What is Twice-Exceptional?

Definitions of Twice-Exceptional learners are beginning to appear more and more across the workld of education, as people begin to understand the unique needs of, as well as the diservice that has been done to, these incredible young people.

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For the Toucanet Academy program and our parent school Palmetto Bay Academy, we use the following definitions as a foundation for our work with twice-exceptional children.

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Definitions​

Twice-exceptional refers to an “individual who demonstrates exceptional levels of capacity, competence, commitment, or creativity in one or more domains coupled with one or more learning difficulties. "

- Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman

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A strengths-based approach considers the whole child. It recognizes the child, first, as a gifted individual who deserves opportunities to develop her talents and interests, and second, as a student who deserves the appropriate support in areas of challenge so that he can fully demonstrate those talents and interests. By putting their strengths in the forefront, children build on the inner-resources they already have which puts them in a better position to work on areas of difficulty; as a child grows in one area, other areas can follow.

-Dr. Susan Baum