Twice-Exceptional (2e)

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Exceptional Children's Educational Act (ECEA) defines "Twice-exceptional" as:

A student who is:

(a) Identified as a gifted student pursuant to Section 12.01(16) of these Rules; and 12.01(30)(b)(1) Identified as a child with a disability pursuant to Section 4.02 of ECEA Rules; or
(b)  A qualified individual pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C.A. §794. [12.01(30)]

Twice-exceptional (2e) students are gifted students with disabilities.  The Twice-Exceptional Project is a collaboration between the Offices of Gifted Education and Special Education providing statewide professional learning around identification and support of twice-exceptional students.

 

Twice-exceptional students are difficult to identify and support because they possess the characteristics of gifted students and the characteristics of students with disabilities. Gifted characteristics may mask disabilities, or disabilities may mask gifted potential; either students’ strengths, disabilities, or both may not be identified.  This difficulty in identifying and supporting twice-exceptional students can put them at risk of having their academic or social-emotional needs misunderstood or go unnoticed. 

If you would like us to develop a specific 2e Professional Development for your setting, please fill out the 2e Cadre Request Form. 

We are excited to announce that we are in the process of updating our professional development course offerings. Once complete, they will be available asynchronously and on-demand. This strategic adjustment is being made to ensure adherence to accessibility compliance standards and to better serve our audience. Your understanding and patience are valued as we diligently strive to complete this monumental task. To be notified when our new asynchronous, on-demand Twice Exceptional Learner Series opens, add your email address using this form .

Examples of Twice Exceptional Learners 

2e learners are difficult to identify; often, exceptionalities can obscure one another. For example, a student can have significant strengths in math, yet that area of giftedness is overlooked because of the interventions for their identified dyslexia. Conversely, a student identified as gifted in visual arts can have their executive functioning needs go unnoticed. Finally, in other instances, neither a student's strengths nor challenge areas are recognized or identified, and the student appears average. 

Although all three students are 2e learners, they are not yet formally identified per the Exceptional Children’s Education Act (ECEA) rule. The first student has an identified disability (dyslexia) that is masking their giftedness (math), the second student has a gifted identification (visual arts) that is masking their disability (executive function), and the third student has not been identified as gifted or with a disability because each is masked by the other. 

Characteristics of Twice Exceptional Learners

Inconsistent academic performance is frequently part of a 2e learner's profile. As such, it can lead adults to inaccurately believe the 2e students are not putting forth adequate effort in school, resulting in these underserved learners being labeled lazy, disengaged, underachieving, or worse. In reality, disabilities (hidden or identified) can prevent 2e learners with advanced abilities from achieving their full potential.  

The part of the brain in children that processes and regulates emotion and memory tends to be overloaded in 2e learners. Because of this, 2e learners can have heightened sensory input, which often leads to the manifestation of anxiety and emotional dysregulation, further impacting them. Notably, many 2e learners are usually aware of their challenges, which can result in significant self-frustration, insecurity, a lack of motivation, and, as mentioned previously, inconsistent academic performance. Despite being aware of their challenges, many 2e learners require assistance in understanding the reasons for their challenges and in learning strategies to address them.

Sometimes, to manage school and life, maladaptive behaviors such as defiance, procrastination, perfectionism, or apathy develop as a way for 2e learners to compensate and cope. For some unidentified 2e students, a behavior plan becomes the primary strategy to support them. While behaviors are managed via a behavior plan, using it in isolation is inadequate, and a behavior plan could be unnecessary altogether when a 2e learners’ underlying disabilities or giftedness are recognized, identified, and addressed.   

Disabilities must be identified early so appropriate interventions and accommodations are implemented. Equally important is recognizing and identifying strengths and giftedness as early as possible so a strength-based approach to learning is incorporated.  

Identification of Twice Exceptional Learners

To be identified as a 2e learner as per the Exceptional Children’s Education Act (ECEA), a body of evidence is used to identify a student’s exceptionalities, including strengths identified through a gifted identification and challenge areas supported by an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 Plan. 

