Twice exceptional people possess a unique set of talents and challenges that require thoughtful and informed support. By providing the right resources and encouragement, parents and educators can help these students flourish and achieve their full potential. Understanding twice exceptionality is the first step in unlocking the extraordinary capabilities of these remarkable children. This glossary was compiled through many resources and aims to provide a broad overview of the terms and definitions associated with twice exceptionality. 

504 Plan: A plan developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives accommodations that will ensure their academic success and access to the learning environment.

Accommodations: Adjustments made in how a student with a disability is taught or tested. Accommodations do not change the content of instruction.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): A civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability.

Annual Goals: Statements in the IEP that describe what a child with a disability can reasonably be expected to accomplish within a 12-month period.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A chronic condition marked by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and sometimes impulsivity.

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD): Challenges in processing auditory information, which can affect listening and comprehension skills.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior, and includes a range of symptoms and skills.

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP): A plan that includes positive strategies, program modifications, and supplementary aids to support students with behavior challenges in the educational environment.

Child Find: A legal requirement that schools identify children who have disabilities and need services.

Consent: Agreement by the parent(s) to the proposed special education services.

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM): A method teachers use to find out how students are progressing in basic academic areas such as math, reading, writing, and spelling.

Developmental asynchrony: Schools tend to use “grade-level norms” quite a lot. Unfortunately, norms are mathematical constructs, not people.  While they can be useful, they often fail in providing us with useful descriptions of the students who operate considerably above or below the norm. 2e students typically are asynchronous in their development, meaning that in one social, academic, intellectual, or creative area they may be developing ahead of their age peers, and in other areas they are developing more slowly, at their own natural rate. ​

Differentiated Instruction: An approach where teachers adjust their curriculum and instruction to maximize the learning of all students, including those with disabilities.

Disability: A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

Dual-differentiation: Curricular modifications that simultaneously take into account both a student’s advanced cognitive abilities  and learning challenges

Dyscalculia: A learning disability in math, which affects the ability to understand numbers and learn math facts.

Dysgraphia: A learning disability that affects writing, which entails difficulty with handwriting, spelling, and organizing ideas.

Dyslexia: A learning disorder characterized by difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words.

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD): A range of emotional and behavioral issues that can affect a child’s ability to learn and maintain relationships.

Evaluation: A process used to determine whether a child has a disability and the nature and extent of the special education services that the child needs.

Executive Functioning: Mental skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control, often a challenge for 2e individuals.

Extended School Year Services (ESY): Special education services that are provided beyond the normal school year.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): Educational services that are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge.

Giftedness: Exceptional intellectual or creative strengths that significantly exceed the norm for an individual’s age and experience levels.

Individualized Education Program (IEP): A plan or program developed to ensure that a child who has a disability receives specialized instruction and related services. A written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with the IDEA.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): A law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation.

Intellectual Disability: A disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills.

Learning Disabilities (LD): Neurologically-based processing problems that can interfere with learning basic skills such as reading, writing, or math, and can hinder higher-level skills such as organization, time planning, abstract reasoning, long or short-term memory, and attention.Least 

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): The setting that allows a child with a disability to be educated with non-disabled peers to the greatest extent appropriate.

Modification: A change in what a student is expected to learn and demonstrate.

Placement: The setting in which the special education service is delivered to the student.

Prior Written Notice: A written explanation of any proposed changes in a child’s educational program.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973: A federal law that protects the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.

Related Services: Transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.

Response to Intervention (RTI): A multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs.

Section 504: A part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination based upon disability.

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD): A condition where the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses.

Social and emotional profile: The SEP tends look at the conditions under which students are at their best. We want to understand what motivates engagement and what triggers unproductive behavior. We want to understand and develop student resilience, self regulation, and inter- and intra-personal awareness.

Special Education: Specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability.

Speech and Language Impairments: Disorders that affect a person’s ability to communicate effectively, including issues with fluency, articulation, and language processing.\

Twice Exceptional (2e): Individuals who exhibit both high intellectual or creative abilities and significant challenges due to one or more disabilities.

Visual Processing Disorder: Difficulty interpreting visual information, which can affect reading and comprehension.

Adjustable Seating: Allows students to change their seating position or work from different locations in the classroom.

Assistive Technology (AT): Any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities.

Behavioral Interventions: Specific strategies designed to encourage positive behavior and discourage negative behavior.

Calculator Use: Permission to use a calculator during math instruction and assessments.

Check-in/Check-out: A system where a student starts and ends the day checking in with a teacher or counselor to set goals and review progress.

Daily Planner: A tool provided to the student to help organize assignments and manage time effectively.

Extended Time: An accommodation that allows students with disabilities more time to complete assignments or tests.

Frequent Breaks: Permitting students to take short, supervised breaks to manage attention or stress.

Graphic Organizers: Visual tools that help students plan and organize their thoughts and assignments.

Homework Modifications: Adjusting the amount or type of homework to fit the student’s needs.

Instructional Accommodations: Changes in teaching methods, such as using multisensory approaches or providing step-by-step instructions.

Large Print Materials: Providing textbooks and worksheets in a larger font size for students with visual impairments.

Modification: A change in what a student is expected to learn and demonstrate, which may include changes in the instructional level, content, or performance criteria.

Modified Grading: Adjusting the way student work is assessed to accommodate their learning needs.

Note-Taking Assistance: Providing a student with notes from the teacher or a peer, or allowing the use of a recording device.

Oral Presentations: Allowing students to give oral presentations instead of written reports.

Preferential Seating: An accommodation that involves placing a student in a location in the classroom where they have an optimal opportunity to attend and respond to instruction.

Reading Aloud: Having text read to the student, either by a person or through the use of technology.

Reduced Homework or Classwork: Assigning fewer problems or exercises.

Scribe: An accommodation where a person writes or types what a student with disabilities dictates during an assessment or classroom activity.

Speech-to-Text Software: Technology that converts spoken language into written text.

Text-to-Speech (TTS): A type of assistive technology that reads digital text aloud, beneficial for students with reading difficulties.

Visual Schedules: A visual representation of the student’s daily activities to help with organization and transitions.