Sometimes, teachers get in their mind that a student is SPED and they forget there is a BIG umbrella that SPED consist of. Maybe having a meeting with these teachers and giving them examples of a twice exceptional student would help them understand there is a such thing. Until I was presented with the material, I did not realize this was even possible.

Mr. Tyson could request professional development for these teachers regarding the non-modal gifted to build awareness and remove their unintentional bias. Many teachers do not realize that a student can be gifted and still have a disability that may act as a mask for those who are not informed.

I have a student in my classroom who is both gifted and autistic. It wad difficult for me to understand at first, but after working with the student I noticed areas where his giftedness stood out. It was helpful for me to actually work with this child in order to understand how children can be twice exceptional. I suggest that Mr. Tyson actually provide teachers with examples of how students can be classified both special ed. and gifted. Maybe if the actually see examples it will be easier for them to identify these students in their own classrooms.

Maybe they could have a separate screening for twice exceptional students to show teachers that students can be gifted and SPED. Mr. Tyson can work especially with those teachers who have SPED students to help them identify gifted characteristics within the students.

This is a trend that I in fact see quite often. This is why I hate simply stating that a student has a "disability" because I prefer to focus on their abilities as I feel that all students are able. I definitely think that Mr. Tyson should in fact have a meeting with the co- teachers and Special Ed Department head at the school to talk to them about those characteristics to look for specifically in the students in which they service. These co- teachers are individuals who have a deeper relationship with these students and know a lot about their background and educational history. He should also include familiar student cases with them in order for the teachers to relate to a real situation closer to home.

I have the same issue in my classroom. I have a student who is near to beginning the process of screening for spec. ed. I however feel that this student could also be gifted. He is very creative, has a high vocabulary and can apply it in the correct situations, questions a lot of things, etc. I always try to document these types of behaviors from the student to ensure that someone can see what I am trying to get across.