Educating Twice-Exceptional Students

by Lyn Newton | More from this Blogger

07 Jul 2007 07:51 AM

Since the No Child Left Behind act five years ago, there has been much talk about various groups of children being "left behind". As society and as educators, we group children into categories by learning abilities, race, economical status, gender, and so on. We then examine the different groups and track to see which groups are succeeding or falling behind.

The latest group of children to be evaluated is a group that I never had really thought about. This group is the twice-exceptional students. They are high-ability children with learning disabilities or differences. These children are academically gifted but also have a learning disability. Even though I know that these students exist, I had never put much thought into their educational needs. The majority of learning disability children that I have encountered have been academically average or low.

A recent survey suggested that perhaps schools are not meeting the needs of these children. It is estimated that twice-exceptional children make up about 20 percent of all gifted students.

The majority of respondents in the survey were parents. Most of the children attended public schools. Only 50 percent of the responding parents answered that the school was striving to meet the needs of their child. When asked how the schools could improve, the answer seen the most was for the school to understand and acknowledge that a child can be both gifted and have a learning disorder.

The teachers in the survey were asked to identify if they felt their school was doing all it can for various groups of students. Regular education students received 95 percent of the teachers' confidence, while 83 percent went for special education students. Gifted students had 76 percent and twice-exceptional students only received 54 percent.

The survey helped determine that twice-exceptional students are in need of more attention. While special education teachers can address the learning disability, the programs are usually set-up for struggling learners. Therefore, twice-exceptional students may be in need of their own programs or services. There also needs to be an increase in awareness and training on how to deal with this group of students.

I can easily see how parents, teachers, and schools could fail to meet the needs of these students. As a teacher, I am not educated on dealing with this group of students. They do not fall into a typical category that society has created. Therefore, we must look outside of the box to find a way to meet their needs.

Concerns of Public Education- Gifted Stduents

Reaching the Gifted Assessment

Gifted Programs

Learn more about Lyn Newton

Lyn is a kindergarten teacher and mommy to a girl and a boy. In her spare time, she enjoys informative and creative writing.

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Miriam Caldwell (8030) 07 Jul 2007 02:31 PM

I had a twice exceptional student in one of my classes when I was a teacher. It was difficult for him, because although he was extremely bright he had a hard time paying attention. The other children in the classroom (gifted class) would get frustrated because he was bouncing all over the place with ideas and energy. It is too easy to say that if the child is gifted, that he doesn't need an IEP or additional accommodations. The student's parents were great at working with the teachers and school to make sure his unique needs were being met.

Lyn Newton (3966) 07 Jul 2007 06:19 PM

I am glad that you had a good working relationship with the parents. I admire you for your work with him. I feel that it would be challenging.

Steffannie (5) 12 Nov 2007 12:37 PM

I found this study very interesting. The statistic that an estimated 20 percent of the gifted students are twice-exceptional children amazes me. It makes sense that students with high abilities and a learning disability might be overlooked, because their abilities stand out. It just makes me wonder what students could be capable of achieving if they had accommodations. A child with high-functioning autism (autistic savant) may fall under this category, but receive assistance and special education services because his or her disability is â€Å"noticeable.” It is scary to think of the amount of students who are not accommodated because their disabilities are less apparent. It is important to identify the individual needs of students in order for each child to have the best educational experience possible. I agree that there needs to be training to learn how to address the needs of twice-exceptional children.