Double Exceptionality: What It Is And How It Affects Children
There are several children who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or dyslexia, among others, and at the same time have high intellectual abilities; being in this cases a double exceptionality.
Double exceptionality refers to those cases in which a child presents, along with high abilities, the diagnosis of some disorder, which requires an adaptation in the school context according to his or her abilities, so that he or she could develop his or her full potential.
However, it is difficult primarily because there are not enough studies on the matter and in many cases the double exceptionality is not diagnosed, but only one of the two exceptionalities is detected, with high abilities being in a minority.
In this article we will explore the concept of double exceptionality and some of the most common examples in which it usually occurs will also be discussed.
The double exceptionality is based on cases in which A child with a diagnosis (for example, ADHD) also has high intellectual abilitiesso when they occur together they promote greater complexity when making both diagnoses.
High intellectual abilities are a series of exceptional abilities that are performed in one or several areas of knowledge or also in one or several functions at a cognitive level that allow the individual who presents them to achieve high performance and also a high degree of motivation in the tasks they perform. These people with double exceptionality in the academic context are also known as “2e students”, being twice exceptional students.
Unfortunately, It is common that high intellectual abilities end up being overshadowed by other educational needs.whether due to ADHD, ASD or any other cause, this being one of the reasons why the detection of these cases is extremely difficult.
On the other hand, double exceptionality requires a greater number of in-depth investigations given its complexity so that instruments can be developed for its evaluation, detection and diagnosis with the greatest possible efficiency.
This double exceptionality occurs when a child who has high intellectual abilities has also been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
ADHD is quite common, so The cases in which a person has high intellectual abilities along with the diagnosis of ADHD could be the most common., within the double exceptionality. However, there are still few cases identified even though attention and research in this field has grown, although there are still not enough cases to have sufficient scientific support and so that they could be included in the manuals. official diagnoses.
On the other hand, in these cases of double exceptionality, since there is simultaneity, the high cognitive abilities could camouflage the attention deficit, as well as the opposite situation could occur in which the attention deficit prevents these from fully manifesting. high intellectual abilities.
In research carried out with cases of double exceptionality, in which high intellectual abilities and ADHD were present at the same time, it was observed thatThe students had a wide variety of interests, high creativity, great verbal fluency, and above-average verbal reasoning.; On the other hand, they also had traits of impulsivity, hyperactivity and attention deficit.
It should be noted that a series of characteristics were found in this type of double exceptionality cases:
Notably People with this double exceptionality could present academic performance below what they shouldgiven their high learning potential, as well as they could also have certain difficulties in the social sphere, so it would be important for them to integrate socially with their classmates at school.
On the other hand, there are a series of advantages that these children have compared to other children with ADHD, for whom it usually takes a lot of effort to concentrate on a task to be productive; while children with this double exceptionality are usually able to focus on a series of stimuli that motivate them and thus they can have a better understanding, and, therefore, greater learning, and these children can more effectively control attention towards stimuli that cause interest in them and allow them to be motivated in the task they do.
Another existing double exceptionality is that which occurs when a person with dyslexia has high intellectual abilities.
Due to the difficulty in detecting this double exceptionality due to the scarcity of resources and information in this regard, It is common that only one of the two exceptionalities is found as the other is masked.. And this can happen in several ways, such as, for example, when it is discovered that the child has high intellectual abilities but his academic performance is not in line with those abilities due to certain difficulties he presents due to dyslexia; On the other hand, since it is not detected, its poor performance is attributed to lack of motivation, low self-esteem, etc.
The opposite case may also occur, in which the child has been diagnosed with a learning difficulty and this has masked his high intellectual abilities due to not having been evaluated correctly or, on the other hand, there is a possibility that the child will not receive the attention at the school level that he or she needs due to the mutual masking between both exceptionalities, so none could be detected.
Asperger syndrome and high abilities
This is a case of double exceptionality that occurs when a child simultaneously presents high intellectual abilities along with the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome (DSM-IV-TR), classified in the DSM-5 within the Spectrum Disorders. Autistic.
This double exceptionality requires, in the field of research, the study of the impact that the difficulties presented by people with Asperger syndrome with the high intellectual capacities they possess could have, as well as the help that these high capacities could provide in the field. social of these people.
Because there is a lack of empirical studies in this regard, There is a lot of ignorance in the field of this double exceptionality and how it could influence different areas of these people’s lives. (academic, behavioral, mental health, social, etc.).
It could also be the case that one of the exceptionalities masks the other or even that both of them mask each other, so that neither is detected, as occurs in cases in which the double exceptionality occurs with ADHD or dyslexia.
Some research on this double exceptionality found that during their student years these people used to report feelings of inefficiency at the school level; However, these children were able to compensate for these feelings using their strengths, while at the same time being able to resolve the difficulties that might arise. They achieved this thanks to problem-solving strategies that they were capable of carrying out in different contexts.
These students managed to demonstrate their high intellectual abilities through their high abilities and skills with respect to a topic that had aroused a lot of interest in them, so they had become experts and mastered them at unusual levels. These high abilities also enabled these students with double exceptionality adapt more easily to the social context thanks to their high level of verbal intelligence, among other. However, more research is still needed in this regard, as with other types of double exceptionality.
As we can see, despite the scarcity of information and research about double exceptionality, there have been several cases that demonstrate that it is a reality, so more research is needed to help these people. their family members, so that their children have at their disposal the necessary resources to satisfy their academic needs; On the contrary, if this is not the case, it is likely that there will continue to be numerous cases of children who are not receiving adequate attention and this will translate into academic failure.
