Twice-Exceptional Gifted Students

1. Twice-Exceptional Gifted Students Sarah O’Brien

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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)

6. 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)

7. Dual Emphasis- Gifted Chapman & Kispert (2009)

8. Dual Emphasis- Disability Chapman & Kispert (2009)

9. 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

10. 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

11. Teacher Support • Encourage compensation strategies • Organizersor 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

12. 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

13. What Does a Twice-Exceptional Gifted Person Look Like?

14. 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.