Colorado has 14 areas of gifted identification and 14 categories of disabilities that are eligible for special education. Additionally, impairments (e.g., executive function) substantially limiting one or more major life activities, such as learning, are protected by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Gifted, special education, and mental health practitioners are becoming more familiar with 2e learners and how to work together to identify and support them.

Plans to Support Twice Exceptional Learners

An Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) supports an identified gifted learner. An Individualized Education Program (IEP) supports a student who qualifies for Special Education. A 504 Plan supports an impairment protected by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Best Practices for Twice Exceptional Learners

The insights gained from identifying a 2e learner can be instrumental in creating an educational environment that empowers the 2e learner to harness, utilize, and realize their inherent capabilities. A strength-based approach can improve their engagement, agency, and self-confidence. Implementing best practices that foster an inclusive and supportive learning environment can increase educational outcomes for 2e learners. Some best practices for 2e learners are:

Build Relationships

Fundamental to the success of 2e learners is establishing trusting and solid relationships within an educational support team. The team can include teachers, service providers, support staff, families, the student, and, when applicable, outside resources such as coaches, clergy, therapists, or doctors. Strong and lasting relationships can be built by working together to create a safe environment that encourages risk-taking and inclusiveness. These are essential for effective programming and crucial to unlocking the full potential of a 2e student. When at least one educator understands the unique characteristics of and “gets” a 2e student, it can make all the difference for that student.

Incorporate a Strength-Based Approach

A strength-based approach for education is integral to achieve optimal learning outcomes. It emphasizes strengths and interests while incorporating opportunities that promote student choice. With a strength-based approach, students continue to develop and practice using their strengths daily. The strength-based approach allows individuals to see themselves at their best – the value they bring by just being themselves. They are encouraged to capitalize on their strengths rather than focus on negative characteristics. The strength-based approach can include a specific goal to develop the strengths and interests of a formally identified 2e student further through an ALP’s academic or talent goal. When a student has an IEP, the Present Level of Educational Performance section must document a student’s strengths.

Leverage Interventions, Accommodations, and Modifications

Selecting appropriate and applicable interventions, accommodations, and modifications for 2e learners is crucial. They can also be used to support an ECEA 2e identification.

Interventions add to learning. 

They are specific skill-building opportunities that are added to the school environment to help students make continuous growth. Interventions are equally important as developing strength areas in 2e students. To increase overall success,  interventions remediate areas of challenge or weakness. Many 2e learners can benefit from interventions such as linking new content to previously taught content and explicit instruction for developing and utilizing organizational skills, time management, goal setting, and a growth mindset. Other interventions are implemented based on the individual needs of the 2e student. Interventions can be documented in an ALP, IEP, or 504 Plan as applicable.

Accommodations adjust how learning happens. 

The adjustments are made to the school environment so students can access the same content and environment as their peers, Changes may include variations in time, format, setting, or presentation. For a 2e student, accommodations have the added benefit of ensuring they can access content in their area of interest, strength, and/or gifted identification. Frequently these are above grade level and with appropriate accommodations a 2e student is not held back due to an area of challenge or disability but rather effectively provided access to content, instruction, and assessments. The best practice is to customize the accommodations according to the specific needs of each 2e learner. Some examples of accommodations are extra time to complete assignments, untimed tests, audible books, voice-to-text, oral presentation instead of writing an essay,  pre-highlighted text, and copies of notes. Accommodations can be documented in an IEP or a 504 Plan as applicable.

Modifications adjust what is learned. 

The adjustments are made to the school environment that alter, increase, decrease, or reduce content, instruction, or assessment. Modifications for a 2e learner are more likely to address their areas of giftedness, strengths, or interests instead of areas of weakness by changing content, instruction, or assessment to meet their advanced needs. Modifications can also support a 2e student’s rapid learning rate which can be observed during interventions and grade level work. Some examples of modifications are allowing students to move through interventions and/or content at a faster pace, complete every other problem to demonstrate mastery, and provide content level acceleration (e.g., a 5th grader takes pre-algebra). Modifications for 2e students can be paired with accommodations for increased educational outcomes. Modifications can be documented in an ALP, IEP, or 504 Plan as applicable.

