Sessions 3A-3F

9:30AM-9:50AM
Session 3A: Barbara Shufro, Esq. & Debbie Carroll.
2E Students and Special Education Law
(Initiative)

Summarize how 2E students’ educational needs are or are not addressed by federal law and federal courts, including – the IDEA, Section 504 and ADA Title II – the importance and variability of state laws, which define “adversely affect” on “educational performance” state by state – the importance and limits of U.S. Supreme Court case Endrew F. – pathways to eligibility for 2E students in public schools – mental health, social skills, executive function and behavioral services that have been found to be “FAPE” for 2E students – reading, writing or other academic deficits found to require services for 2E students; – possible ways to assert a right to gifted programming – barriers to eligibility and gifted programming for economically disadvantaged and minority students – opportunities for new strategies to work together with the academic community using and creating empirical research to support evidence-based strategies for 2E students.

10:40AM-11:00AM
Session 3B: Allison L. Hertog
Getting 2e Students Accommodations on High Stakes Exams – A Legal Perspective
(Initiative)

Testing boards often look askance at very bright students who’ve been able to compensate for their disabilities through informal accommodations and enormously hard work, and the College Admissions scandal has made this problem worse.  This presentation by an attorney and former special education teacher who is 2e, herself, will explain what’s needed (i.e., in terms of assessments and background information) to successfully advocate for 2e students on standardized tests, such as the SAT, ACT, LSAT, MCAT, etc. 

11:10AM-11:30AM
Session 3C: Maratea Cantarella & Melissa Sornik, LCSW
TECA and  2e parent community support
(Initiative)

In this presentation, TECA president Melissa Sornik and TECA executive director Maratea Cantarella will discuss the need for a 2e parent community of support and how TECA meets those needs by maintaining its focus on family functioning and well-being by providing a strong, vibrant, accepting on-line community for the families of 2e children.

An unintended finding of a 2015 research study on the advocacy experiences of parents of elementary age 2e children, was “the impact of sharing one’s experiences with others in similar situations,” and that “participants informed each other of successful advocacy strategies, special/gifted education terminology and community resources.”

The experiences parents described in the study backs TECA’s founding principles that parent support is critical for the success of 2e children. We will describe our initiatives that offer information, resources and supports that are thoughtfully and purposefully created to address the specific needs of parents of 2e kids.

11:40AM-12:00PM
Session 3D: Max Melby & Jamie Teigen
Adventures (and Misadventures) in Implementing Enrichment Clusters

At Arete Academy, we just started our sixth year in operation and we’ve never felt better about the enrichment we’re offering! … but our first five years weren’t always pretty. In this session, we’ll share our numerous missteps in enrichment, how we responded to those missteps, and a “nuts and bolts” approach to how we’ve made enrichment clusters work in our school more recently.

12:10PM-12:30PM
Session 3E: Melissa Malen, Ph.D.
Academic Coaching for 2e Students
(Initiative)

Twice-exceptional students who are gifted and experience a challenge in learning demonstrate higher achievement when they receive academic coaching. Executive function challenges that many twice-exceptional students experience and how these challenges affect achievement in school will be discussed. Tactics for supporting students will be shared that include strategies to support organization, planning, time management, prioritizing, and persisting to complete work. In the areas of self-regulation and attention, exercise will be discussed relative to how exercise can be used as a tool to support students in regulating emotion and behavior, as well as being used as an accommodation to support students. Tactics for using assistive technology and self-advocacy will be shared. You will hear the narrative of a 2e student, who was told he would not graduate high school, identify accommodations that resulted in successful high school graduation, college admission, a scholarship and a 3.5 college GPA!

12:40PM-1:00PM
Session 3F: Melissa Malen, Ph.D.
Themes of Experience of Parent Advocates for Students with ADHD in School
(Research)

Gifted students who also have ADHD need an advocate while they are in school in order to bridge the gap between their demonstration of high capacity for learning and creativity, and their impulsivity, inconsistent focus and often distractible behavior. Advocates are usually the student’s parents who must become advocates in response to the child’s need for support and a call for parental involvement from the school. Parent advocates are confronted with many challenges, the primary being the daunting, solitary task of advocating for a child who is often viewed by teachers and peers as very intelligent yet choosing to behave in an unruly, disrespectful and underachieving manner. Study findings include the following themes: 1) Identifying and Treating ADHD in the School Context, 2) ADHD Advocates Need more Support from Schools, 3) Advocate Experience with the School is a Swinging Pendulum and 4) Advocates Struggle to Pave a Path for Success.