 The Twice Exceptional Learner A Brief Introduction for Parents

What Twice Exceptional Means  Generally speaking, twice-exceptional (2e) learners meet the criteria for both giftedness as well as learning disabled.*  Some 2e students will be identified as gifted only  Some 2e students will be identified as learning disabled only  Some 2e students will not have been identified for either because the cognitive abilities from their giftedness mask their disability, resulting in the appearance of an average learner

Characteristics of Twice Exceptional Learners* Indicators of Ability  Interest ranges beyond school  High levels of problem solving or reasoning skills  Unusual imagination  Superior vocabulary  Bizarre sense of humor  Creative approaches to tasks to compensate Indicators of Challenge  Discrepant verbal and performance abilities: difficulty explaining or expressing ideas/feelings  Uneven academic skills: appear unmotivated, lack initiative, fail to complete assignments  Problems with long-term or short term memory  Lack organizational and study skills  Unable to control impulses  Poor social skills  Easily frustrated and have difficulties maintaining attention for extended time periods.

What is the Relevance to Me?  Because 2e students have the ability to mask their areas of challenge by compensating with their areas of strength, usually high cognitive ability and reasoning or problem-solving skills, they may have hidden the disability through the elementary years.  Middle school represents a shift in the educational process for students and areas of challenge may suddenly appear or seem to “get worse;” they can suddenly become underachievers.*  Early intervention is key in providing the specific and targeted supports for 2e students, including modifications or accommodations in the student’s IEP.  As parents, you know your child best and can provide an excellent source for advocacy and support

Areas of Challenge All twice exceptional students will qualify as gifted  Autism  ADHD/ADD  Physical Impairments: deaf, blind, or other physical/orthopedic disability  Emotional Disturbance; struggle with relationships, inappropriate behaviors  Specific Learning Disability: struggles with language; reading, written language, mathematical calculations, processing disorders-including executive functioning  Speech or Language Impairment  Traumatic Brain injury  There are more; see resources for details on how these can manifest.

What to do if a Disability is Suspected  Talk with your child; they can provide valuable information on the nature of the challenge and what they have done to compensate for it in the past.  Schedule a conference with teachers, especially through the counseling office at school; teachers can then begin to observe and document discrepant performance.  Check your child’s test results from the initial diagnostic report; 2e learners usually have large discrepancies between subtests indicating an area of challenge.  Use the resources with your child to find new strategies for learning; they may not have a disability but just need a new approach to learning.  Do not be afraid to pursue this! You are your child’s best and strongest advocate and you have rights under the law.

Information and Resources  Hoagies Gifted Education: Twice Exceptional Links  hoagiesgifted.org hoagiesgifted.org  Child Mind Institute: strategies for executive function skills; these include organization and task completion  executive function and organization strategies executive function and organization strategies  LDOnline: resources including descriptions and strategies for the variety of disorders that exist  topics topics

Additional Resources  New Mexico Special Education Department: includes links to federal law and parent and student rights.  Public Education Department Special Education Public Education Department Special Education  Wrights Law: devoted to parent advocacy for special education  Wrightslaw.com Wrightslaw.com  Special Education Advocacy: information for parents to advocate for all special education services including gifted and twice exceptional  specialeducationadvocacy.org specialeducationadvocacy.org

Bibliography  Beckley, D. (1998, Spring). Gifted and learning disabled: Twice exceptional students. Retrieved from  Davis, L. M. (2015). Special education advocacy. Retrieved from  Ehmke, R. (2012, August 20). Helping kids who struggle with executive functions. Retrieved from 20-helping-kids-executive-functions-organizationhttp:// 20-helping-kids-executive-functions-organization  Inspiretomorrw10. (2011, January 25). Twice exceptional. Retrieved from  K. C. (2015, July 8). Twice exceptional. Retrieved from  LDOnline. (2015). LD topics. Retrieved from  New Mexico Public Education Department. (2015). Special education bureau. Retrieved from  Nielsen, E. (1994). Characteristics of twice-exceptional children. In Idaho State Department of Education (Ed.), Twice-exceptional: Students with both gifts and challenges or disabilities (pp. 5-8). ID: Idaho State Department of Education.  Trail, B. A. (2011). Twice-exceptional gifted children: Understanding, teaching, and counseling gifted students. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press Inc.  Wright, P. W. D. and Wright, P. D. (2013, October 10). Special education advocacy. Retrieved from