SENGinar: Opportunities to Serve 2e Students’ Strengths through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

 The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), generally known for providing appropriate special education instruction for students with disabilities, also offers various opportunities for the strengths of twice-exceptional (2e) students to be recognized. In this session, a longtime special and gifted educator explains IDEA-provided opportunities for 2e strengths to be recognized in five phases of the special education process: child find, assessment, Individual Education Planning, instruction, and transition to postsecondary education and work.

The session supports parents who seek to have their children’s strengths recognized within a process that generally focuses on student challenges. 

About the Presenter: 

Terry Friedrichs, Ph. D., Ed. D., has assessed,   instructed, researched, and professionally and legislatively advocated for   gifted students with attentional, learning, emotional, and sensory   disabilities for 40 years. He has also done consulting with gifted high   school youth for 30 years as they strive to be of service to their   communities. Collin McEllistrem, a senior at Henry Sibley High School   (Mendota Heights, MN), taught at an elementary school in his district for   several months in 2019, inspiring and instructing his grade 1-3 art students.