Children with high abilities and learning difficulties

At Fontenebro International School, we understand that each student is unique and deserves educational attention tailored to his or her abilities. Some students present a little understood but increasingly recognized combination: they are children with high intellectual abilities who, at the same time, face learning difficulties. This combination is known as double exceptionality, and poses significant challenges for both families and schools.

At our center, we have a high ability program in Madrid specifically designed to respond to these complex profiles. Our mission is to provide an environment where these students can not only develop their intellectual potential, but also overcome the barriers that impede their comprehensive progress.

What learning problems do children with high abilities have?

Although it may seem contradictory, many children with high abilities may have problems in their learning process. These may manifest themselves in subtle ways, going unnoticed in the classroom, or they may generate significant frustrations.

When a child with high abilities presents any of these disorders, their cognitive abilities can mask the problem. This means that they often do not receive the necessary support, since their good results in some areas hide their real difficulties in others.

Some of the most common specific difficulties are as follows.

Difficulty in learning

Despite their high potential, students with dual exceptionalities may have difficulty acquiring knowledge in a conventional way. The rigidity of the educational system, focused on homogeneous teaching models, can be an obstacle for these students.

Many of them get bored in class, not because they cannot learn, but because they need different, faster or deeper methods. When the content is not adapted to their intellectual level or interests, they become disengaged, lose motivation or even develop school anxiety. Others, when faced with real difficulties in a subject, feel great frustration because they do not understand why they cannot perform as well as in other areas where they excel.

Poor organization and/or perfectionism

A characteristic aspect of many students with high abilities and learning difficulties is their struggle with personal organization and time management. Their minds may be full of ideas, but they struggle to structure, prioritize or execute them efficiently. This affects their academic performance, despite their intellectual capacity.

On the other hand, extreme perfectionism is common in these children. They tend to have very high standards and feel deeply dissatisfied if they do not meet them. This may lead them to avoid tasks for fear of failure, to postpone deliveries or even to not finish them because they do not consider them “good enough”.

Hypersensitivity

Children with high abilities often have emotional, sensory and social hyper-sensitivity. This characteristic can make them more empathetic, creative and aware of their environment, but also more vulnerable to frustration, anxiety or isolation.

They may feel misunderstood by their peers, have difficulty relating to children their own age or react intensely to criticism, change or injustice. This high sensitivity requires a safe, supportive and flexible environment that values their emotionality as much as their intellect.

Needs of students with dual exceptionalities

Students with dual exceptionalities need a personalized education that allows them to advance at their intellectual pace, while receiving support to overcome their learning difficulties.

Some of their main needs are:

• Comprehensive psycho-pedagogical evaluations that recognize both talent
• and difficulties.
• Enriched curricular adaptations, not just support.
• Emotional support and psychological counseling.
• Flexibility in teaching methodologies.
• Mentoring and talent development programs.
• Spaces for creativity, reflection and personal expression.

At Fontenebro International School, we address these needs in a comprehensive manner and with the support of a specialized teaching team.

How to identify a high ability student

Recognizing a student with high abilities is not always easy, especially when learning difficulties coexist. However, there are signs that can guide parents and educators:

• He shows intense curiosity and learns quickly in areas of his interest.
• Has an advanced vocabulary for his age and abstract reasoning skills.
• Bores easily with repetitive or unchallenging tasks.
• Has intense and specific interests, sometimes unusual for his or her age.
• Is creative, comes up with original solutions or thinks very creatively.
• May show behavioral problems due to frustration or boredom.
• Has difficulty adapting socially or prefers the company of adults.
• Has an irregular performance: brilliant in some subjects, low in others.

At Fontenebro we carry out an early detection of these profiles through internal evaluations and joint work with counselors, psychologists and families. Our goal is to accompany each student in his or her path with an appropriate educational response.

Fontenebro International School, school of high abilities in Madrid

Fontenebro International School is a reference school for high ability students in Madrid. Our high ability program in Madrid is based on respect for cognitive and emotional diversity, and on the firm conviction that each student deserves an education adapted to his or her needs and talents. That is why we have a complete program, oriented both to enhance talent and to accompany in an individualized way those students who present complex profiles, such as double exceptionality.

At our center, we design personalized learning pathways that allow each student to progress according to his or her own pace, interests and cognitive style. We move away from standardized models to create a flexible learning environment that adapts to the learner rather than forcing the learner to adapt to the system.