BERA Bites 15

EDUCATING FOR ALL

Investigating ‘twice-exceptionality’ in English secondary schools

YUNUS EMRE DEMIR ANADOLU UNIVERSITY, TÜRKIYE

‘Twice-exceptionality’ describes high-functioning individuals who also have a disability or learning difficulty that demands additional support. 1 Twice- exceptional (2E) students may display creativity or excel in one or more areas despite the ‘special’ educational needs or disabilities (such as moderate learning difficulties, ADHD, autism, and emotional- behavioural and physical disorders) that co-exist with their high potential (Reis et al., 2014). Additionally, savants displaying high performance in one area and having similar social problems to those experienced by other autistic individuals are mostly considered as 2E (Demir & Done, 2022).

Conceptualising studies of twice-exceptionality commenced in the US in 1981, and the term twice- exceptionality is gaining recognition and importance globally. In the UK, these individuals are also described as ‘dual/multiple exceptional’ (Yates & Boddison, 2020). The fact that giftedness is a concept that is not measurable and has no fixed description indicates that twice-exceptionality is a research topic that needs to be addressed and developed. Most studies about twice-exceptionality are descriptive and conducted in the United States and Australia, while research in Türkiye adopts the definition used in other European countries (such as Germany) and tends to focus on high-functioning students with ADHD or learning disability.

1 Original blog post, published 1 August 2022: https://www. bera.ac.uk/blog/investigating-twice-exceptionality-in-english- secondary-schools

BERA BITES 15 | EDUCATING FOR ALL

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