Twice-Exceptional Gifted Students

Sarah O’Brien

What is a Twice Exceptional Gifted Student?

A student that is gifted and has one or multiple disabilities

Was not recognized until the 1970’s No federal definition to guide identification

Population is hindered because of stereotypes About 7% of the gifted population falls under

this category

Marland Definition of Giftedness Intellectual, specific academic, leadership,

creative and productive thinking, visual and performing arts, and psychomotor

Disabilities covered by IDEA Physical, language, speech, vision, intellectual,

emotional, and behavioral

Sub Groups

Student identified as gifted but not identified disability Seen as underachieving

Student identified as having a disability but not identified as gifted Strengths go unnoticed Lack of adequate assessment

Not recognized as having a disability or being gifted Cancel each other out

Strengths

Superior vocabulary Highly creative Resourceful Curious Imaginative Questioning Problem-solving ability

Sophisticated sense of humor

Wide range of interests Advanced ideas and

opinions Special talent of

consuming interests

Trail (2011)

Challenges

Easily Frustrated Stubborn Manipulative Opinionated Argumentative Sensitive to criticism Inconsistent academic

performance

Difficulty with written expression

Lack of organization Lack of study skills Difficulty with social

interactions

Trail (2011)

Dual Emphasis- Gifted

Strengths & Interests

Accommodation

Content Extensio

n

Affective Guidanc

e and Counseli

ng

Differentiated

Instruction

Higher Order

Thinking Skills

Acceleration

Chapman & Kispert (2009)

Dual Emphasis- Disability

Challenges and

Remediation, Accommodati

ons and Modifications

Specific Program

s/ Tutoring & SPED

Teach Compensat

ory Strategies

Affective Guidanc

e and Counseli

ng

Differentiated

Instruction

Small Group Direct

Instruction

Chapman & Kispert (2009)

Peer Relations

Twice Exceptional students may find it difficult to relate to a specific peer group because they fall in two categories

Bullying may occur from other gifted or non-gifted students

Family Support

Empower student to adapt to disability Do not rescue, this can lower self-esteem

Encourage positive outcomes Find ways to encourage strengths and areas

where student excel Work collaboratively with school

Interventions that can be carried out at home as well as at school

Teacher Support

Encourage compensation strategies Organizers or parallel assignment

Be aware of bullying Pair students with others of similar strengths

Know that academic inconsistency may be attributed to fear of failure

Be flexible and challenging to students

School Counselor Support

Address the class as a precaution to bullying Acknowledge parents’ concerns Stress that blame should not be placed Focus on academic, social, and emotional

well-being Advocate for the importance of child’s

emotional well-being

What Does a Twice-Exceptional Gifted Person

Look Like?

References Beckley, D. (1998). Gifted and learning disabled: twice exceptional

students. Neag Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development. Retrieved from http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/newsletter/spring98/sprng984.html

Chapman, P. & Kispert, W. (2009). Twice-exceptional students: gifted students with disabilities (2nd ed.). Denver, CO: Colorado

Department of Education.  

Davis, G. A., Rimm, S. B., & Siegle, D. (2011) Education of the gifted and talented (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Education Inc.

Trail, B. A. (2011). Twice-exceptional gifted children: understanding, teaching, and counseling gifted students. Waco, TX:

Prufrock Press Inc.