In their research paper, Twice-Exceptionality: Parents’ Perspectives on 2e Identification, Lynn Dare and Elizabeth Agnes Nowicki of Western University in London, Ontario describe how they interviewed five parents of ‘twice-exceptional’ children. The children were identified with attention issues, learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and emotional/behavioral disorder in addition to having ‘high ability’. They ranged in age from 11 years to early 20s and included two girls and three boys.
The authors heard from parents that twice-exceptional children have such extreme strengths and weaknesses that schooling can be an exercise in frustration. Dare and Nowicki found that “from the parents’ perspective, having a child who is highly able yet experiences learning difficulties can be challenging, confusing, and frustrating. The parents in our study were strong advocates for their children, going outside the school system to find answers to the paradoxical experience of parenting a child who is both able and struggling.” The authors expressed “concerns about how less privileged families with twice-exceptional children can be supported.”
In their concluding thoughts, Dare and Nowicki pointed out that “students struggling with twice-exceptionality often remain unrecognized until higher grades and identification of exceptionalities may not occur until parents seek professional help.” Other studies have shown that twice-exceptional children often move “from grade to grade with their educational, social, and emotional needs unmet.” Even when both exceptionalities are identified, schools tend to focus on academic weaknesses rather than offering programs to develop students’ talents.
While twice-exceptional students yearn to be accepted by their peers, many feel socially isolated and experience high levels of stress. However, the authors said that parents in their study spoke about the positive outcomes that their children could achieve as they grew into adulthood, so they saw room for optimism.
Lynn Dare & Elizabeth Agnes Nowicki (2015) Twice-Exceptionality: Parents’ Perspectives on 2e Identification, Roeper Review, 37:4, 208-218, DOI: 10.1080/02783193.2015.1077911
