This digest offers guidelines to parents of gifted children which emphasize respecting the child's individuality while providing necessary support. A new definition of giftedness is cited which stresses the asynchronous development of such children's cognitive skills and the resultant qualitatively different inner experience. Early signs of…

This digest is derived from Susan Baum's "Being Gifted and Learning Disabled...From Definition to Practical Intervention." The learning disabled gifted are grouped into three categories: identified gifted students who have subtle learning disabilities, unidentified students whose gifts and disabilities may be masked by average…

Intended for administrators and policymakers as well as teachers, this digest explores issues related to teaching English to the gifted student. The digest begins by examining the criteria used for identifying gifted/talented students, noting that some successful programs for the gifted in English and language arts do not restrict admission…

This digest analyzes the definitions of disability in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It notes that, in order to be eligible for special education services under the act, the child must meet two criteria: (1) he/she must have one or more of the specific disabilities listed in the act, and (2)he/she must require special…

This digest was adapted from D.W. Russell, D.G. Hayes and L.B. Dockery's book, "My Child is Gifted! Now What Do I Do?". The digest is intended to give parents of gifted students an overview of characteristics of gifted children and terminology used in this field. Several definitions of giftedness are offered including one from a parent…

This digest defines attention deficit disorders (ADD), provides the attention span, hyperactivity, and impulsivity criteria for diagnosing ADD, and identifies successful strategies for teachers working with children with ADD. Strategies are provided for: (1) establishing the proper learning environment, including seating students with ADD near the…

This digest presents basic information for those providing educational services to children with dyslexia who have phonological core deficits. First it provides a brief overview, noting the incidence of dyslexia and the large number of these children with phonological deficits which result in far less academic progress than experienced by other…

This digest presents summary information on the characteristics and needs of children with learning disabilities (LD). The federal definition of learning disabilities is given and the existences of differences at the state level noted. Next viewpoints on various issues are briefly considered including the special educational needs of students with…

Determining how many students drop out of school and why they leave is not easy. The definition of a "dropout" varies from school district to school district, and the mobility of students makes counting them accurately nearly impossible. In an effort to define dropouts in a way that can be applied uniformly across the country, a…