Learning difficulties and gifted children

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Research shows link between learning difficulties and gifted children.

It is often assumed that children with learning difficulties are slow but one in six of the gifted population suffers from hidden learning difficulties according to the keynote speaker at this year’s speld conference in New Plymouth in June.

Professor Linda Kreger Silverman, founder of the Institute for the Study of Advanced Development in Denver, Colorado nearly 40 years ago.

She will speak about Upside-Down Brilliance where children are both gifted and learning disabled.

Dr Silverman says that the higher the child’s IQ, the more difficulty he or she has finding playmates or conforming to the lock-step school curriculum. The greater the discrepancy between a child's strengths and weaknesses, the harder it is for him or her to fit in anywhere.

“A large percentage of the gifted children I have tested in the Denver Public Schools were referred to me for behaviour problems. I discovered that at least half of their parents had no idea their children were gifted, and when the parents didn't recognize it, the school didn't either. Gifted children most likely to be overlooked were from low socio-economic backgrounds or culturally diverse or both.”

Dr Silverman says that boys are far more likely to be brought for testing than girls. At the Gifted Development Centre, 60% of the 5,200 children tested over the last 28 years are male and 40% are female. Boys are more likely than girls to act up when they are insufficiently challenged at school. Therefore, they are more likely to get their parents’ attention and concern. It is essential for gifted girls to be identified early, before they go into hiding.

Karen Newbrook, Conference Chairperson, speld nz says that New Zealand schools are being encouraged to cater for the diverse needs of all their students, and classroom teachers need to know how the dyslexic, visual-spatial and twice-exceptional students learn best. By differentiating their programmes and making accommodations for these students the teacher can potentially help all the students in their classes.

speld nz, the Specific Learning Disabilities Federation, has 29 member associations nationwide. The not-for-profit organisation was set up in 1971 to help children who were not realising their educational potential because of various specific learning disabilities - children who learn differently.
speld nz works with families, referring students for testing for dyslexia/ SLD with a specialist trained assessor, and then onto a specialist Speld teacher who uses the assessment to set up an individualised programme for the student.
The only official figure for dyslexia in New Zealand is seven percent – a figure taken from the Otago Longitudinal Study which started in 1972. Overseas it is estimated at more than 10 percent.

In April 2007, the Ministry of Education recognised dyslexia as a learning disability and an information book has been sent out to all schools with suggestions about how to help their dyslexic students. There has however, been no additional funding or resources.

As well as advocating for families, providing access to specialist assessments and tutoring, speld nz is registered with NZQA and is accredited to deliver a level 5 course for Certificated Secondary, Primary, and Early Childhood teachers, or those with a tertiary qualification and experience in working with children, who wish to extend their knowledge and expertise in teaching, or learning about, people with Specific Learning Disabilities.

The objectives of the Course are to:

• Provide ways of identifying students with Dyslexia and other Specific Learning Disabilities within various age ranges.

• Provide practical classroom strategies to better meet the needs of students with Dyslexia and Specific Learning Disabilities.

• Equip teachers to design and implement a classroom teaching programme that will meet the needs of the student with Dyslexia and Specific Learning Disabilities and the needs of the whole class.

• Equip teachers to support the student with Dyslexia and other Specific Learning Disabilities.

• Equip teachers to interpret specialist reports as a result of the educational assessment Woodcock Johnson III.

The 2009 speld nz Conference aims to help teachers identify dyslexia and provide them with resources and contacts so the student can be helped.
The speld nz conference in New Plymouth will cater for Speld teachers, classroom teachers, Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour (RTLB), and Resource Teachers of Literature (RTLit), Heads of Departments and other educational professionals and parents.

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