Strategies for Supporting Students Who Are Twice-Exceptional Janet Josephson Charlton Wolfgang Rich Mehrenberg Millersville University of Pennsylvania

THE JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION APPRENTICESHIP, 7(2) Vol. 7(2) June 2018 Strategies for Supporting Students Who Are Twice-Exceptional Janet Josephson Charlton Wolfgang Rich Mehrenberg Millersville University of Pennsylvania Students with disabilities have There are stark differences between complex learning needs. It wasn’t until the 2e students and those students identified as 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with having solely a disability or gifts and talents. Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) that Students with disabilities are often federal attention was pointed towards recognized by their families and teachers students who are both gifted and have a when they are not showing the same disability. This concept, known as twice- academic, social, or developmental exceptionality, is a difficult concept to fully characteristics as same-age peers. In the comprehend as the characteristics of these educational setting, teachers often target students can be complicated. Reis, Baum, the areas of development that need and Burke (2014) define twice-exceptional support when working with students with (2e) students as those who have disabilities. Students with gifts and talents simultaneous characteristics of a gifted often stand out to their families and student and a student with a disability. In teachers in other ways; they display order to earn the 2e label, students must be strengths, talents, or interests that identified as having high aptitude as well as differentiate them from same-age peers. a disability as classified by their state of Teachers of students with gifts and talents residence. Although research on 2e may work to create advanced programming students has increased within the last three that appropriately challenges them. decades, the needs of these students are According to Baum and Owen (2004), what not necessarily being met in schools complicates the identification and progress (National Association for Gifted Children, of 2e students is the fact that their 2013). There is still limited consensus on characteristics often mask each other; their the needs and characteristics of these disability can mask their gifts and talents, or students as well as a lack of understanding their gifts can mask their disability. of the most effective strategies for teaching Furthermore, because of the variation of them (Reis et al., 2014). characteristics among defined disabilities, it is challenging to describe specific THE JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION APPRENTICESHIP, 7(2) characteristics of 2e students (Barnard- or a diagnosis of a disability (Baum & Owen, Brak, Johnsen, Hannig, & Wei, 2015). In the 2004). educational setting, teachers may In this article, we will identify five experience difficulties meeting the needs of evidence-based strategies that teachers 2e students while simultaneously should consider when supporting and addressing their remarkable strengths instructing 2e students in the elementary, because these students don’t meet the middle, and secondary grades. We traditional definitions of their dual recognize that there are a multitude of exceptionalities (Reis et al., 2014). strategies available to teachers of 2e According to the National Center for students, but here we present those that Education Statistics, an estimated 3,189,000 can be most immediately implemented in American school-age students were teachers’ classrooms. After a brief enrolled in programs for gifted students explanation of each strategy, examples of during the 2011-2012 academic year specific classroom applications of these (Snyder, de Brey, & Dillow, 2016). It is ideas will be shared. See Table 1 for an estimated that between 180,000 (Davis & overview of the application of these Rimm, 2003) and 360,000 (National strategies. Education Association, 2006) of those Understand the difference between students are identified as 2e. Barnard-Brak students who are 2e and those who are et al., (2015) estimate that 9.1% of students gifted underachievers without disabilities. with identified disabilities may be When 2e students are not achieving to academically advanced or gifted. Because expectations, they may be misidentified as these students display significant strengths gifted underachievers. They may present and varied challenges simultaneously, it can some of the same behaviors and outcomes be difficult to see how they fit the as 2e students, such as an inability to stay characteristics of being gifted or having a organized or unexplained differences disability. Existing research on these between test scores and classroom students has indicated difficulties in performance. However, the underlying identification of 2e students due to a lack of causes are different and the interventions uniform evaluation practices (e.g., and approaches, therefore, must be Wormald, Rogers, & Vialle, 2015), teachers’ different as well (Reis & Ruban, 2005). A expectations of students based on disability comprehensive evaluation is necessary to label (e.g., Missett, Azano, Callahan, & determine whether a student is Landrum, 2016), and general lack of underachieving or has a comorbid disability. knowledge of effective practices to engage A multidimensional approach to identifying these students (e.g., Winebrenner, 2003). twice-exceptionality should include Reis et al. (2014) reported in a number of psychometric assessments, behavioral studies that teachers were reluctant to checklists, portfolio reviews, and interviews provide appropriately challenging (Reis et al., 2014). A combination of formal opportunities for students because of their and informal measures is useful in dual diagnoses. Students who are twice- determining if a student is a 2e student or a exceptional are often served according to gifted student who is underachieving. their first diagnosis; be it a gifted diagnosis THE JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION APPRENTICESHIP, 7(2) Table 1 Strategies to Support 2e Students in Educational Settings Strategy Application in educational settings Emphasize the strengths of 2e students first Provide opportunities for student choice; allow the student multiple ways to respond to new content Address the needs of 2e students Explicitly link new content to previous learning; teach organizational skills Support the social-emotional needs of 2e Allow additional time for task completion to students alleviate anxiety; help 2e students develop self-advocacy; teach stress management techniques Recognize the difference between 2e After assessment data and other evidence is students and gifted underachievers gathered, consider if the student is 2e or a gifted underachiever; provide the appropriate support(s) including counseling support, learning support, and/or gifted support Collaborate and communicate to provide Invite gifted support personnel and disability optimal support of 2e students support personnel to plan meetings; create a balance of activities that will offer both challenge and remediation Sources: (King, 2005; Willard-Holt, Weber, Morrison, & Horgan, 2013) Contrasted with the characteristics of control, perfectionism, lack of goal- listed in Table 2, one characteristic more directed behavior, poor coping skills, poor commonly associated with under- self-regulation, and heightened defense achievement is a dependent style of mechanisms (Peterson, 2006). Some of the learning in which the student prefers that aforementioned characteristics are also the teacher provide the information in a associated characteristics of students with structured lecture-like format. Other disabilities. Because these characteristics characteristics include alienation, can present themselves in both withdrawal, distrust, pessimism, anxiety, underachieving gifted students and 2e impulsivity, inattention, hyperactivity, students, it is critical that professional distractibility, aggression, hostility, educators take a multidimensional resentment, passive-aggression, social approach to determine if there is the immaturity, fear of failure, negative presence of a disability or not. Students attitudes toward school, antisocial presenting these traits and characteristics attitudes, fear of success, an external locus THE JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION APPRENTICESHIP, 7(2) will benefit from working with school goals, can have problematic influences on counselors and other trained personnel. their academic achievement (e.g., Lovecky, Provide instruction that capitalizes 2004). on the student’s strengths first. It may One way that educators can seem counterintuitive to address the capitalize on the strengths of 2e students in strengths of 2e students before their needs. their classrooms is to teach the way that Don’t be mistaken – it is important to students learn (Winebrenner, 2003). If, for balance our attention to the strengths and example, a 2e student learns best when needs of 2e students so that their individual permitted to restate the new content, education needs are appropriately met. teachers can provide multiple opportunities Considering the strengths and interests of for student response. In actuality, students the student before addressing their areas learn best when content is represented in for remediation is a concept that has been multiple ways (UDL Center, 2014), and strongly supported in 2e research (e.g. King, teachers are encouraged to identify how 2005). Many researchers argue that talent they can implement this practice on a development is the most crucial component regular basis in their classrooms. of the education of 2e students (e.g. Reis et Another way that

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