What is Twice Exceptional and How Can I Help my 2e Child?

What is Twice Exceptional?

2e, Twice Exceptional and Twice Gifted are terms that, thankfully, are beginning to get more attention, and in turn, so are the children that fall under this "label". However, much is unclear in the definition of Giftedness, let alone Twice Exceptional, therefore it seems important to attempt to first define Twice Exceptional students, or at least share what other, more expert, advisers believe.

For example, Colorado law gives the definition of Twice Exceptional Students as those who :

"...are identified as gifted and talented in one or more areas of exceptionality (specific academics, general intellectual ability, creativity, leadership, visual, or performing arts); {and} ...{and have a } disability defined by Federal/State eligibility criteria: specific learning disability, significant identifiable emotional disability, physical disabilities, sensory disabilities, autism, or ADHD." (Colorado Dept. of Education 2009)

But is this definition particularly helpful? It is a legal definition created for the response to ADA mandates on fair and equal education.

The Council on Exceptional Children's definition seems to do a much better job, but is a bit more lengthy, stating,

"Gifted students with disabling conditions remain a major group of underserved and understimulated youth (Cline, 1999). The focus on accommodations for their disabilities may preclude the recognition and development of their cognitive abilities. It is not unexpected, then, to find a significant discrepancy between the measured academic potential of these students and their actual performance in the classroom (Whitmore & Maker, 1985). In order for these children to reach their potential, it is imperative that their intellectual strengths be recognized and nurtured, at the same time as their disability is accommodated appropriately.

Identification of giftedness in students who are disabled is problematic. The customary identification methods-standardized tests and observational checklists-are inadequate, without major modification. Standard lists of characteristics of gifted students may be inadequate for unmasking hidden potential in children who have disabilities. Children whose hearing is impaired, for example, cannot respond to oral directions, and they may also lack the vocabulary which reflects the complexity of their thoughts. Children whose speech or language is impaired cannot respond to tests requiring verbal responses. Children whose vision is impaired may be unable to respond to certain performance measures, and although their vocabulary may be quite advanced, they may not understand the full meaning of the words they use (e.g., color words). Children with learning disabilities may use high-level vocabulary in speaking but be unable to express themselves in writing, or vice versa. In addition, limited life experiences due to impaired mobility may artificially lower scores (Whitmore & Maker, 1985). Since the population of gifted/disabled students is difficult to locate, they seldom are included in standardized test norming groups, adding to the problems of comparison.

In addition, gifted children with disabilities often use their intelligence to try to circumvent the disability. This may cause both exceptionalities to appear less extreme: the disability may appear less severe because the child is using the intellect to cope, while the efforts expended in that area may hinder other expressions of giftedness." (Council on Exceptional Children, 2012) .

The best definition comes from Susan Baum, the Mother of Twice Exceptional, and an expert in all things 2e who states, "These bright children, discovered within the population of students who are identified as learning disabled, are often failing miserably in school.They are first noticed because of what they cannot do, rather than because of the talent they are demonstrating. This group of students is most at risk because of the implicit message that accompanies the LD categorization that there is something wrong with the student that must be fixed before anything else can happen. Parents and teachers alike become totally focused on the problem. Little attention, if any, is paid to the student's strengths and interests, other than to use them to remediate weaknesses.
Interestingly, these children often have high-level interests at home.

They may build fantastic structures with plastic bricks or start a local campaign to save the whales. The creative abilities, intellectual strength and passion they bring to their hobbies are clear indicators of their potential for giftedness (Renzulli, 1978). Because these students are bright and sensitive, they are more acutely aware of their difficulty in learning.Furthermore, they tend to generalize their feelings of academic failure to an overall sense of inadequacy. Over time, these pessimistic feelings over-shadow any positive feelings connected with what they accomplish on their own at home. Research has shown that this group of students is often rated by teachers as most disruptive at school. They are frequently found to be off task; they may act out, daydream, or complain of headaches and stomachaches; and they are easily frustrated and use their creative abilities to avoid tasks (Baum and Owen, 1988; Whitmore, 1980). Since school does not offer these bright youngsters much opportunity to polish and use their gifts, such results are not surprising. (Baum, 1990)


Twice exceptional children, in my belief are blocked students. They underachieve to their potential due to extraneous and internal factors that blur their true ability and cause them great stress. They are runners missing a shoe, painters with a brush missing a handle, and musicians with a hearing impairment, they do their best, but not what they could accomplish without these hurdles. Unlike the aforementioned examples, they unfortunately try to hide their deficits because they believe it is an embarrassment and stigma, which it sometimes can be. Unlike the painter who can go buy a new brush, they try hard as they can, but often fail, without having the tools or resources to truly know what they need, or the current emotional strength to advocate for it, this is our job and must be our commitment to do for them.

Keep advocating and never give up!


Matt Kelley
Chicago Gifted Services
www.cpsmagnet.com