In recent years, researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in students who have both learning disabilities and intellectual gifts. Intellectually gifted students are defined as those who demonstrate outstanding ability to grapple with complexity, or superior academic potential. The definition of learning disability states that the level of performance in a particular academic area is substantially below what would be expected based on one's general intellectual ability and that this incongruity cannot be explained by lack of educational opportunity in that academic area. This article explores several controversial issues surrounding the identification of students as both gifted and learning disabled. How does a discrepancy manifest itself in a student who is intellectually gifted? Do gifted students with learning disabilities experience masking effects? How can we effectively identify intellectually gifted students with learning disabilities? In addition, we argue against the use of profile analysis to identify gifted students with learning disabilities. Finally, we propose guidelines for school psychologists to identify students with intellectual gifts and learning disabilities, and we provide suggestions for how to best serve this unique population of students within the school environment.

A multiple baseline design was used to examine the effects of participation in antecedent physical activity on the academic engagement of four elementary-school children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The results indicated large effect sizes for academic engaged time for all four students. It was suggested that physical activity in the form of something as simple to implement as jogging may be efficacious in promoting academic achievement for students diagnosed with ASD. C 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.A diagnosis of autism is based on qualitative impairments in three primary areas including social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive, restricted, and/or stereotyped behavioral patterns (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Autism is considered a spectrum disorder (ASD), meaning that individuals with this diagnosis share common characteristics but may vary substantially in the combination and severity of impact that the characteristics have on daily functioning. Asperger disorder (AD) is an ASD that is characterized by a behavioral and developmental profile similar to that of autism, and for which an increased number of children are currently receiving diagnoses. A diagnosis of AD is similar to that of autism in that impairments in social interaction and a restricted, repetitive pattern of behavior and/or interests must be present; however, clinically significant delays in language development, cognitive functioning, and adaptive behavior are typically not observed (Siegel, 1996). The child diagnosed with AD must score in at least the average range of intellectual functioning, and thus may appear to be without cognitive deficit, yet closer examination often reveals significant impairments in comprehension of the pragmatic uses of language.Several past investigations show that physical activity is effective in addressing various symptoms associated with children diagnosed with ASD. For example, on the basis of a case study of a 7-year-old boy whose cognitive functioning was described as moderately to severely impaired, contingent jogging was associated with a marked decrease in out-of-seat behavior (Gordon, Handleman, & Harris, 1986). Another study conducted by Rosenthal-Malek and Mitchell (1997) involving 5 adolescents (mean age = 14.8, mean IQ = 42.2) showed that physical activity promoted desired classroom behaviors in that decreases in self-stimulatory behavior and increases in correct responding and task completion were evidenced. Similarly, improvements in correct responding and general academic interest were increased in 7 participants by daily jogging routines for children with autism (age 4-14; IQs ranged from untestable to average; Kern, Koegel, Dyer, Blew, & Fenton, 1982).Initially, it was proposed that decreases in self-stimulatory and stereotypic behaviors and increases in general academic interest and desired classroom behaviors associated with physical activity may be due to fatigue. If this were the case, appropriate behaviors, such as academic engagement...

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The Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD) procedure was implemented by 58 teachers within a series of elementary schools in the state of Utah; a total of 1,446 elementary-school children were screened in this process. The focus of this investigation was upon replication of the procedural integrity and outcomes of the SSBD screening-identification procedure for children with school-related behavior disorders. The study results indicated that the SSBD could accurately and efficiently identify children in need of special services, thus confirming results of prior research. In addition, it was shown that the SSBD was viewed as cost efficient by its school-based users primarily because it (a) required less professional time than traditional school referral and assessment processes, and (b) allowed for the systematic, proactive screening of all students. The SSBD procedure also was preferred as an initial screening device by the majority of participating teachers and related-services professionals involved in its implementation.