Twice-Exceptionality: Parents’ Perspectives on 2e Identification.

Dare, Lynn; Nowicki, Elizabeth Agnes

Twice-exceptional students have high abilities and coexisting learning difficulties. Abilities and difficulties tend to mask each other, and these underidentified students often struggle in school and express their frustrations at home. However, few studies have examined how parents experience the identification of their children’s multiple exceptionalities. In this study, we used purposeful maximum variation sampling and interviewed parents of twice-exceptional children who were identified with attention issues, learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and emotional/behavioral disorder. We illustrate parents’ experiences through member-checked vignettes. The results show unique experiences as well as commonalities among parents of twice-exceptional students. We conclude that parents play a critical advocacy role for their twice-exceptional children, yet they need support to fulfill this role.

GIFTED children; LEARNING ability; BEHAVIOR disorders in children; INTELLECT; STATISTICAL sampling

Roeper Review, 2015, Vol 37, Issue 4, p208

0278-3193

Academic Journal

10.1080/02783193.2015.1077911