Does your bright child have dyslexia? Warning signs that this thinking style is not being maximized at school

Guest contributor Deanne Repich is Co-Founder and Head of School at Great Minds Learning Community, a three-day micro-school tailored to the unique needs of gifted and twice-exceptional kids, including bright kids with dyslexia, ADHD/hypermobile, sensory processing challenges, vision challenges, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, chemical sensitivity and allergies, Asperger’s/High Functioning Autism, anxiety, or social difficulties. The micro-school features personalized, differentiated learning; a sensory-friendly environment; key supports for your gifted or 2e child’s unique gifts and challenges; and student-driven, project-based learning in an environment that nurtures the whole child intellectually, emotionally, and socially. An educator for almost two decades with experience in gifted and 2e kids, she is a Positive Discipline in the Classroom certified educator, a member of SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted), and a mom to two twice-exceptional children. You can learn more at greatmindslc.com or contact Deanne directly at deanne@greatmindslc.com.


Your bright child has been diagnosed with dyslexia. Maybe it’s a new diagnosis, or maybe you’ve been dealing with your child’s school’s well-meaning but incomplete accommodations for dyslexia for years and are frustrated.

Dyslexia is a gift and a challenge that affects 1 in 5 people in the U.S. Yes, it’s a challenge. However, it's vitally important to realize that “dyslexia” is merely a label to describe a unique way of processing information that, in addition to its challenges, gives other incredibly important advantages.

Although reading and spelling are areas of difficulty for people with dyslexia, scientific evidence suggests that dyslexics have multiple areas of strength from their thinking style, such as excellent spatial reasoning, narrative reasoning and seeing the big picture, reasoning well in dynamic settings, a strong ability to learn from experience because of how they remember facts as experiences or stories, out-of-the box solutions to problems, empathy, and critical thinking.
 

Warning Signs

Your child’s school is not maximizing the immense power of his dyslexic thinking style if he is:

• Losing recess or being excluded from activities because of needing more time to complete homework involving reading
• Being punished (e.g. having to pick up trash) during recess because of needing more time to complete homework involving reading
• Missing favorite subjects consistently to be pulled out for specialized reading support
• Being pigeonholed as either being gifted or having a disability instead of having both needs met
• Not given the daily opportunity to display learning mastery that reflects his true intellectual potential through strengths-based alternatives to reading, such as through audio, video, or hands-on projects
• Not given frequent targeted, individualized instruction in an Orton-Gillingham-based system to improve reading and spelling skills
• Being teased by other kids about his reading level and the administration minimizing your concerns about it
• Being “tolerated” or “accommodated” for the learning difference instead of the immense gifts of his thinking style being truly celebrated
• Given support for reading and spelling only, not the many other challenges that typically go along with dyslexia, such as directionality, telling time, organization, social challenges, and so on
• Called “lazy,” “stubborn,” “uncooperative,” or other negative characteristics, when in fact the learning difference is the main reason behind the “problems”

Looking at famous successful dyslexic role models, such as billionaire Virgin Airlines founder Richard Branson, physicist Albert Einstein, actress Whoopi Goldberg, writer Agatha Christie, and director Steven Spielberg (and many, many, others), not to mention the 40-60% of self-made millionaires who were diagnosed as dyslexic, shows us that this thinking style is important in our world and can lead to a path of success for your child.
 

Positive Signs

What does a school that helps your child see and nurture the many gifts of her dyslexic thinking style look like? Like this:

• No penalties, punishments, or exclusions because of dyslexia. Being included in recess and other fun activities even when she needs more time to complete projects involving reading
• Teachers addressing and nurturing both her intellectual gifts and the lagging skills due to dyslexia effectively
• Mastery shown in a format that matches his strengths (e.g. oral or project-based demonstration of mastery) while encouraging growth in areas of lagging skills
• Regular targeted, individualized instruction in an Orton-Gillingham-based system to improve reading and spelling skills
• School culture that celebrates (not just tolerates) her unique gifts and strengths coming from her thinking style
• Guided support for non-reading ways that dyslexia presents challenges (organization, reading maps, social difficulties, difficulty keeping to a schedule, etc.)
• Passion-based learning support for lagging skills. This means getting to know what makes your child tick and using passions as a doorway to developing lagging skills, through “just-right” challenges
• Support for uneven learning in different subjects and skills, understanding that kids, especially very bright learners, have uneven development across subjects and skills
• Learning with peers with similar thinking styles. You’d be amazed how quickly your child’s self-esteem soars when she is in a room with several other bright, dyslexic kids with whom she can relate
• Teachers that understand learning differences and know that your child is not lazy, stubborn, or other negative characteristics, that respect your child and provide nurturing and guided support

If your child’s school experience looks more like the Warning Signs I described, it’s time to work with your child’s school toward substantial positive change. If that doesn’t work, it might be time to consider switching to a school that will help him realize his full potential and find success through the powerful gifts of his unique thinking style.

After all, most of us gravitate toward our strengths and find success and fulfillment there in life, both professionally and personally, and your child is no different. It is time well-invested to help your child leverage her strengths, and her dyslexic thinking style is a huge one.

