Twice Exceptional?

[Dinomom13]

Does anyone have a child that is both gifted and has learning problems? My daughter is 11, and excels in writing and math. She struggles with reading comprehension, however, so I read most things to her.

 

Daughter "hates" anything school-ish, but loves drawing, watching anime, and learning about Japan. Her birthday is next week, and she asked for me to find something to help her learn to speak and write Japanese. I've ordered her a couple workbooks for writing Japanese, and a computer program to help her learn to speak the language, as well as a couple books so she can learn more about the culture.

 

I'm trying to rekindle her love of learning that she lost over the years in public school. Does anyone have any ideas of things I could do with her that might be interesting to her but also educational? I'm hoping to use her obsession with anything related to Japanese culture as a catalyst.

 

I guess I should add - daughter had some serious health issues during her 4th and 5th grade school years, that have mostly resolved. I withdrew her in April, 2010, and started homeschool. She was absent 2-3 days per week during those grades, and was in a magnet school for "gifted and high-achieving" students, so she was constantly frustrated because after being absent, she'd be lost since the class would have covered new concepts. I wish I had withdrawn her sooner, but didn't even consider the option of homeschooling until things started to get way out of hand.

[Crimson Wife]

My youngest brother was an East Asian Studies major in college and spent a year in Tokyo. He has given my kids a wonderful book of Japanese folklore.

[Laughingmommy]

My daughter is enjoying Irasshai, http://www.gpb.org/irasshai. The videos are kind of goofy, and the tone is real casual. We love it! My daughter also loves watching anime in Japanese with English subtitles. Sure, they end up learning really.... interesting words.... but my daughter really did pick up some of the language.

 

I'm guessing she loves to draw manga? If not, she might like to look into it. My daughter had a lull in her interest in art until she started drawing manga starting a year ago. Recently, she started doing Artistic Pursuits, and I was really amazed what she could do. It's like the manga drawing did things to her brain so that even though she did no "real" art training, she took to "real" art right away.

 

My kids don't struggle with reading comprehension, though. However, I did. I'm an immigrant, so everyone assumed it was an issue with language. Nope. I coped well 'cause I'm really smart. But I never really figured out how to read "at my level" correctly. I remember doing 4th grade reading comprehension test things with my kids and not being able to figure out the answers. But here's the thing. I'm brilliant at reading. I almost have a good Ph.D. in literature. I discovered recently that I HAVE to read intense texts. Anything a little less challenging, and my brain just won't focus.

 

I have no idea if your daughter has that problem, or if her reading comprehension problems warrant some kind of intervention. Good luck finding the answers! :001_smile: