Beyond the controversy of the labels: Gifted/ADHD

This book describes qualitative research that was conducted in New Zealand for a Master of Education thesis. The study involved interviewing children who were formally identified and labelled, by external authorities, as Gifted and as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Their parents and a professional from a gifted education centre in New Zealand were also interviewed. The aim of the work was to move beyond the debate surrounding whether the two labels could coexist and rather focused on what information could be obtained that could help these children learn, including their preferred learning experiences and teaching strategies. Although not a focus of the study the research also addressed the children¿s social experiences and how this could affect their learning (e.g., their preference for working alone or in groups). Despite not wanting to generalise, I hope this research can help some children, their parents and teachers as there seems to be a dearth of research in this area.