Deanne Repich

How to find a better-fit learning environment for your twice-exceptional child

Guest contributor Deanne Repich is Co-Founder and Head of School at Great Minds Learning Community, a three-day micro-school tailored to the unique needs of gifted and twice-exceptional kids, featuring personalized, differentiated learning; a sensory-friendly environment; key supports for your gifted or 2e child’s unique gifts and challenges; and student-driven, project-based learning in an environment that nurtures the whole child intellectually, emotionally, and socially. An educator for almost two decades with experience in gifted and 2e kids, she is a Positive Discipline in the Classroom certified educator, a member of SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted), and a mom to two twice-exceptional children. You can learn more at greatmindslc.com or contact Deanne directly at deanne@greatmindslc.com.


Does the following scenario sound familiar to you? Your bright and quirky twice-exceptional child, your amazing child who is destined to change the world with his ravenous curiosity, out-of-the-box thinking, and deep dives into subjects passionate to him, is surviving, not thriving, in his current school.

Take a deep breath. It’s okay. The signals are clear. It’s time to consider a new learning environment for your child, one that is a better fit.

Before we move forward, what do I mean by twice-exceptionality? Twice-exceptional kids (also known as 2e) are kids who are intellectually gifted and have a learning difference (differently wired), challenge, or disability. Some common twice-exceptionalities/challenges/learning differences are dyslexia, ADHD/hypermobile, sensory processing challenges, vision challenges, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, chemical sensitivity and allergies, autism, Asperger’s/high-functioning autism, anxiety, and social difficulties.

When considering a new school for your 2e child, here are some helpful questions to consider:
 

Does my child learn best in small or large class sizes? Many 2e children do better with small class sizes. Small classes provide the individualized attention necessary to promote differentiated learning, get support for lagging skills, and fuel their immense intellectual curiosity while minimizing sensory overload.
 

In what type of sensory environment does my child learn best? Does your child like music playing on headsets while learning? Playing with fidgets? Frequent breaks to be active? Make sure the school culture has a built-in daily sensory “diet” individualized for students with specific tools for sensory challenges as part of its core school culture.
 

What is my child’s preferred mode of displaying mastery? Choose a school culture that truly celebrates your 2e child’s differently wired brain—not just in words but in its actions—by allowing her to display mastery in a way that meshes with her learning style a majority of the time.

Think touch-screen laptops and typing for those who struggle with handwriting; think video portfolios or hands-on visual models for visual thinkers; think oral reports and songs for auditory learners; think movement-oriented projects for ADHD learners, to name just a few options. Lagging skills need to be practiced separately and to gradually be integrated into displaying mastery in “just-right” bite-sized chunks.

In what ways does my child like to be challenged intellectually? Seek a school that provides student choice and has a core value of deep dives into student passions. Think student-driven playlists, project-based learning, and differentiated learning so your child can move at his own pace. It’s also important for your child to be with true intellectual peers, not just age mates, to provide intellectual stimulation and a sense of community with like-minded kids.

Does the school nurture the whole person? Does the school incorporate social-emotional learning into its daily structure and interactions, every day, not just as a one-hour weekly add-on? It’s a matter of “walking the walk” and not just “talking the talk.”
 

Does the school specialize in intellectual, emotional, and social support for 2e kids’ unique needs? Make sure that the school has experience in supporting the unique intellectual, social, and emotional needs of gifted and twice-exceptional children, as they have very different needs in many respects from other kids.

Many non-traditional schools (and some traditional ones) provide student choice and small class sizes. However, you need much more than that for a 2e child. For 2e kids, a completely self-directed learning experience without specific support structures for their unique 2e needs can be a poor fit.

It is a school’s job to both nurture the intellectual thirst and address challenges that come with a 2e child’s immense intellectual capacity and uneven development, to work as a co-collaborator with your 2e child. Ensure that the school offers key supports for a 2e child’s academic, emotional, and behavioral challenges due to “lagging skills and unresolved problems,” as Dr. Ross Greene, author of Raising Human Beings and The Explosive Child, describes.

Think specific supports for phonetics, fluency, and comprehension for a dyslexic child, for example. Think specific processes to uncover lagging skills and unresolved problems in social communication, self-awareness, and executive functioning skills for behavioral problems. Think vagal tone exercises for 2e kids who are anxious, have sensory overstimulation or social difficulties, and are stuck in fight/flight/freeze mode, to name just a few examples.


Is the school just “accommodating” or actively celebrating my child’s way of thinking and being? It’s key for the school to have a built-in culture of celebrating differently wired bright and quirky kids, not only “accommodating” them and trying to make them be like other kids. You want your 2e child to be accepted and nurtured, not just tolerated. Celebrate the differences!

By finding a school that is in step with your 2e child and her unique gifts and make-up, together you, your child, and the new school can help her truly thrive!

Deanne Repich

2e: Twice Exceptional — Join us for a special movie screening and discussion

We’re proud to announce that Alt Ed Austin and SchoolFairATX are co-sponsoring a screening of an amazing movie called 2e:Twice Exceptional. The screening will be held Wednesday, April 26, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, at KoSchool, just south of downtown Austin. Get full details and register to attend here. Children 12 and up are welcome. The film lasts about an hour and will be followed by a half-hour discussion.

The term “twice exceptional” is becoming more common among educators to describe kids who are gifted and talented in one or more areas, including the arts, language, math, science, and leadership, and are also identified as having a particular challenge—an emotional or learning disability, a physical disability, ADHD, autism, or something else. We recently did a short explainer about 2e in our newsletter (scroll to the bottom for the Question of the Month).

The film 2e, by Thomas Ropelewski, is garnering praise and awards around the country. New York Times best-selling author Steven Kotler says it’s “essential viewing for anyone interested in understanding where our next generation of game-changing outliers may be coming from.”

Check out the film site here, and watch the trailer: