DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET Not every child with challeng- ing behaviors is an exceptionally bright child, but many are. When a child in your classroom is behaving in ways that frustrate or puzzle you, consider the possibility that this is an exceptionally bright child who is simply not challenged enough by a standard preschool or pre-K cur- riculum. She may have already mas- tered the lesson you stayed up late last night to prepare so carefully. Or she may learn so quickly that she understands in five minutes the Exceptionally bright children sometimes prefer to use real materials rather than toys, concepts you intended to cover all and use them in unusual ways. week. Sometimes the exceptionally bright child in your class is not the big talker, the early reader, the puzzle master, or the little scientist. Sometimes the exceptionally bright child is the puzzling, quirky child who seems so hard to please. Twice-Exceptional Children The term “twice exceptional” is used in gifted education to describe children who are advanced academically or cognitively who have also been diagnosed with a disability or special need, such as attention deficit disorder (ADD) or Asperger’s syndrome (AS). The needs of twice-exceptional children are com- plex because each one has a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses. The process of identifying a child as twice exceptional when the child’s dis- ability is a learning disorder such as dyslexia often does not happen until a child enters the primary grades and begins to have significant problems with schoolwork. The identification as twice exceptional is more likely to happen in early childhood if the child’s disability is visible, such as with a physical disability or a disability that affects the child’s social interactions like autism. 12 | Chapter 1 COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL