You may be surprised to learn that child can be both gifted and have a learning disability. This is not an obvious combination of strengths and weaknesses. However many people have written about this subject over the past 20 years or so. A whole field has grown up around what is often referred to as the “twice exceptional” student. These are children who are extremely smart in some ways, but have a great deal of difficulty in others. So for example your child might be a wiz at putting puzzles together, drawing, or building with Legos, but may have great difficulty learning how to read. Or your child might be an excellent reader, but may have difficulty getting thought onto paper (or into a computer). Perhaps your child is excellent at sports, is a superb musician, loves to learn, but just can’t sit still in a classroom and do class work or homework. These are often children who are gifted but have something that interferes with their ability to success in a school setting. Often they become discouraged and may begin to fall behind. Teachers and parents will then say that the child is not “working up to their potential.” The child will often complain that they are bored. Parents may complain the child is “lazy.” These are catchwords that raise red flags that a good evaluation is needed because these children often slip through the cracks. One exceptionality cancels out another; the giftedness masks the learning disability or the learning disability makes it so the giftedness is never looked for.
