A unique developmental intervention program for twice-exceptional children: An action research

Gifted children may have various conditions such as behavioral problems, learning difficulties, attention deficit-hyperactivity, and sensory integration disorders. The concept of "twice exceptional" is used in the literature to describe children with dual diagnosis accompanying giftedness. Twice exceptional children are known to experience difficulties in social, emotional and academic terms. These three areas (social-emotional-academic) affect each other and cannot be handled independently of each other. For this reason, it is not possible to leave any of these areas out in an intervention for these children. The purpose of this research is to discover what kind of developmental assessments and interventions for 2e children, their families and teachers can be conducted. The theoretical basis of this study is formed by Erik Erikson's psychosocial development theory and Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration. It is aimed that children pass the developmental stage they are in according to Erikson in a healthy way. According to Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration, reaching the next developmental stage by experiencing the necessary disintegrations in a healthy way is aimed. The methodological framework of the study consists of developmental assessment and support studies and child-focused family interviews. Technical/Scientific/Collaborative Action Research, one of the action research designs, which is a qualitative research method, is used in this research. The data sources of the research include practitioner notes, interviews, observation forms, and document review. The sample of the study is determined by criterion sampling, one of the purposive sampling methods used in qualitative research. The theoretical sampling criterion is used to determine the sample size, due to the weak theoretical framework on twice-exceptional children and the lack of systematic practices. Based on the theoretical sampling criterion, the sample size of this study includes three children who meet the specified criteria. These three children, their mothers, fathers and teachers have participated in this study. At the developmental assessment stage of the research three children, their parents and teachers took place. The data analysed by the content analysis. The contents of the Intervention Program were determined in accordance with the results of the analysis. Expert opinion and approval have been obtained for the intervention program. At the second stage developmental intervention program was applied synchronously with data collaction and anlysis. The phases of the intervention program carried out with children and mothers consisted of 16 two-hour sessions (eight weeks) twice a week. Interactive teacher workshops were planned to be held in at least four sessions, once every two weeks, within an eight-week period, but they were not implemented due to the lack of voluntary participation of teachers. With this intervention plan, the development of twice-exceptional children, a neglected group in the education system, has been addressed and supported. Supporting twice exceptional children in accordance with their developmental profiles and priorities resulted in a decrease in behavioral problems, a decrease in tics, an increase in emotional expressions and an increase in academic achievement. The findings of this original intervention program prepared and applied is observed to be beneficial for profesionals, researchers, teachers, families and finally the children themselves. Key words: Twice-exceptional, dual exceptional, gifted and talented, developmental intervention, early intervention