Table Of ContentTeaching Gifted Children with Special
Educational Needs
Children with both giftedness and special educational needs are often found in
mainstream classrooms. This essential resource provides an overview of existing
knowledge about dual and multiple exceptionality (DME), examining the needs
of gifted and talented children from both the class teacher’s and SENCo’s
perspectives. Diane Montgomery explores both the specialist interventions that
some children will need for at least part of their school life, as well as the general
inclusive provision that every school can develop to meet the needs of all
children. Focusing on evidence-based identification throughout, chapters in this
accessible book cover:
An analysis of the terms ‘giftedness’ and ‘talent’ and the different
methods that can be used for identifying them and assessing their
limitations.
Identifying and supporting a range of difficulties, syndromes and
disorders such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, DCD, ASD, ADHD and SEBD.
How to manage classroom behaviour, improve school ethos and create a
DME-friendly school through inclusive teaching and learning.
This invaluable resource will assist you in creating a DME-friendly school,
helping to integrate learners with a range of difficulties and enabling them and
others to learn.
Diane Montgomery is Professor Emerita at Middlesex University, UK, where she
was Dean of Faculty and Head of the School of Education. She is a qualified and
experienced teacher, teacher educator and chartered psychologist specialising in
research on underachievement and dual and multiple exceptionality.
Teaching Gifted Children with Special
Educational Needs
Supporting dual and multiple exceptionality
Diane Montgomery
First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Diane Montgomery
The right of Diane Montgomery to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used
only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Montgomery, Diane.
Teaching gifted children with special educational needs : supporting dual and multiple exceptionality / Diane
Montgomery.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Gifted children–Education–Great Britain. 2. Children with disabilities–Education–Great Britain. I. Title.
LC3997.G7M654 2015
371.950941–dc23
2014047178
ISBN: 978-1-138-89055-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-89057-2 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-71232-1 (ebk) Typeset in
Galliard
by Deer Park Productions
Contents
Preface
Introduction
1 Identification of giftedness and talent
2 Identifying and supporting children with Developmental Coordination
Difficulties
3 Identifying and supporting children with Dyslexia Spectrum Difficulties
4 Identifying and supporting children with High Functioning Autism – Asperger
syndrome
5 Identifying and supporting children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder
6 Identifying and supporting children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural
Difficulties
7 How to create the DME-friendly school through inclusive teaching and learning
Postscript
References
Index
Preface
This book is written for teachers, students of education and interested others. It is
based upon principles derived from a career in teaching, teacher education and
research. The main themes are:
The teacher is the key: The only effect size of any significance to emerge from
meta analyses of research has been the quality of teaching.
Excellence for all children: No system of selection, pull-out programmes,
acceleration and special provision finds and meets the needs of all our gifted and
talented children or those with special needs. Only the selected few gain access to
it and sometimes the provision is special only in name. Thus the regular teacher
is the key to providing for all children’s needs and drawing on resources and
specialists to help. It is the right of every child to have the best there is.
Teaching is a complex profession: Teachers do not teach subjects; they teach
children to learn subjects. This involves acquiring sets of higher order academic
and professional skills, not just relating subject knowledge. Telling is not
teaching.
Learning should be developmentally appropriate: Children’s learning needs
change as they develop and methods employed with adults are not appropriate
for children. Concept development and acquisition stages require different
methods of teaching and learning from the concept attainment phases of the later
years.
Lifelong learning: Teachers’ creativity needs to be released to enable them to
develop pupils as self-organised and lifelong learners. They need to make
learning interesting and fun.
Figure 0.1 A focus on learner needs
The teacher-researcher: Because of the vast knowledge base that now exists
about education, teachers have to become learners and researchers in their own
classrooms to find what works best and to develop their personal theory and
practice of teaching. It made sense in an era when much less was known about
teaching and it makes sense now when there is an overwhelming body of
knowledge to select from.
Continuing professional development
Continuing professional development (CPD) is essential to build teacher
knowledge and improve professional practice. ‘Two things to do on Monday
morning’ has become a popular mantra at CPD courses but the effects soon
disappear. Practice without theory is blind. The most effective methods for
developing professional knowledge and skills are longer courses where shared
ideas can be taken back to classrooms and verified or otherwise. Programmes of
constructive self-organised learning can also be effective.
Terminology
In the UK and USA there is a tension between individual pathology models and
ecological models in special educational needs (SEN). A major site for this
conflict is in education. In Britain there is a resistance to medicalise conditions to
avoid the negative consequences of placing emphasis on deficits rather than
educational needs.
