Giftedness
The gifted child displays precocity. Early verbal fluency, excellent memory, a broad
knowledge base, and an absorbing interest are characteristics associated with gifted children
(Neihart, 2001). Early conceptions of giftedness were based on IQ scores, but over the past three
decades the concept of giftedness has evolved from one of a fixed, general intellectual aptitude to
a more broad view of malleable, multiple intelligences. Genetics creates gifted individuals that
are "at promise" for specific abilities, but the environment surrounding the child can either
accelerate or retard the development of that promise into talent (Gardner, 1983). In public
schools, a limited number of domains of giftedness are identified and developed. The Marland
(1972) definition of giftedness establishes the domains that schools are tasked with identifying
and developing: general academic, creativity, visual/performing, kinesthetic/psychomotor, and
leadership. However, Giftedness must be identified before it can be developed into talent.
Problems exist in the identification of giftedness in children caused by tacit cultural biases and a
lack of ability of teachers to identify characteristics of giftedness. Identification of giftedness is
also problematic due to over-reliance on IQ testing and associated test validity issues and teacher
beliefs about characteristics of gifted children that limit identification of students to elite groups
of well-behaved, easy-to-teach children. As a result of these issues, many gifted children remain
unidentified and their talents languish. Of particular concern to this article is the finding that
when students are labeled with specific conditions or learning disabilitiy, such as ASD,
schooling is focused on improving deficits and neglects identification and development of talent.
Autism as culture
Culture is the "the body of learned beliefs, traditions, and guides for behavior that are
shared among members of any human society" (Barrett, 1984). Each culture has its own norms
that are a unique collection of traits. Culture is to a group of people what personality is to an
individual. Cultural traits originate in individuals, who create them to meet some need.
However, traits do not become elements of a culture until they are adopted by a large number of
the members of a group and passed on to future generations (Parks, 2003). Usually the term
culture is associated with racial, ethnic, or regional groups, however, recent research has
identified cultural traits of groups that are defined by other characteristics such as the condition
of not hearing. Can a group of people with a common condition constitute a culture?
Do people with ASD have a unique culture?
Some authors have compared Autistic culture to Deaf culture. Deaf with a captial d is
reserved for deaf culture, deaf with small d refers to the audiological condition of not hearing.
Like autistics, members from these groups are diverse in race and ethnicity. Nonetheless, it has
become widely accepted that there is a unique Deaf culture (Davidson, 2008; Dolnick, 1993).
The origins of the Deaf culture are largely psychosocial - Deaf people prefer to communicate and
congregate with their own kind. The Deaf have their own language and customs, but Deaf
culture does not have all of the elements of other more mainstream cultures such as distinct
dress, religious customs or cuisine. However, the language and customs of the Deaf are so
distinct from the hearing culture that they define Deaf culture. Customs related to eye-contact
and touching are unique to Deaf culture and are regarded as awkward or inappropriate in hearing
culture since staring and touching are necessary for Deaf communications but are frowned upon
in hearing culture. Deaf folklore is based on American Sign Language (ASL) which requires
much facial expression and body movement that are generally looked upon as strange in hearing
culture. Interestingly, Deaf schools serve as the medium to transmit Deaf culture since most Deaf
children have hearing parents. Although the Deaf may outwardly appear to be part of American
culture, once they start communicating the uniqueness of Deaf culture is apparent.
Similarly, autistics have unique learned and shared behaviors. For example, many
autistics have extreme sensory sensitivities and have developed coping behaviors to manage their
responses to the environment. These behaviors include rocking and hand-flapping, which seen as
valuable to autistics. However, to neurotypicals (NT), or those that do not have autism spectrum
disorder, these coping behaviors are viewed as highly undesirable (Bagatelle, 2010). The recent
surge in electronic communications via the internet has led to the formation of autistic social
groups, like the deaf, autistics prefer to communicate and congregate with their own kind. Many
autistics describe autism as an inseparable part of themselves; it defines them. The nature of
social interactions is defined differently in autistic culture. Proximity to others constitutes
socializing; conversation is not needed. Small talk and eye contact are not important in
communication. These cultural traits are typical of what NTs view as undesirable ASD behaviors
that should be extinguished. Looking at autism as a culture brings into question whether autism
is a disorder to be cured or just another way of living. It appears that the Internet is for Autistics
what American Sign Language is for the Deaf (Davidson, 2008).
Table – Elements of Deaf and Autistic Culture
Element
Deaf Culture
ASD Culture
Selfidentification
Language
Deaf
Autistic, Aspie or Autie
ASL – gesturing and facial
expressions
Completely nonverbal
communication
Sustained eye contact is necessary
Touching is necessary
Internet – text based communication
Problematic nonverbal communication
Cultural Norms
No value in eye contact
No value to small talk
The school setting
The twice-exceptional child lives in a dichotomic world. The concomitance of
remarkable cognitive skills and significant non-verbal communication deficits often leads to the
individual being misunderstood by teachers and peers. The psychosocial attributes of AS create
barriers to learning for students in a school filled with and managed by NTs. School is a social
setting where making friends and fitting in are a large part of children’s lives. Explicit
instruction is not necessary for NT children to learn societal expectations, but for the student
with AS nonverbal communication problems impede this process. The child with AS struggles
with the social cues that other students respond to due to a lack of comprehension of the tacit
rules of social etiquette. Many behaviors associated with AS are viewed negatively by NTs, and
this increases the difficulties experienced by an Autistic in the school setting. Social faux pas in
the NT world are nonsensical to the Autistic, yet social skills intervention training is conducted
by NTs as a way to help the student with ASD. A lifetime is spent manually overriding instincts
to attempt to conform to social rules that defy internal logic. Temple Grandin, a well-known
Autistic and scholar, has described this as feeling as if she was an anthropologist visiting an alien
culture. Individuals with AS will struggle with social interaction throughout their lives. The
differences between ASD and NT students create barriers to cooperative work and
communication in school. Students with HFA in mainstream schools where found to have fewer
friends, are less physically active, and are more likely to be bullied (Wainscot, Naylor, Sutcliffe,
Tantam, & Williams, 2008). Social interaction is difficult and can make students feel anxious
and lonely. Recent research showed that students with ASD are much more likely to
underachieve in school than their typically developing peers.
Talent development
Since social aspects are important factors in successful adult careers, these students need
to be guided into careers where weak social skills can be overcome by outstanding talent.
Individuals with AS often have an area of intense interest. Helping the student to find a domain
that involves that specific area of interest is key to talent development. Individuals with ASD
have historically been successful in mathematics, physics, engineering or computer science. The
realistic creativity required for success within these domains aligns well with the cognitive style
associated with AS.
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