Examining The Issues of Twice-Exceptional Students

Students who are "twice-exceptional" are often misplaced and underserved. Specifically, students who are identified as gifted/talented and suffer from emotional/behavioral disorders, tend to be underserved by the G/T or special education programs independently (Morrison 2001).

Instruction for students who fall into both of the aforementioned categories tends to be driven by the child's need for behavior modifications in an effort to address the EBD and not the development of the intellect or creative potential. This approach leads to a "self-fulfilling" (Rizza 2003) situation and these students are said to become "dropouts" as a result (Morrison 2001).

For teachers who have students exhibiting giftedness accompanied by emotional or behavioral difficulties the situation seems bleak. How can educators serve the child appropriately both ways? Specifically, how does a teacher address the intellectual need of a student when most of the time is spent on behavior modifications? Many people feel that a child cannot have an EBD and be gifted at the same time (Rizza 2003). This is due to the fact that the two labels represent the opposite ends of the behavior spectrum (Shriner and Yesseldyke 1993).

Studies have been done relating to students identified as G/T and having EBD. Some of these studies are included in this review related to the characteristics, identification, placement/programming and instructional strategies.


The Paradox of Being Gifted with EBD