Nurture Affective Development

It is necessary to nurture the affective development of 2e learners. Gifted and 2e learners develop academically, emotionally, and physically at different rates. For example, during recess, a first-grade student takes the lead in coordinating the entire school to run around the perimeter of the playground, during class completes most work quickly when it is interesting to them, and in the cafeteria ‘melts down’ when the main course item runs out and they have to eat something they don’t want.  Explicit instruction that teaches effective stress management, executive functioning, and self-advocacy skills contributes to overall well-being. Additionally, instruction for establishing and maintaining meaningful social connections (i.e., friendships) is vital. With instruction, 2e learners can cultivate and refine all of these essential life skills and more, which will better prepare them to navigate their personal and, eventually, professional lives with confidence and competence. An affective goal can be documented in an ALP, IEP, or 504 Plan as applicable.

When best practices are not implemented and the diverse academic and affective needs of 2e learners are not properly identified and addressed, 2e students are at risk of not achieving their full potential. Rather, they can develop an inaccurate, negative self-perception that can adversely impact their academic performance, mental health, and overall well-being. With an understanding of their unique profiles and individual assets paired with appropriate support, 2e learners will have what they require to meet their challenges, leverage their strengths, and ultimately achieve their dreams.

Exceptional Children’s Education Act (ECEA)

In Colorado, the Exceptional Children's Education Act, (ECEA) defines a 2e learner as one who is: 

• (a) Identified as a gifted student pursuant to Section 12.01(16) of these Rules; and 
• (b)(1) Identified as a child with a disability pursuant to Section 4.02 of ECEA Rules; or 
• (b)(2) A qualified individual pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C.A. §794. [12.01(30)].

CDE Gifted Identification Areas

In Colorado, there are 14 areas for gifted identification that fall within three categories. 

Specific Academic Aptitudes

Specific academic aptitude is exceptional capability or potential in an academic content area(s) (e.g., a strong knowledge base or the ability to ask insightful, pertinent questions within the discipline). All academic areas should be considered:

• Reading
• Writing
• Math
• Science
• Social studies
• World Languages

General Intellectual Ability 

General Intellectual Ability is exceptional capability or potential recognized through cognitive processes (e.g., memory, reasoning, rate of learning, spatial reasoning, ability to find and solve problems, ability to manipulate abstract ideas and make connections).

Specific Talent Aptitudes

Specific Talent Aptitudes for children who show exceptional capabilities or potential in talent areas (e.g., art, drama, music, dance, body awareness, coordination, and physical skills).

• Dance
• Music
• Performing Arts (theater, speech and debate)
• Visual Arts
• Psychomotor
• Creative or productive thinking
  • Creative or productive thinking is exceptional capability or potential in mental processes (e.g., critical thinking, creative problem solving, humor, independent/original thinking, and/or products).
• Leadership
  • Leadership is the exceptional capability or potential to influence and empower people (e.g., social perceptiveness, visionary ability, communication skills, problem-solving, inter-and intra-personal skills, and a sense of responsibility).

CDE Special Education Disability Categories

In Colorado, there are 14 special education disability categories.

