Lois Letchford, Debunking Myths of the Twice Exceptional Child

28 Jul 2020 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:21

In this brief YouTube presentation, author and literacy specialist Lois Letchford challenges the first common myth about twice‑exceptional (2e) children: that standardized educational tests will reliably display their strengths. She explains that testing is often a costly, gate‑keeping industry that determines whether a child gains access to special services. Parents face hurdles in obtaining testing—deciding between public‑school versus private assessments and convincing schools to accept the results. Letchford notes that when test scores do not align with a child’s actual abilities, the system can deny needed support. She urges viewers to view test results critically, considering the child’s broader context and recognizing that tests may miss or misrepresent a 2e child’s strengths and weaknesses. The video concludes with a call to like and subscribe.

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Hello, I'm Lois Letchford, author of the book Reverse to Memoir and literacy problem solver, talking about debunking myths of the twice exceptional child. Myth number 1, that children will show strengths on a standardised educational test. Twice exceptional children do not fit normal, and yet we have to go through a process of Finding educational testing and saying they've got strengths and weaknesses to supposedly access correct support to help our child and help us all go through school. Us in particular, because the parents, it's really difficult when your child fails. Accessing the educational test in itself is a challenge. Does it get done through public school system or do we have to go privately? Will the school then accept the results? That educational test is a gate which can access or deny services to our children. What has to be known about this educational testing is that educational testing is huge business. Many millions of dollars are involved in it and it's there to deny or give access to our children. The problem is it works okay when the numbers come up correctly for your child. My child's numbers did not come up well. He showed no strengths. So the first myth is that children will show strengths in their testing. Testing has to be taken with an eye of what else is going on in this child's life. Particularly with twice exceptional children, the myth that they are going to perform as normal has to go. Take the test, look at it, and then look at it through a critical eye of how does this impact my child, because what are they testing? What are my child's strengths and weaknesses? What am I seeing as opposed to what are these tests seeing? So myth number 1, Test results will not always show a child's strengths and weaknesses. Thank you. Hit like, hit subscribe. Lois Letchford.