I must say up front that I have not read The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You’ve Been Told About Genetics, Talent, and IQ Is Wrong, by David Shenk. I’m only writing about the Talk of the Nation NPR show “Not Too Late To Tap Into ‘Genius In All Of Us‘” discussing it. [...]
My other child
Looking at all the back posts I noticed I have not really mentioned my other child — my daughter, who is about five years younger than my son. I was hoping, hoping so hard, she would be typical. But she isn’t… I should have known better. Yet, her challenges are different than those of my [...]
The IEP Process – Special Education Advice for Parents (Part I – The Beginning)
Learning about special education is a daunting journey. I’ve been doing it for over four years now and I’m still learning. I can barely remember the very beginning and how confusing it all was. That’s why when I read a call from Karen Nowicki (an integrative coach) for tips for parents with children on IEPs, [...]
Connection between levels of fetal testosterone and autistic traits
I wanted to title this post “Would you want to know if your child might be autistic?” but after reading in the Guardian Prof. Simon Baron-Cohen’s response article titled “Our research was not about prenatal screening for autism,” I have decided to give my post a different, more neutral title, and closer to the title [...]
Labeling kids
Way back in December a Washington Post article “Montgomery Erasing Gifted Label†caught my eye and I’ve been planning to write about that. (“Montgomery Erasing Gifted Label: Implications Concern Some School Parents†by Daniel de Vise, December 16, 2008) Of course this is old news by now, and covered widely by various blogs, including, naturally, [...]
Non-verbal Autism and Intelligence – some myths debunked
The idea that non-verbal autistics have low IQ in general and are unaware of their surroundings is a myth that has to be debunked. Consider Amanda Baggs, featured in the article “The Truth About Autism: Scientists Reconsider What They Think They Know†by David Wolman in the March 2008 issue of Wired Magazine. The 27-year-old [...]
IQ: A Smart History of A Failed Idea, by Stephen Murdoch
I have just finished reading IQ: A Smart History of a Failed Idea, by Stephen Murdoch, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. in June 2007. I first heard of this book on July 3, 2007 when I was listening to the interview with the author (New Book Raises Questions About IQ Test) on the [...]
Gifted and Talented (GT or GAT) 101: A (Basic) Definition
When people say someone is “talented” or “gifted” they usually mean that person has exceptional and highly developed abilities in arts or sport, music, singing, dancing, drawing or painting, running, jumping, pitching, and so on. The word “talented” in everyday language is rarely connected with someone’s intellectual abilities. In the world of education, though, the [...]
Personal Introduction
My son is twice exceptional — he is both academically gifted and special needs, or the other way around, depending on how you look at it. There are times when I’m amazed at his intellectual abilities. Even since he was little, he could always figure out very fast how toys are operated and what he [...]