“Nothing Fits Exactly”: Experiences of Asian American Parents of Twice-Exceptional Children

Abstract

Gifted and talented students who have high potential in diverse areas of human productivity sometimes possess one or more disabilities, a status known as twice-exceptional (Foley-Nicpon, Allmon, Sieck, & Stinson, 2010). Twiceexceptional students are oftentimes difficult to identify. They may fail to demonstrate either their high abilities or their disabilities in the school system-their gifts may mask their difficulties, or vice versa (Reis, Baum, & Burke, 2014). To respond to the complex needs of twice-exceptional students, researchers have suggested that education systems offer comprehensive assessments and services, implement accommodations through individual education plans (IEPs) or 504 Plans, and establish supportive and nurturing environments for twice-exceptional learners (Foley-Nicpon, Assouline, & Colangelo, 2013; Reis et al., 2014). A comprehensive support system for twice-exceptional children should consider influences from interlocking environmental contexts: the chronosystem (environmental events and transitions), macrosystem (cultural context), and microsystem (family, school, neighborhood, etc.), as well as the links and interconnections between these systems (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2015). This systems-level approach, grounded in Bronfenbrenner's (1977) ecological system theory, has been applied to multiple contexts in addition to twice-exceptionality. For instance, the ecology of parenting model (Kotchick & Forehand, 2002) posits that parents constantly shape their parenting practices within their sociocultural contexts, including race, ethnicity, social class, and community, and culturally determined expectations may influence an individual's parenting behavior (Kotchick & Forehand, 2002). Recently, Mistry et al. (2016) proposed an ecological framework portraying Asian American child development that highlights salient contextual features, such as family immigration and social stratification. In light of these specific applications of the ecological model, we examined proximal and distal influences relevant to twice-exceptional children from Asian American families. We sought to examine parents' roles in their children's learning and development, and how parental meaning-making may interact with their broader familial and sociocultural contexts. Therefore, the primary purpose of the present study was to explore the lived experiences of Asian American parents of twice-exceptional children. This study is the first to consider Asian American cultural and contextual 758442G CQXXX10.

Special needs children: a parent’s support in the new normal teaching pedagogy and learning alternative modality

“…It provides recognition to parents on their efforts and challenges. It develops and provides a resilient style of parents' advocacy and persistence to navigate the learning process (Park et al, 2018).…”

Inclusão educacional: estudo de caso de um aluno com dupla excepcionalidade

“…De maneira geral, as investigações abordam a questão da dupla condição envolvendo a superdotação em conjunto com outras subpopulações especiais, ou seja, transtornos comportamentais e emocionais, transtorno de déficit de atenção e hiperatividade, dificuldades visuais e auditivas, dificuldades de aprendizagem, transtorno do espectro autista, transtorno de Asperger (Arizaga et al, 2016;Besnoy et al, 2015;Foley--Nicpon et al, 2013;Ng et al, 2016;Park et al, 2018;Rubenstein et al, 2015;Willard-Holt et al, 2013).…”

High ability students with coexisting disabilities: Implications for school psychological practice

“…Yet, there is limited to no research examining the multiple identities and educational experiences of twice‐exceptional youth from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. The sole study conducted thus far (Park, Foley‐Nicpon, Choate, & Bolenbaugh, 2018) was a qualitative investigation of 10 Asian American parents of twice‐exceptional children who were interviewed regarding learning about their child's identities, seeking educational resources, and constructing their parenting methods in relation to their sociocultural identities. Results suggested Asian American parents of twice‐exceptional youth reported similar struggles as parents in other studies (e.g., Besnoy et al 2015; Speirs Neumeister, Yssel, & Burney, 2013), such as disillusionment with the educational system, need for consistent advocacy, and cultivation of student resiliency, with added elements related to their cultural identity.…”

“…That is, a child with average reading scores will inevitably not perform in the lowest 20% of the class; however, if the same child also has a verbal score in the superior range, this may represent a strength, and the vulnerability in reading would not be identified by looking at reading performance alone. Know that symptoms corresponding with a twice‐exceptional student's diagnosis may manifest differently than for other students with the same diagnosis. Offer, and/or seek, professional development opportunities to better understand twice‐exceptionality. Numerous qualitative studies (e.g., Park et al, 2018; Rubenstein et al, 2015) have identified parents' continuous need to advocate due to educators not understanding twice‐exceptionality or focusing solely on their child's disability. Knowledge of twice‐exceptionality, both in and out of gifted education, is important to identify and provide twice‐exceptional students requisite educational and occupational opportunities. Note variability in psychosocial factors, such as motivation or educational engagement (Beckmann & Minnaert, 2018), may represent an undiagnosed twice‐exceptionality.…”

“…Offer, and/or seek, professional development opportunities to better understand twice‐exceptionality. Numerous qualitative studies (e.g., Park et al, 2018; Rubenstein et al, 2015) have identified parents' continuous need to advocate due to educators not understanding twice‐exceptionality or focusing solely on their child's disability. Knowledge of twice‐exceptionality, both in and out of gifted education, is important to identify and provide twice‐exceptional students requisite educational and occupational opportunities.…”