A Survey of Procedures Used for Identifying Gifted Learning Disabled Children

Since the early 1970s, concern for children who are both gifted and handicapped has risen dramatically. Books written about this emerging field deal with identification and programmatic concerns (e.g., Fox, Brody, and Tobin, 1983) and also with case studies illustrating the ways in which the two conditions may coexist (Whitmore and Maker, 1985). This research focuses on the problems involved in identifying the child who is both gifted and learning disabled (GLD). The state of the art is demonstrated by surveying procedures in use in Texas by special education and gifted programs. Results from the survey yield characteristics of GLD children that are consistent with observations in the litetature.