I was a turtle. Slow and steady wins the race; we were told.

Other groups immersed themselves in grand stories about house-sized dogs; what would happen if you gave a mouse a cookie; and some kid's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

We turtles learned that "Spot can run."

By third grade, my classmates were reading wonderfully complex stories about far away lands from level "GG" in the SRA Reading Kit. I was reading about brushing my teeth in level "F."

After a time, I learned how to hide my learning difficulties. I was able to sneak my way into interesting, challenging classes and talk my way out of being discovered. I got caught once or twice. I failed honors English when the teacher finally discovered that I hadn't actually "read" anything he had assigned the entire year. I couldn't.

It took years to catch up, develop my skills as a reader and writer, and realize the potential I had.

The solution for me involved a handful of special teachers and professors, a committed mother with a background in special education, loads of superhero comic books, a membership to the science fiction book club, and a very large toolbox of coping skills that I developed over the years.

Computer spell checkers didn't hurt a bit.

Now, I watch my son learning to cope with many of the same challenges. Last April, he vomited just before taking the required statewide standardized achievement test. The struggle goes on.

More than a year ago, Rich Weinfeld approached me with the idea for a book about helping smart kids who face learning challenges. Rich and his coauthors (Linda Barnes-Robinson, Sue Jeweler, and Betty Roffman Shevitz) know that gifted kids with learning disabilities have powerful skills and abilities that can be tapped using the right approach. They wanted to write a book that showed others how to ensure the school success of these kids. I jumped at the idea of publishing the book.

I'm so proud to be able to announce that this month Prufrock Press will release Smart Kids With Learning Difficulties: Overcoming Obstacles and Realizing Potential. In this book, the authors offer practical advice for helping these kids succeed in school.

The book addresses such topics as:

• identifying gifted/learning-disabled students,
• planning and developing accommodations
• what works and doesn't work in the classroom,
• building supportive learning environments, and
• the roles and responsibilities of parents, students, and school personnel.

Recently, I asked one of my editors, Lacy Elwood, to interview the four authors of this book. At one point in the interview, Rich Weinfeld explains why he became involved with gifted kids with learning difficulties, "These were the kids who I felt had so much to offer, who had often experienced failure and frustration before coming to my classroom, and with whom I knew I could make a difference. My job was to make a difference for these kids who had so much potential but were falling by the wayside." Rich and his coauthors believe in these kids and have the tools to help them, tools that they share in Smart Kids With Learning Difficulties.

Read the entire interview with the authors. It offers a unique perspective on a group of educators committed to helping smart kids with learning challenges find success in school and life.

To this book's authors, from all of us turtles ... thank you.

This week, PBS' Merrow Report features an interesting podcast with gifted education expert, Penny Choice.

The The Merrow Report is a PBS series that looks at critical issues related to youth and learning. I think Penny Choice's interview offers a good description of some of the issues teachers and parents of gifted children are facing.

John Merrow begins his interview with the following introduction:

Everyone knows that cream rises to the top all by itself, but what about gifted kids? Do they excel by virtue of their gifts, or do they need special attention? ... Penny Choice, an expert in gifted education in Illinois, is upset because public school programs for the nation's estimated 3 million gifted children are disappearing. The multiple causes are shrinking budgets, shifting priorities and, some allege, the federal law known as "No Child Left Behind," which is causing educators to focus their attention on children who are falling behind.