Gifted students with a coexisting disability: The twice exceptional

Abstract

The twice exceptional are students who have both high ability and a disability or disorder. The ability can be in any culturally-valued domain, including high intelligence, academics, the visual or performing arts, and athletics. The co-existing disability can be physical, medical, or psychological. There is a growing literature of scholarly opinion about twice exceptionality; however, there are few well-designed empirical investigations of gifted students with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders, conduct problems, or medical, physical or sensory disabilities. This article examines a few key issues about the twice exceptional student and then discusses what we know about the gifted students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and gifted students with learning disabilities. The article also provides a brief discussion on suicide and the gifted student.