Gifted with a learning disability

Internationally acclaimed author and speaker and educational psychologist Jane M. Healy, PhD focuses on the gifts and talents of children with learning disabilities and helps parents do the same, but offering advice and knowledge on what it means to be gifted with a learning disability.
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Gifted with a learning disability

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It seems strange that some gifted kids actually also have a learning disability, but it's more common than people generally realize. Learning disabilities actually have very little to do with intelligence. Many learning problems happen in really, really smart kids and this is doublely difficult for them because they know that they can do some things very quickly and get stuff faster than other kids but yet there they are in school stuck with a word they can't spell, stuck with a handwriting that nobody can read and the teacher is saying to them, if only you would try harder. You can do it if you would try harder. Well, if this child could try harder, trust me, he would. And usually these kids are giving us, maybe even 10 times more brain effort than your student who quickly masters these basics but this very smart child - and maybe he's dyslexic. Let's say he has a reading problem. Or maybe he's ADHD and he can't focus so well. This child has tremendous potential and this is why it's so important that we get in there, find out what's going on, and then use the right therapies to help.

Internationally acclaimed author and speaker and educational psychologist Jane M. Healy, PhD focuses on the gifts and talents of children with learning disabilities and helps parents do the same, but offering advice and knowledge on what it means to be gifted with a learning disability.

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Jane M. Healy, PhD

Educational Psychologist

Jane Healy is a teacher and educational psychologist who has worked with all ages from pre-school to graduate school.  Her major research interest has been in finding practical applications of current brain research for teachers and parents.  A graduate of Smith College, she holds a MA from John Carroll University, a PhD from Case Western Reserve University, and post-doctoral work in developmental neuropsychology.  She has served on the faculty of Cleveland State University. Her many years of experience include: parent, classroom teacher, reading/learning specialist, elementary administrator, and clinician.  She is recognized internationally as an author, lecturer, and consultant. She has received international media coverage, including Nightline, Good Morning America, the Today Show, CNN and NPR, for her ideas about the impact of technology, media and culture on children's brain development and learning.

Although Jane has received many honors, including being twice named the "Educator of the Year" by Delta Kappa Gamma, she claims that she and her husband have learned most of what they know from the process of raising three sons (and now their six grandchildren).

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