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
  • A child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a child with a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and non-verbal social communication and social interaction, generally evidenced by the age of three. Other characteristics often associated with ASD are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental changes or changes in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.
• Deaf-blindness
  • A child with deaf-blindness has concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that the child cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness.
• Developmental Delay
  • A child with a developmental delay shall be three through eight years of age and who is experiencing developmental delays in one or more of the following areas: physical, cognitive, communication, social or emotional, or adaptive, which prevents the child from receiving reasonable educational benefit from general education.
• Hearing Impairment, Including Deafness
  • A child with a hearing impairment, including Deafness shall have a deficiency in hearing sensitivity as demonstrated by an elevated threshold of auditory sensitivity to pure tones or speech where even with the help of amplification, the child is prevented from receiving reasonable educational benefit from general education.
• Infant/Toddler with a Disability
  • An Infant/Toddler with a Disability shall be a child from birth through two years of age meeting the definition and criteria described in 2.
• Intellectual Disability
  • A child with an Intellectual Disability shall have reduced general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the development period, which prevents the child from receiving reasonable educational benefit from general education.
• Multiple Disabilities
  • A child with Multiple Disabilities shall have two or more areas of significant impairment, one of which shall be an intellectual disability. The other areas of impairment include Orthopedic Impairment, Visual Impairment including Blindness, Hearing Impairment including Deafness, Speech or Language Impairment, Serious Emotional Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury, or Other Health Impaired. The combination of such impairments creates a unique condition that is evidenced through a multiplicity of severe educational needs that prevent the child from receiving reasonable educational benefit from general education.
• Orthopedic Impairment
  • A child with an Orthopedic Impairment has a severe neurological/muscular/skeletal abnormality that impedes mobility, which prevents the child from receiving reasonable educational benefit from general education.
• Other Health Impaired (OHI)​
  • Other Health Impaired (OHI) means having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment due to a chronic or acute health problem, including but not limited to asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, leukemia, kidney disease, sickle cell anemia or Tourette syndrome. 
  • These conditions alone do not qualify a child under the eligibility category of Other Health Impaired. There must be evidence of adverse educational impact because of the chronic or acute health problem that cannot be addressed by general education alone and, as such, requires specially designed instruction by a special educator.
• Serious Emotional Disability (SED)
  • A child with a Serious Emotional Disability shall have emotional or social functioning which prevents the child from receiving reasonable educational benefit from general education.  Students with serious emotional disabilities are diverse learners with needs in the areas of:
    • Social Skills Training (relationships, problem-solving, focusing, conflict resolution, self-advocating, building support systems)
    • Emotional regulation training (impulse control, anger management, anxiety, and depression management, coping with trauma, increasing frustration tolerance)
    • Behavioral supports (functional behavior assessments, behavior intervention plans, accommodations).
• Specific Learning Disability (SLD)​
  • Specific Learning Disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.  Specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; intellectual disability; serious emotional disability; cultural factors; environmental or economic disadvantage; or limited English proficiency.
• Speech Language Impairment (SLI)
  • For a student to be eligible for a Speech or Language Impairment, under the classification headings of articulation, fluency, voice, functional communication, or delayed language development, there must be evidence of dysfunction in one or more of the following criteria:
    • Receptive and expressive language (oral and written) difficulties including syntax (word order, word form, developmental level)
    • Semantics (vocabulary, concepts, and word finding)
    • Pragmatics (purposes and uses of language)
    • Auditory processing, including sensation (acuity), perception (discrimination, sequencing, analysis, and synthesis) association, auditory attention
    • Deficiency of structure and function of oral peripheral mechanism
    • Articulation including substitutions, omissions, distortions or additions of sound
    • SLI is most often addressed in schools by Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) and Speech-Language Pathology Assistants (SLPAs).
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
  • A child with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a child with an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, which impairment adversely affects the child’s ability to receive reasonable educational benefit from general education. A qualifying Traumatic Brain Injury is an open or closed head injury resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term “traumatic brain injury” under this rule does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
• Visual Impairment, Including Blindness
  • A child with a Visual Impairment, including Blindness, shall include a child with an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects the child's educational performance to the extent that the child cannot receive reasonable benefit from general education services alone and requires the need for specially designed instruction.  

Impairments* protected by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

*not an all-inclusive list

• ADHD
• Dyslexia
• Dysgraphia
• Autism
• Working Memory Challenges
• Processing Speed Deficits
• Executive Functioning Challenges
• Anxiety

References

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Baum, S. M., Schader, R. M., & Hébert, T. P. (2014).  Through a different lens: Reflecting on a strengths-based, talent-focused approach for twice-exceptional learners.  Gifted Child Quarterly, 58(4), 311–327. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986214547632

Balwin, L., Omdal, S. N., & Pereles, D. (2015).  Beyond stereotypes: Understanding, recognizing, and working with twice-exceptional learners.  TEACHING Exceptional Children,  47 (4), 216-225.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059915569361

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