Reply to Are all GT centers GT/LD or are there special GT/LD programs in MCPS

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Most people who are truly gifted (not just highest achieving and very bright -PP) have LDs. True giftedness often comes with deficiencies in other areas or thinking so differently that traditional learning styles don't work.

Too many parents see the GT centers as an elementary school version of the Ivy league or an escape from the lower standards in public education. They just make sure that their kids are well trained and achievement oriented. Gifted centers are not there to give NT kids a leg up on their educational competitiveness. They are there to provide a different learning style for actual gifted kids who can't perform in normal academic settings. [/quote]

I don't agree with your post with reference to the GT centers.  GT centers are not there for "actual gifted kids who can't perform in normal academic settings."  According to MCPS, GT programs are there in order to "meet needs which cannot be met by the home school."  This might be because the GT student in the home school is actually performing very well and many grade levels ahead of his/her age-similar peers.  (At least 2+ years ahead in reading is the generally expected norm for HGC students, but a significant number of HGC students are reading at late middle or high school levels in 4th grades.)  Other students may be admitted to the HGC who are NOT performing well in the home school.  This usually occurs because of boredom, difficulty fitting in social due to the difference in skills and interest, or because the home school teachers do not understand how to meet the unique needs of the GT learner (cannot differentiate or fail to recognize GT or fail to recognize presence of GT w/disabilities such as LDs or ADHDs).

It is NOT true that MOST of the truly gifted have learning disabilities.  All the information I have seen in the literature suggests that the incidence of LDS in the gifted population is about the same as in the "regular" population.  If anything LDs tend to be under identified in gifted kids because they are better able to compensate for their LD and it takes them longer to "fail" if ever.    The truly gifted may have different needs at school, but that is quite different from having a learning disability.

True giftedness sometimes comes with "relative" or "absolute" deficiencies in other areas. My oldest GT child is "relatively" deficient in math -- DC is only 2 grades ahead in math and cannot be accelerated any further.  But, DC is about 10 years ahead in terms of the reading decoding and comprehension.  Some GT kids do fall below average in some skill areas, but not all will.

Traditional learning styles may or may not work with a GT kid.  But, almost certainly what won't work, is the traditional scope and sequence of the curriculum, because many of these GT kids will be ahead to varying degrees in some or all areas of the regular scope and sequence.

My oldest GT kid is NT and went to an HGC.  My youngest kid is also GT but has ADHD and an LD.  The HGC did not teach "differently" in the sense of teaching to non-neurotypical kids, but it did teach with a  different scope, sequence and depth.  My GT/LD son will likely not be successful at the HGC because they do not really teach to non-NT kids -- for example, they do not provide explicit language-based instruction that a kid with an LD is likely to need.  What they HGC does do is provide accommodations (on a 504 plan) or specialized instruction (on an IEP) for the small segment of the HGC population that is not NT but still managed to qualify for the HGC.  Specialized instruction might address different learning styles, but that is not the only purpose of specialized instruction -- usually it is much more explicit and sometimes also more repetitive than the regular curriculum in addition to more thoughtfully incorporating different learning style approaches.

By contrast, the GT/LD program is specifically designed to meet the needs of the GT/LD or GT/2E child via "specialized instruction".  In theory, the GT/LD programs should be BOTH teaching at a different, more accelerated scope, sequence and depth and at the same time, using "specialized instruction" to meet the various non-NT learning needs.  ( I say in theory because there are many parents who complain that the GT/LD programs don't actually provide enough acceleration or they don't actually adequately address the LD needs.)  [/quote]

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