Understanding and Supporting Gifted and Twice Exceptional Learners

Giftedness is characterized by asynchronous development, which means thatchildren develop unevenly in different domains. This can mean differences incognitive vs. motor skills vs. emotional development, or it can mean differences in e.g. math vs. language development. Where on the one hand gifted students may discuss the origins of the universe, on the other they may still hold their parent’s hand to cross the street. They may be able to calculate difficult equations but barely be able to write a complete sentence. Further, gifted students have advanced cognitive abilities, for example they may be able to reason well, have an extensive vocabulary or a wide range of interests, and often have an excellent memory. Moreover, gifted students have heightened intensity, often being very sensitive and easily hurt, but also compassionate and concerned with moral issues, fairness and justice. Taken together, these create inner experiences that are qualitatively different to the norm. They often have mature judgment for their age and are no stranger to questioning authority. Often having high energy, additionally, they can have a vivid imagination and be highly creative.

Risks

The uniqueness of the gifted leaves them vulnerable. Particularly in the context of school, they require modifications. Underachievement is prevalent among the gifted all over the world and can have serious implications for personal development, self-esteem, performance and more. When insufficiently challenged, gifted students often fail to develop good learning habits, because a lot of what they learn seems effortless. As they grow older, however, and school becomes more demanding, they find themselves insufficiently equipped to meet expectations. Furthermore, gifted students rarely feel successful, as a sense of accomplishment is dependent on their achievement actually having been challenging to them. Perfectionism is also frequently seen among the gifted, building on their keen sense of how something could be and not wanting to settle for less.

For the twice exceptional learner, these issues are exacerbated by their special learning needs, making them even more vulnerable. Going un(der)recognized in schools, they don’t receive all the support that they need. Apart from implications for academic achievement, this can also have deep implications for their long-term psychological well-being, their confidence, and their sense of self. Even if learning disabilities are recognized, the lack of attention for the gifted side seriously under-addresses the special needs of 2e learners. They suffer with inner confusion about their own abilities, being aware of their internal inconsistencies.

Inclusive School Support Systems

High Learning Potential or Twice Exceptional is the term used to describe those individuals who have one or more special educational needs or disabilities and who also have high learning potential (or high ability). This is a sub-section of the SEND community that does not always receive the attention it deserves and that can be easily misunderstood. Although in the past there has been less known about students who fell under this umbrella and in addition students who were identified as ‘gifted’ also had to deal with the elitist stigmatisation. There is much evidence in recent years that many children present areas of additional need learning needs which contain identified/unidentified special educational needs (SEN) alongside identified/unidentified High Learning Potential (HLP), as reflected in their educational experiences. Students who have high learning ability can often mask a learning difficulty and in contrast those who have been identified as having a learning difficulty can often have their high learning ability unrecognized because of a learning disability.