Special and Gifted Ed; PD; Events

FROM SPECIAL ED TO SPECIAL ED TEACHER. At various times in her school career, Jamilyn Cox received speech therapy and PT; received diagnoses of dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and then, after graduate school, of ADHD; and, in middle school, became a self advocate. She’s now a special ed teacher. She shares how her perspective influences her own teaching style at Chalkbeat; find it.

EQUITY IN GIFTED ED. We’ve posted some of this before, but in the last weeks a number of stories have appeared highlighting the ethnic and income disparities that make up the population of gifted programs — along with what school districts are tying to do about the disparities.
— The “genesis” article is a report from Purdue University on the topic noting that there are more gifted children overlooked for gifted programs than are enrolled in the programs. Find out more.
— In Seattle, parents don’t like the district’s current or proposed gifted ed policies, especially as they address racial imbalances in the program. Find out more. In addition, two child psychologists in Seattle weighed in with a letter to the editor of the Seattle Times from the perspective of 2e students. Find the letter.

PD OPPORTUNITY. Applications for the Belin-Blank Fellowship Program open on January 27. The summer residential workshop is “a special program for classroom teachers. In this way, teachers develop the skills to work with gifted students as well as the knowledge and skills to provide leadership for other teachers,” according to Belin-Blank. Find out more.

EDUCATION LAW AND FUNDING
— The Council for Exceptional Children has developed a “Call to Action” to help members influence the final stages of the FY2020 education funding process. Advocates, find out more.
— Wrightslaw tells in Special Ed Advocate why you need to know about case law and learn how the courts apply it. Find out more.

EVENTS
— January 9, free webinar from ADDitude, “Conquer Clutter the ADD Way.” More information.
— March 5 or 6, two PDA (demand avoidance profile of the autism spectrum) workshops in the Chicago area, coordinated by therapist Diane Gould. More information.

MEDS FOR ANXIETY, OCD. From Science Daily: “New research specifically looks at side effects that impact children and adolescents being treated for anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).” Find the study write-up.

Holiday Gift Suggestion

We suggest that one or the other of two Spotlight on 2e Series booklets would be an ideal gift for informing that significant teacher or that close relative about twice-exceptionality. These two booklets are concise and affordable:
— For a teacher: Understanding Your Twice-Exceptional Student
— For a relative: Understanding Your Twice-Exceptional Child.
We’ll be able to ship Spotlight booklets, print or PDF versions, until December 20. Find out more.