Twice Exceptional

Although there is no formal, agreed-upon definition of twice exceptional, this term is commonly used to refer to children who have two seemingly contradictory sets of traits: those related to their high intellectual or artistic abilities, and those related to their limitations or deficits. Another term often applied to this group is gifted/learning disabled, although not all [Page 907]twice-exceptional children are formally diagnosed with learning disabilities. Those who are may have one or more diagnoses such as dyslexia, central auditory-processing disorder, visual-processing disorder, attention deficit disorder (with or without hyperactivity), Asperger's syndrome, obsessive/compulsive disorder, sensory-processing disorder, and Tourette's syndrome.

The exact number of twice-exceptional children is unknown. Estimates vary greatly, from 2 to 5 percent of all gifted children to as high as 20 percent. This ...