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Helping children,
adolescents & families
realize their potentials
Offices in Walnut Creek & Napa Susan Daniels, Ph.D. 925.939.7500
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Gifted Psycho-Educational Evaluation:
The purpose of this evaluation is generally to understand a child’s intellectual and academic levels of functioning. It consists of background and developmental history; parent rating scales; intellectual and academic assessment; scoring and interpretation; feedback to parents and child (when appropriate); written report with results and recommendations.
Gifted Comprehensive Evaluation:
This comprehensive evaluation includes all components of the Gifted Psycho-Educational Evaluation and expands assessment further to better understand a child's learning profile, personality attributes, and to develop a Differentiated Education Plan. This evaluation consists of a child interview; child questionnaires related to personality type, learning styles, attitude towards school and specific subjects, and interest inventories; and a teacher inventory of learning strengths. The written report with this evaluation includes a Differentiated Education Plan with recommendations for educational modifications to meet the intellectual, academic, creative and social-emotional needs of the gifted student in - and beyond - traditional school settings.
Gifted Complex Evaluation:
This complex evaluation includes all components of both The Gifted Psycho-Educational Evaluation and the Gifted Comprehensive Evaluation. In addition, this evaluation is specifically designed to assess significant developmental asynchrony - as is most often found with twice-exceptional students (e.g. advanced abilities and specific learning difficulties). The child's cognitive, learning, personality, and social-emotional functioning are further assessed through additional testing to better understand their complex funtioning and associated challenges and strength areas. The written report will include a Differentiated Education Plan along with specific recommendations for a combination gifted services and special education accomodations as needed.
What does it mean to be twice-exceptional (2e)?
The term twice-exceptional (2e) refers to individuals who are both gifted and have a learning, emotional, behavioral, or social issue. They are considered twice-exceptional because they fall into the exceptional range statistically for their cognitive, academic, or creative abilities and potential, and also fall in the lower end of exceptional in their deficit area. This asynchrony, or uneven development, can cause extreme frustration, stress, and emotional and behavioral reactions.
Examples of exceptionalities include: Asperger’s Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Dyslexia, Sensory Integration Disorder (SID), and Bipolar Disorder. While the list above contains full blown diagnostic categories, many gifted individuals exhibit symptoms of the aforementioned, yet do not fully meet diagnostic criteria. While not necessarily requiring a diagnosis, these tendencies can still result in significant asynchrony, and significant difficulty.
Some examples of difficulties that 2e children may experience include: a gifted child who cannot read well due to dyslexia feels stupid, experiences low self-esteem, and stops trying in school. A gifted child with ADHD continues to get in trouble for “not paying attention” and blurting out all the answers. A gifted child with Asperger’s Disorder has tremendous difficulty in social situations and therefore becomes overwhelmed and anxious in social and learning environments, limiting his involvement in enrichment programs. Thus, identifying a child as 2e and focusing on her strengths becomes a primary target for interventions at home and in school.