Gifted And Disabled
Have you ever wanted to be smarter? Wished
that you had all the gifts and
abilities that are associated with being a
"super human genius"? Coveted the
inconceivable abilities of masterminds such
as Galileo and Einstein? Throughout
the history of man it has been these
kinds of great minds that deviate from the
current method of thinking, in
turn creating new lines of reason and more
holistic understandings of the
world around us. We label them "gifted and
talented" but they are truly our
inventors, our leaders, our Mozarts and
Michelangelos. In spite of this
they are at risk for extinction. Presently, the
sociocultural surrounding in
which our children grow do not cater to the needs
of these gifted. Their
cognitive abilities deviate from norm just as the
mentally retarded, yet they
are rarely viewed as deviants who need special
attention. More often, they
are viewed as better off than the majority to begin
with and, consequently,
are expected to develop to their fullest potential
without much help. But
just as athletes must constantly condition their muscles,
so must the gifted
condition their minds. Although all states are required to
comply with the
federal mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (1991),
providing
special education and services to the lower end deviants of the
intelligence
curve, no federal law protects the other end of the curve. The lack
of a
mandate, which would provide an appropriate, and nourishing
learning
environment for the gifted has severe implications on their
cognitive and
psychosocial development. Not once in the Individuals with
Disabilities Act is
the word "gifted" ever mentioned. Not one paragraph is
dedicated to their
benefit. Luckily, 33 states have opted on their own to
require their school
boards to create some form of gifted and talented
programs. The problem is that
little over half of these state programs
necessitate teacher endorsement. It is
not uncommon that state legislatures
separate reimbursement for gifted and
talented programs from the broad and
affluent category of special education. In
addition, the overall state
reimbursement to local school districts is on the
decline. In 1994 a case
debating this contradictory mode of reasoning arose in
Connecticut, one
of the 17 states that doesn’t mandate any gifted and talented
programs. In a
battle more over the diction of the present statute than of its
impartiality
toward intelligence deviants, The Supreme Court of Connecticut held
that the
state constitutional right to a free public education does not provide
gifted
children with a special education program. This case has the potential
of
making a major impact on the future of gifted education because it is only
the
second ruling of a state supreme to address gifted education. Finally the
most
recent and obvious sign that gifted education is being neglected was
provided by
the U.S. Congress, when it cut the funding on the only federal
act that allowed
for research into the various domains of intellectual
deviance, the Jacob Javits
Act. Already 99.9% (literally not
figuratively) of special education funding
goes to the lower end. Without the
Javits Act discovering reasons why this
percentage should be more balanced,
it may remain uneven. If these shaded views
continue to be supported both by
legislators and electorate there will be
serious consequences on the
development of gifted youth. Lacking appropriate and
motivational stimuli,
gifted students will inevitably become bored and listless.
This is simply
the first domino in a dangerous chain of cause and effect.
Boredom in
turn leads to frustration towards their school, their parents for
forcing
them to attend a place that makes the feel this way, their peers for
being
content with their surroundings, and even themselves for not being
satisfied
for what they are given. These mixed up emotions are a lot for any
child to
handle, gifted or not. What is often negated from peoples mind
when
evaluating the abilities of the gifted is that their talents are not
infinite.
They are exceptionally smart but they are no more equipped to
manage emotional
stress than any one else. As the frustration builds so do
feelings of
helplessness in the ability to satisfy their need for creative
stimuli. As a
result anxiety attacks are not uncommon in these children and
neither are
episodes of depression. However, the most detrimental consequence
of these
unjust inadequacies is that the gifted youth of our nation will
never reach
their full potential. Already, studies have shown that 30%-40% of
America’s
gifted children are underachieving (National Commission for
Excellence in
Education). And at least 20% of the students who drop out
of school are gifted.
Most gifted students also have difficulties in
psychosocial development. One of
the first problems to arise is labeled as
social immaturity and is followed by
difficulty in forming peer groups.
Psychologists now think that this label is
incorrect and that these children
are simply very different from the average
child. These undeniable
differences, not immaturity, is what causes the kids to
have such a hard time
making friends. They just can’t find anyone to relate
to. And the society in
which they grow up doesn’t make it any easier for them.
Upper end
intelligence deviants are labeled as brainiacs, geniuses, and
masterminds,
who are already viewed as having more than the average person to
begin with.
So when these children ask for special treatment they create for
themselves
an image of selfishness. They are often distrusted, envied, and
feared. These
powerful soiciocultural stigmas are a lot for a young child to
handle despite
his or her intelligence. When the same society that sparks these
negative
views also has high expectations of these children it will inevitably
create
more confusion and frustration in their young minds. Consequently, they
will
be even more likely to feel like outsiders in their own society.
Physical
effects are rare, possibly because they are so difficult to detect.
Poor posture
and avoiding eye contact are the two primary problems. All
physical
developmental effects usually result from interactions between
cognitive and
psychosocial difficulties. The long term effects and ultimate
cost of failing to
provide a mandate with sufficient funding may exceed the
expense of adequately
educating the nations most intelligent students. Who
wants to be gifted in a
world that refuses to help that gift grow? These
children have vulnerabilities
in addition to their gift that also need to be
catered to. They need social
skill training in addition to academic learning.
They need guidance in finding a
comfortable niche in society. But first they
need to feel comfortable with
themselves as deviants that the world looks
after and nurtures. They should view
themselves as an unusual and in
expendable natural human resource. And they can
only do that if we show them.
If our laws provide the funding and programs
necessary for them to feel
supported and looked after they will grow up to feel
confident about
themselves and their gift.