Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional What to do next?

One of my sons was recently diagnosed as twice exceptional, another of my boys has been assessed and we're awaiting the results. I expect a similar diagnosis for him. Of our five remaining children, at least two more of them need assessment and will more than likely also be considered twice exceptional. I would appreciate any advice on where to go from here as far as their school is concerned. I have already submitted the report from my first sons assessment to the school, they have yet to act on this in any way. They told me that I needed to "keep on them" about it. I get the impression that they are not that interested or concerned about my son as his scores are consistently within acceptable range. I know that he will be able to have either a 504 plan or an IEP but at this stage I'm so overwhelmed by all the information that I don't even know where to start. I want to make sure that he gets what he needs to develop his gifts and bolster his difficulties. Any advice, links, sites that anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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In my experience, you will need to keep on the schools. Schedule a meeting with the school to discuss the results and whether your son qualifies for a 504 or IEP.

Once you get either, you need to make sure that it is being followed. I've had one on an IEP for 2 years, and the school frequently "forgets" to follow it.

Your kids are gifted, which is great. But, most schools still don't know what to do with children who are 2e. They just don't get it. Luckily there are many online and self-learning courses that they can use to supplement schooling.

Yes, you do need to keep on them. Did you submit to them a written request of any kind for an IEP evaluation? If not, make sure you write down your request--an email will do--and get it to them ASAP. They will then be required to respond to your request by a certain deadline (within about a month).

Does the evaluation report include some recommendations from the evaluator on what accommodations the child might need in school? If not, you might ask the evaluator if they have some. That's probably a good list to start with.

One thing to keep in mind is that you do not have to accept what the school recommends as the final answer. They don't have to agree to your ideas either, of course. If the evaluator does IEP meetings and you think they'd be helpful, you can have them attend the meeting with you at your discretion. Even when the IEP team is the best in the world, it can be really intimidating when you meet with them because there may be 5 or 6 people on the school's part of the team and they will all think they know exactly what they're doing, whereas it'll be your first time to the party.

What state are you in? Do you know if your district has a gifted programs office?

Thanks for the replies. I haven't submitted a written request for a meeting, I'll get right on that. I spoke with the school today, they had forgotten about it and couldn't remember which child the report referred to, in fact they asked me for a copy of it. I told them that they already have it. DS9 was diagnosed with ADHD with very little "H" and dyslexia. He is an accomplished visual spacial learner and has managed to mask his disabilities with his giftedness. The teacher told me at the beginning of the school year that he had read the report. I suspect all he did was skip to the diagnosis of ADHD and dyslexia and ignored the 2e part. The report came with many recommendations for DS9, all the teacher has done has dropped the number of spellings he has to do in half. Basically dumbing things down for him. The state I live in does require schools to offer TAG programs but selection for this is decided at local level. ConsequentlyDS9 has been excluded from the program based on failure to achieve the required level in the testing. He was very close so they discussed whether or not to include him. The decision was made based on his attitude to school. DS9 is labelled as a lazy albeit well behaved underachiever, so he doesn't get to go to TAG. That decision was made before we knew about the ADHD AND dyslexia. I said in my first post that I was awaiting the results for DS11's assessment. I received a call today to come and go through the results tomorrow. I may have a few meetings in school coming my way

What age is your DS? What sorts of challenges does he have in school?

I'm asking because my DS sorta sailed/floated/bumbled his way through elementary school and if I'd known better--I'd have advocated much earlier for some real help.

Depending on the issues, different sorts of accommodations and interventions are warranted. There are many posters here who had children on "grade level" and could easily have been ignored if not for A) knowing how the law works and B) pushing for an appropriate education for their children.

There is specific language to use when requesting 504 or IEP so knowing what your DS needs is a good place to start.

Well, I got the results of DS11 assessment today. It's no great surprise that he's also 2e. He was diagnosed with ASD, this was a relief because finally I felt like someone else besides his dad and grandma could see what I could see, he was assessed for ASD before and has been given many other diagnosis, none of which fitted him and some that were so off the mark that it was shocking. At last we can begin to get him the help that he needs and deserves. It's funny how two brothers that are both 2e are gifted in totally different areas, and their disabilities are also different. The only issue they share is difficulty with fine motor control, they both have atrocious handwriting. I think I have a lot of research and work to do because I'm expecting roadblocks at school, I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not holding my breath. All advice welcome. Thanks.

Nan9 go to Wrightslaw and read, read, read. This website will become your best friend on this journey. It is basically the bible for special Ed parents. Also get yourself a copy of "From Emotions to Advocacy" by Pete and Pam Wright. Amazon sells a bundle of 3 of their books that will walk you through the process, give you a primer on special education law and teach you all about IEP's.

I always tell parents entering this process to be prepared for a marathon not a sprint. You will have to dig deep advocating for multiple kids. Bare in mind that there is a HUGE learning curve for parents in this process. School districts and their personnel have been through this hundreds of times - they have protocols, procedures and attorneys. You are starting at ground zero. We have all been there so we can relate. Come here and ask questions and we will try our best to help.

You need to get a written request worded properly. The school districts are obligated to identify disabled kids under child find (assuming you are in the US). Some districts take this more seriously than others and 2E kids often go unidentified because of just the masking you described for your DS. Be prepared to do some serious educating and advocating. The school where my DD did Kindergarten refused to evaluate her because I did not phrase my written request in just the right words. I was repeatedly told "She'd never qualify for services - she's too smart." She was repeatedly told that she was lazy, trying to get out of doing her work, wasn't following the rules, etc. In reality she was profoundly learning disabled, couldn't see the words on the page and physically was incapable of holding a pencil to write. The school didn't see that though. The teachers tried to place her into a category of something they had prior experience with instead. So lazy and underachieving are often applied labels.

The bottom line is your kids are entitled to FAPE (a Free and Appropriate Public Education) under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). Someone in your district may take you by the hand and walk you through the process or you may have to fight and claw your way through. It's too early to tell. Good luck and keep us posted!