Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity is an approach to learning and disability that argues diverse neurological conditions are result of normal variations in the human genome. This portmanteau of neurological and diversity originated in the late 1990s as a challenge to prevailing views of neurological diversity as inherently pathological, instead asserting that neurological differences should be recognized and respected as a social category on a par with gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability status.

Twice Exceptional

What’s not often well-known or well-understood is that students who are gifted may also have a special need or disability— just as students with disabilities may also be gifted. The term “twice-exceptional,” also referred to as “2e,” is used to describe gifted children who, have the characteristics of gifted students with the potential for high achievement and give evidence of one or more disabilities as defined by federal or state eligibility criteria. These disabilities may include specific learning disabilities (SpLD), speech and language disorders, emotional/behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, autism spectrum, or other impairments such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Evidence-based therapies

The push towards Evidence-Based Therapy is a movement in psychology that aims to track the efficacy of treatment plans, with the goal of providing clients with treatments that have solid evidence backing their effectiveness.

Two of the main goals behind evidence-based practice are:

1. increased quality of treatment and

2. increased accountability.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of scenarios in which one or more therapies have been shown to effectively treat psychological symptoms. The most commonly used are CBT, DBT, ACT, and Mindfulness-based approaches.