Twice-Exceptionality: Maximizing Academic & Psychosocial Success in Youth

Historically, the fields of special education and psychoeducational evaluation have focused on the needs of learners at either end of the disabled to gifted spectrum in large part due to how federal and state laws dictate eligibility for services. However, there are learners who simultaneously display gifted intellectual and/or creative capacity alongside a diagnosed disability or disorder. This population of learners has come to be defined as twice exceptional (“2e”). They present a unique set of identification and evaluation challenges, along with a distinct set of intervention needs. Health service psychologists are particularly positioned to recognize, evaluate, and advocate for the needs of 2e youth. An overview of the special education landscape of 2e learners is presented, and issues related to identification and evaluation are discussed.