Giftedness is a Form of Neurodiversity

When my son's school was failing to meet his needs, I began calling around to see what programming was available nearby. One principal I spoke with told me "We don't have gifted education in Manitoba because all kids are gifted."

Um.  No. 

Actually...

By definition, only 2.5% of children are cognitively gifted.  All children are equally important and valuable and all children have gifts, but not all children are neurodiverse in this way.  That is why it is called neuro-divergence: because it diverges from the neurological norm.  

Gifted Education IS Special Education

Or, well, it's supposed to be.  

Gifted students are identified as such because they have different needs, just like any other student who falls outside of any kind of "norm".  The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC, in the U.S.) provides the following position statement on gifted and twice exceptional students: 

When a parent or caregiver is searching for supports for their gifted or twice exceptional child, it's not likely because the child is thriving in school and the parent is looking for special treatment.  If a child is doing well their program parents are not likely to go looking elsewhere.

Unfortunately, especially here in Manitoba, there seems to be a distinct lack of knowledge and understanding about the needs of gifted and twice exceptional students.  Any child who requires accommodations should receive them, regardless of which label identifies what their unique needs are.  A diagnosis is only helpful if parents and professionals use that information to guide their approach and planning for that student.  A diagnosis is really only helpful if parents and professionals actually understand the diagnosis and what it means for that individual.  

My favourite definition of giftedness comes from The Columbus Group (1991), because it speaks to the asynchrony and intensity that comes with gifted development: 

"Giftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm.  This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity.  The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counselling in order for them to develop optimally."  (The Columbus Group, 1991)

Another blog post that provides an in-depth breakdown of the different types of giftedness and how they impact learners is one called Gifted vs. Gifted, by Kathleen Humble.  

Students with different needs may create more work for schools, but they are not an inconvenience.  They are developing human beings and it is a privilege to teach, and to learn from, people with differently wired brains.  

Too often administrators and educators seem to put the onus on the child and family if they don't know how to best support that student.  Educators, parents, and anyone who supports neurodiverse children should make it a priority to educate themselves.  A lack of understanding on the adult's part is not the child's responsibility, yet it is these children who will bear the burden of ill-informed adults in their lives.  

If you need help advocating for your child, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thinking Outside. The. Box.

Thinking Outside The Box

I am not good with bureaucracy.  I know there are rules and processes in place in an effort to keep things fair and to ensure there is regulation and oversight.  I get that red tape (sometimes) serves a purpose.  I also admit to being somewhat (okay, quite) impatient and I get really tired of hearing variations of "we can't do that", or "it's out of our hands, it's how the system works and we can't change it".

You CAN.  You can and WE can.  Sure, change is not easy, and the larger the bureaucracy, the slower the change.  I'm also not advocating for anarchy here, let's change the system from within in a positive and collaborative way, but let's not merely throw up our hands in defeat without even trying to push for change when it's needed.

Sometimes professionals become complacent and just accept "no" for an answer, or worse, stop asking altogether when they assume the answer will be no.  When people and their ideas get rejected so often, sometimes they simply stop asking and give up trying.  This is not okay.  People deserve to work in an environment where they are heard and where change is possible.  The status quo is unacceptable, we must learn and change and grow as we find new and better ways of doing things.  Stagnation is unhealthy and unhelpful (plus, it's boring, and we folks with ADHD love novelty).

When parents or educators see what they feel is a fairly simple solution for a problem in school the possibility should at least be considered.  In fact, when parents and educators are coming up with ideas and suggestions, rather than simply pointing out problems, this should be rewarded and encouraged.

This brings me to the original reason for this post (we folks with ADHD might go off on tangents sometimes...)

Is your child's school providing appropriate accommodations and required services during this time of distance education?  

Is your school's division and school team doing everything they can to follow your child's IEP (or SSP, or BIP, or whatever letters they are currently using) via online learning?

I fully recognize the extreme challenge educators are facing having gone from in-class instruction to online platforms to one-on-one in-class supports to who knows what school will look like in the Fall.  The onus is on a team of people, not any one person, to work together and come up with solutions that will meet the needs of each individual student.  Not an easy task by any means, but a very important one, and one that parents, caregivers, and students have every right to expect.

As a parent, caregiver, or student, if you have concerns or needs that are not being met, please don't feel as though you cannot ask for support or accommodation because of the challenging circumstances we are all experiencing.  Education is a right to which all children deserve access, and it's up to the parents and school teams to work together to make that happen.  

If you need help working with your school, please feel free to contact us to arrange a meeting.