Twice Exceptional Students: What Administrators Need to Know

Mark Schwingle, Gifted Education Consultant, DPI & Eva Shaw, Autism and Emotional Behavioral Disability Education Consultant

This article addresses key ideas related to students who are twice exceptional. It outlines what twice exceptionality is, an example of what a twice exceptional student is, what is at stake, and possible ways to respond to better serve the learning needs of these students.

Say you have been meeting with colleagues about a student who is puzzling you. The student receives special education services to meet the student's disability-related needs, but the student is also academically advanced in one or more subjects. What might be happening? Perhaps the student is twice exceptional, also known as 2e. Yes, 2e is another in a long line of education-related abbreviations, but it is also an important descriptor for students who have a disability of some kind while also needing gifted services.

Twice exceptionality is not well understood, so a definition is in order. Per the Association for the Gifted Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (2020), “[t]wice exceptional (2e) individuals evidence exceptional ability and disability, which results in a unique set of circumstances. Their exceptional ability may dominate, hiding their disability; their disability may dominate, hiding their exceptional ability; each may mask the other so that neither is recognized nor addressed” (CEC-TAG, accessed Sept. 2025). 

A concrete example of a 2e student may be useful. Let’s say you have a student identified under the disability category of autism or emotional behavioral disability but who is also highly advanced in mathematics. This student obviously needs to be academically challenged in mathematics. But that alone is not sufficient since the student may also demonstrate a significant need in the area of emotional regulation or executive functioning skills. Those needs are equally important and must be addressed as well.

What is at stake in these types of situations? Per the Davidson Institute, “[t]wice-exceptional students … are among the most under-identified and underserved population in schools” (5/31/2021, accessed April 2025). Even if identified as gifted or as a student with an IEP, "[s]ome practitioners still consider the terms deficit and giftedness to be incompatible” (Baum, Rizza, & Renzulli, 2006). Schultz (2012) found that educators of 2e students are often reluctant to allow them access to advanced-level programs. “Schultz further noted that even if 2e students are admitted to advanced classes, their teachers remained reluctant to implement appropriate accommodations to support their learning challenges despite these accommodations being explicitly stated in their Individual Education Plans (IEP) or 504 Plans” (in Reis et al, 2014, p. 217).

How should schools respond in these types of situations? Start by identifying students’ strengths. “One way to support 2e students is through a strength-based approach. This involves deeply understanding their unique blend of talents and challenges. Firstly, it’s essential to acknowledge that these students have heightened abilities alongside their learning differences. By recognizing and valuing their gifts, you can create an environment that allows them to thrive” (Davidson Institute, accessed September, 2025). 

Second, use the IEP process to its fullest advantage. The IEP is a legal document and has to be implemented as written. If, for example, the child is struggling with the social and emotional learning skill (SEL) of self-management but is exceptional in math, the IEP may target the SEL skills so this student can access the advanced level math instruction. Providing explicit instruction in those SEL skills is necessary so that the student can access the curriculum. While the IEP may not address the student's giftedness directly, the IEP process provides an opportunity for collaboration for all the IEP team, which includes parents, about the best way to support the child so they progress in all aspects of their learning needs.

We rightly worry about how a 2e student can mask in a way that makes their disability or giftedness opaque. Yet, if colleagues are not working collaboratively to determine needs and services, that may put the mask on more tightly and make disentangling and addressing the student’s learning needs even more difficult. Gaining a better understanding of twice exceptionality is the first step in removing the mask and better serving the learning needs of every student.

REFERENCES

Baum, Susan M., Mary G. Rizza, and Joseph S. Renzulli. "The Twice-Exceptional Student: A New Look at the Gifted-Underachiever." Gifted Child Quarterly 50, no. 1 (2006): 25-34. 

Davidson Institute. "Twice-Exceptional: Definition, Characteristics, & Identification." Davidson Gifted. Last modified May 24, 2019. 

Reis, Sally M., Susan M. Baum, and Edith Burke. “An Operational Definition of Twice-Exceptional Learners: Implications and Applications.” Gifted Child Quarterly 58, no. 3 (2014): 217–230.