Characteristics and development of male adolescent students who are gifted, gifted twice-exceptional, or attention defecit :a mixed-methods study /by John Keith Montgomery.

When Congress approved the Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in November of 2004, IDEA acknowledged the needs of twice-exceptional children for the first time. Gifted students with disabling conditions remain a major group of underserved and under stimulated youth (Cline, 1999).;There are many obstacles to the identification of G/T learning disabled students. The first barrier to identifying gifted students who are learning disabled is that many of them are able to maintain achievement at or near grade level. Gifted students who are learning disabled may be particularly difficult to identify because their disabilities often mask their abilities. Conversely, they may have developed certain abilities to an exceptionally high degree in order to disguise or cover up their disabilities. Consequently, both the gifted and talented and the disabilities of such students may go unrecognized.;This study explored the personal, behavioral, and academic development of nine male students with giftedness, and combined twice-exceptional characteristics and giftedness, and ADHD. Data was gathered from three different sources--teachers, parents, and the students themselves. The problem addressed by this study was the impact of twice-exceptional development on self-concept, learning and motivational characteristics of boys who were gifted, gifted with asynchronous development, and boys with Attention Deficit Disorder.;The major research questions were addressed through qualitative design in order to explore the participants' lived experience. Twice-exceptional development was explored using interviews at the research site. The mixed-method research design was used to help us understand twice-exceptional development by converging both quantitative and qualitative data.;One of the main themes emerging from this study was that the daily individual experience of every student is a function of many interacting components. Disabilities and handicapping conditions do impact and play a part in the daily lived experience of adolescent males.;Recommendations are made for additional training and professional development to help educators understand the impact of clinically diagnosed conditions which are sometimes not visible, but can manifest themselves in the student's daily experience. Gifted students with disabilities and handicapping conditions are at risk because their giftedness can often mask their disability.Thesis (Ph. D., Education)--University of Idaho, May 2007