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Gifted (or Gifted and Talented) Defined
Gifted students are those who have a very high level of proficiency in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, or in specific academic domains. Specific criteria for identifying gifted students vary from school district to school district. However, in all schools the goal of this classification is to provide gifted children with school activities that are challenging and correspond with their high ability levels.

Benefits of an Assessment for Giftedness

• Identify your child's specific strengths and range of abilities
• Ensure optimal educational programming that will adequately accommodate the needs of your exceptionally bright student
• Obtain useful information that will help your family better understand your child's specific abilities and level of giftedness.
• Receive helpful recommendations for use at home and school to assist in creating an appropriately stimulating academic environment that takes your child's social and emotional needs into consideration
• Obtain standardized assessment results for your child's school to use in determining admission into Gifted and Talented (GT) programs.

• Review of developmental, medical, behavioral, and family history
• Review of report cards, teacher feedback, and results from any previous standardized testing
• Assessment of cognitive abilities using comprehensive, standardized measures (including verbal and nonverbal abilities, working memory, and processing speed)
• Assessment of academic achievement in the areas of reading, writing, and math
• Review of any already completed work that may be indicative of your child's unique gifts or talents. This could include previously written work (e.g., poems, creative writing, etc.), artwork, and/or audio/video recordings of any musical or theatrical talents, etc.

Further evaluation in additional areas may also be necessary when suspected learning, emotional, behavioral, or attention problems are evident.

Twice-Exceptional (2e) Defined
A twice-exceptional individual is one who possesses an outstanding gift or talent in intellectual abilities, academics, music, or the arts and is capable of high performance, but who has a condition or disability (e.g., ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, Asperger’s Syndrome) that weakens his/her performance in another area or areas. Twice-exceptional individuals often have unique academic, emotional, and behavioral needs. A comprehensive psychological assessment can help to determine the specific strengths and weaknesses of these students and identify recommendations that help them capitalize on their strengths and overcome their challenges.

• Identify the most appropriate educational environment for your child that will address his or her level of giftedness as well as specific area(s) of disability
• Gain a better understanding of your child's unique intellectual, academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs
• Obtain useful strategies and recommended interventions tailored for your child based on his or her specific pattern of strengths and weaknesses
• Obtain educational program recommendations for GT program admission as well as special education/504 services and accommodations

ApaCenter Assessments for Identifying Twice-Exceptional (2e)
Students In addition to the above measures used in evaluations for giftedness, ApaCenter assessments for identifying twice-exceptional students also include:

• Clinical interviews · Standardized tests of visual and auditory attention
• A more in-depth look at achievement in areas of suspected difficulty (e.g., reading fluency in expected cases of hidden dyslexia)
• Standardized tests of memory and learning when needed
• Behavior checklists completed by parents, teachers, and student
• Psychological/projective measures as warranted