School of Education and Professional Studies
Gold Coast Campus
AARE-NZARE Conference Speaking Back Through Research 2014, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
An empirical investigation of twice-exceptional research in Australia: Prevalence estimates for
gifted children with disability
Michelle Ronksley-Pavia [email protected]
PhD research study – The lived-experiences of twice-exceptional children: Narrative perceptions of disability and giftedness
Part of the literature review
Theoretically and politically important
Prevalence often determines provisions including funding
A deceptively simple question
Considerations:
1. Defining both disability, giftedness and consequently twice-exceptional
2. Types and number of giftedness traits included – are we only considering giftedness or talent as well?
3. Selection criteria for disability and giftedness = twice-exceptional
Gagné, DMGT 2.0 (2012)
Some of the issues:
Appropriateness of tests – quantitative vs. qualitative measurements: e.g. WISC-IV; SB-5; WIAT; AGAT etc..
Defining and assessing creativity
Multiple identification criteria
The Federal DDA (Commonwealth of Australia, 1992) defines a disability to be:
total or partial loss of the person’s bodily or mental functions; or (b) total or partial loss of a part of the body; or (c) the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness; or (d) the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease or illness; or (e) the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person’s body; or a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction; or (g) a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behaviour; and includes a disability that: (h) presently exists; or (i) previously existed but no longer exists; or (j) may exist in the future …To avoid doubt, a disability [emphasis in original] that is otherwise covered by this definition includes behaviour that is a symptom or manifestation of the disability (p. 5).
• Some of the problems:
The bio-medical and economic paradigms - resources verification categories
IQ achievement discrepancy
WISC-IV – strengths of using/weaknesses of using
Possibility of using creativity?
Tests in addition…
Twice-exceptional
Gifted
Disability
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Problems in defining the term in the field - Phrase twice-exceptional is used inconsistently within the literature Invisibility factor Fuzzy definition and problems
associated with identification.
• A learner “is considered twice-exceptional when he or she is identified as gifted/talented in one or more areas while also possessing a learning, emotional, physical, sensory, and/or developmental disability”
(Assouline, Foley-Nicpon, & Huber, 2006, p.14)
Defined giftedness, defined disability and defined twice-exceptional
Review the Australian literature for prevalence estimates – 1992-2012
Easy?!
Number of students identified as
twice-exceptional?
Disability
criteria?
Study Focus? Definitions
used?
Giftedness
criteria?
Methodology?
Giftedness Criteria IQ 135+ (Alexander, 1991, p.118)
WPPSI-III (Case study – Mark –tested in top 10% of age peers)
WISC-III (sub-test scatter of scores) and SB-5 results (case study – Eliot)
(Filmer, 2011, p.129-130)
“identified as gifted learning disabled through formal psychological testing”
(Henderson , 2006, p.36).
Harrison’s (1999) definition of giftedness: “ A Gifted child is one who performs or
who has the ability to perform at a level significantly above his or her chronological
aged peers and whose unique abilities and characteristics require special provisions
and social and emotional support from the family, community and educational
context” p.96 “Dual diagnosed gifted students with Asperger’s Syndrome” p.95.
(Holmes & Sutherland , 2011, p. 95-96).
Gagné’s definition (1985) “Giftedness designates the possession and use of
untrained and spontaneously expressed natural abilities in at least one ability
domain, to a degree that places a student in at least among the top 15% of his or her
age peers” (Lewis, 2004, p.12).
Recommends use of WISC-III and dynamic assessment practices (Munro, 2002)
Not found (Wormald, 2011)
Disability Criteria “severe LD students” (Alexander, 1991, p.121)
Qualification for “Reading Recovery program offered to low progress readers in
NSW” and ADHD diagnosis (Mark) p.128.
ADHD (Eliot), NAPLAN results -Writing Band 3 (p.130)
(Filmer, 2011, pp. 128-130)
“identified as gifted learning disabled through formal psychological testing”
(Henderson , 2006, p. 36).
