, and because there are many of them. *Continued* *Column: Dealing with Stress – Our Kids' and Our Own, by Meredith Warshaw* Being the parent of a 2e child can be very stressful. So can being a 2e child. So, what can you do to reduce the stress? *Continued* Column: Judith Halsted on Books – Dawn of Fear A pioneer in focusing attention on the emotional needs of gifted children, James T. Webb determined around 1985 that parents and professionals working with gifted children needed a resource that would enable them to use books to help bright young people understand themselves better. Learning that I was a school librarian who directed a gifted program, he invited me to develop that resource. In 1988 he published the first edition of my book, Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers from Preschool to High School. *Continued* *Column: Ask Dr. Sylvia Rimm*