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3.8.7 Bibliotherapy with Twice-Exceptional Learners: Using Picture Books to Address Affective Issues
Twice exceptional learners face a myriad of issues, both academic and affective. For educators to effectively address academic issues, they must also understand how to assist in the affective realm. While it is commonplace for teachers to meet the needs of their twice exceptional learners with academic content, they may feel less competent when it comes to issues related to social/peer interactions and emotional concerns. This presentation focuses on a strategy that educators can use in meeting the affective needs of their twice exceptional learners: bibliotherapy. In this session, participants will learn: (1) the theory and rationale for using developmental bibliotherapy; (2) how to develop a bibliotherapy lesson that addresses the three prescribed stages of bibliotherapy (identification, catharsis, and insight); and (3) how to use picture books which focus on specific themes or developmental challenges relevant to twice exceptional learners. Bibliotherapy is not simply a book talk, but a process that follows a strict set of stages. The stages are defined by questions asked by the discussion facilitator. Bibliotherapy can be used in the context of a small group or even an entire class and can provide a bridge for opening conversation and dialogue about issues which many young people struggle with, but most certainly the twice exceptional learner, including perfectionism, bullying, stress over feeling different, peer issues, and coping with learning, physical, or emotional problems. Developmental bibliotherapy is an attempt to help young people understand themselves and manage problems by providing literature relevant to their personal situations and developmental needs at appropriate times (Halsted, 2002; Hebert & Kent, 2000). Teachers using bibliotherapy believe that having students read stories and books with strong messages can influence their students’ thinking and behavior. Moreover, through guided discussions, selected readings can focus on specific needs of students and help them realize they are not alone. The focus of developmental bibliotherapy is on identifying twice exceptional students’ needs before they become problems and choosing appropriate literature to provide examples of how other people have dealt with similar problems. Picture books are especially useful as vehicles for communicating sophisticated themes with lower text difficulty levels. Access to book lists and bibliotherapy lessons for assisting twice exceptional learners as they struggle to make sense of social interactions, cope with personal differences, and problem solve ways to deal with conflicts will be provided.