“dual diagnosed students with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS)” (Holmes & Sutherland
, 2011, p. 95).
“Learning difficulties – “those students, excluding students with defined
disabilities, who have significant literacy and [or] numeracy problems with a
history of learning difficulty” after Luden et al 2000, p.12 “The cause of these
difficulties is intrinsic, resulting from one or more basic information processing
difficulties”. (Lewis, 2004, p.12).
“their academic performance is below what would be expected based on their
intellectual ability” (Munro, 2002, p.20).
“students with learning disability… having difficulty learning…they do not
include individuals whose learning is affected due to visual impairment, hearing
impairment, mental retardation, or physical disabilities” (Wormald, 2011, p. 12 )
Definition of twice-exceptional in study/paper
“low achievers in school and considered lazy, careless and unwilling to concentrate. They were
class clowns or withdrawn” (Alexander, 1991, p.121)
“giftedness, dyslexia and ADHD meet” “specific blend of exceptionalities…programs to ‘twice
exceptional’ (2e) students” (Filmer, 2011, p.127).
“gifted learning disabled” – after Silverman “Children in the superior range of intelligence who
exhibit major discrepancies b/w their strengths and their weaknesses and who have difficulty
completing tasks in one or more academic areas” (Henderson , 2006, p.36)
“dual exceptional students” (Holmes & Sutherland , 2011, p. 95).
“Twice-exceptional children – those who are gifted and have learning difficulties or some other
special need/s” (Lewis, 2004, p.1 and p.14).
“gifted learning disabled or as having the dual exceptionalities of giftedness and learning
disabilities” p.20.
“gifted students with learning disabilities” p.21
“their academic performance is below what would be expected based on their intellectual ability”
(p.20). (Munro, 2002)
“Defining a student who is GLD would require elements of both a gifted student, and a student with
learning disabilities” p. 87. “Gifted with learning disability” p. 92. (Wormald, 2011)
21 studies/papers reviewed - 1992-2012
Lack of consistent definition of terms
Lack of consistent identification criteria
In many cases lack of empirical data – many based on clinical observations and/or anecdotal information
Limited sample size – case studies
Limited description of participants’ inclusion criteria
Lack of nationally consistent collection of data
Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) (2009)
Children aged 0-14 years
Disability defined as “any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted or is likely to last for at least six months” (Gullett, 2009, p. 2)
4, 115, 334 children in Australia (2009)
Survey identified 288,348 (7%) with a disability
Boys identified with disability (9%) higher than girls identified with disability (5%).
(SDAC, 2009)
Considering a 10% prevalence of giftedness in the wider population as being the lower estimate (from Gagné)
Of the 4, 115, 334 children in Australia (0-14yrs) (Gullett, 2009) - conservative estimate of prevalence of those potentially gifted in this population = 411,533 children
288,348 identified as having a disability (SDAC, 2009) (7% of children 0-14yrs 2009)
Using Gagné’s 10% estimate of giftedness to this population
Expected prevalence rates of twice-exceptionality - 41, 153 children (aged 0-14 yrs in 2009)
Children in Australia 2009 (0-14yrs)
7% with disability (0-14yrs)
10% with giftedness (After Gagné) (0-14yrs)
Twice-exceptional (Gagné’s 10% gifted & SDAC 7% disability) (0-14yrs)
Rate: 4,115,334 (SDAC, 2009)
288,348 (SDAC, 2009)
411,533 (estimate)
41, 153 (estimate)
Prevalence issue is at the centre of the field
Not only of giftedness and disability but twice-exceptionality as well
Agreed upon definitions?
Agreed upon identification criteria
As Gagné (2006) states: “ the field of gifted education will not rise above its present folkloric status until such questions are addressed and answered” (p. 159)
The same could be stated for disability and twice-exceptionality
2015 all Australian schools required to participate annually in new Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability
No nationally consistent data collection on school students identified as gifted
Research is needed on combining this information to answer the prevalence rates question
Prevalence rates drive funding and provision
Michelle Ronksley-Pavia [email protected]
