To Be Gifted and Learning Disabled: Strength-Based Strategies for Helping Twice-Exceptional Students With LD, ADHD, ASD, and More

As a teacher who teaches in a self-contained, upper elementary classroom of 28 gifted and talented students, this is the most important book I have read since Carol Dweck's Mindset and Paul Tough's How Children Succeed. To Be Gfited & Learning Disabled gave me a much stronger understanding of twice-exceptional students - their talents, disabilities, and unique needs created by the overlap between the two. Chapters on identification and misidentification have significantly boosted my confidence in my ability to not only recognize these students (whose needs often go unnoticed because either their talents mask their gifts or their gifts mask their talents) but to make sure that both their talents and needs are identified and addressed by the school. Most importantly, even though it will take time to implement and master, the authors have equipped me with an understanding of how to develop a strength-based plan to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of 2e students. This book is essential for all professionals who work with gifted and talented students and is equally important for parents of 2e students.

This book is a perfect introduction to the concept of twice exceptionality and what it means to be simultaneously very bright or gifted and to have a learning disability, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, or other exceptionality interfering with functioning. The lead author, Dr. Sue Baum, can be credited with shifting the paradigm in this area from focusing exclusively on what's wrong (e.g. "fixing" areas of weakness) to try to make the individual fit in, to focusing instead on identifying what the individual is good at and loves to do. This kind of strengths-based focus has become the gold standard and enables students to grow into successful and more fulfilled adults. Great ideas abound for parents and educators.

The font in this text is so small that I am considering purchasing a magnifying glass. Even after wearing reading glasses (my reading glasses prescribed are +1.5, and I recently had my vision checked), I'm straining to read this book. I am doing a book study course along with this book, and this is making it more complicated!