AEG Blog

A long-term study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development indicates that children who receive low-quality childcare during the first four and a half years of their lives show continued problems on into adolescence.

As reported in The Washington Post in Study finds that effects of low-quality child care last into adolescence, the federally funded study has followed over 1,300 children since their infancy in 1991.

The researchers collected detailed information about the type and quality of care the children were receiving through age 4 1/2 , including whether their custodians were parents, other relatives, nannies, babysitters or day-care centers in or outside a home, as well as the number of hours of which kind of care each child received. The subjects underwent tests assessing their academic and cognitive skills, and parents and teachers answered questionnaires about each child's behavior. The quality was assessed based on observations of a host of factors, including the caregivers' warmth, sensitivity, emotional support and how much cognitive stimulation they provided.

Higher-quality care was linked to children having fewer behavior problems as they grew older as well as higher achievement in areas such as math, reading and other cognitive skills. Children who spent time in low-quality care suffered the negative effects of it regardless of the family's socioeconomic standing.

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Children who are both gifted and learning disabled (known as 2e or twice exceptional) face unique challenges as do their parents and teachers.  Correctly identifying 2e students is the first step in meeting their specific academic, personal and social needs.  The 2e Newsletter offers a helpful overview in Twice-exceptional Students: Who Are They and What Do They Need? by Micaela Bracamonte.

Specifically identifying students has become somewhat easier as researchers have uncovered some distinct tendencies among 2e children.  Bracamonte writes:

By analyzing the records of students currently in 2e programs, researchers have developed a profile of twice exceptionality. 2e students typically perform at very high levels on some, but not all, of the gifted screening tests used by public schools. On the other hand, they tend to simultaneously perform very poorly on one or more of the local, state, or national standardized assessments used to measure individual student progress. One of the hallmarks of twice- exceptionality, then, is inconsistency in performance and, in particular, in test results.

Bracomonte provides four profiles of "typical" 2e students. These short overviews give a glimpse of the complexity of identifying 2e students in the school setting. She then offers five strategies for working with twice exceptional students:

• Play to their strengths
• Address social and emotional needs
• Incorporate counseling support
• Provide organizational guidance and one-on-one tutoring opportunities
• Integrate technology

Bracomonte clearly recognizes the need to provide these twice exceptional students with an appropriate education.  She writes in closing:

The ideal classroom environment for the twice-exceptional student is very far from what exists... With a handful of exceptions, highly promising, creative students with learning differences continue to be systematically denied what they need in school – a flexible combination of acceleration, remediation, and social/emotional supports – whether the context is general, gifted or special education.

To meet the needs of these children, there must be a paradigm shift from a remediation or deficit model to a strength-based model of education. This is particularly true as a growing body of research demonstrates that learning disabilities also appear to afford and coexist with unique learning strengths. These children need programs and schools that transform the research on twice exceptionality into a daily commitment to combine academic rigor with individualized accommodations and adaptations.

One million of our nation’s most promising, most innovative thinkers – bright children who learn differently, not “deficiently” – constitute a neglected national resource. Twice-exceptional children need an education that fits, and it’s in all of our interests to give it to them.

After school and evenings are packed with activities for the average family.  Homework, sports, meals, more homework and trying to spend at least a little time together as a family means that every minute counts.  If there is a child with ADHD in the mix, then the evenings can become even more overwhelming.

ADDitude magazine has a list of suggestions for families seeking to better manage the after school and evening routine. ADHD Organization Help: 9 Strategies for Stress-Free Evenings at Home takes a look at some of the biggest challenges facing parents and children and offers practical solutions.

Their suggestions include:

• Focus on nutrition
• Consider early evening meds
• Be realistic
• Watch your words
• Run. Jump. Kick.

Their nine tips offer helpful and practical ideas for approaching the evening routine.  ADHD children and their parents may likely benefit from implementing one or more of these tested strategies.

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