The Relationship Between Self-Concept, Ability, and Academic Programming Among Twice-Exceptional Youth

Abstract

Researchers investigated the self-concept profiles of twice-exceptional students in relationship to their cognitive ability and participation in educational services. All subjects ( N = 64) had high ability (IQ score at or above the 90th percentile) and were diagnosed with either an autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 53) or specific learning disability (SLD; n = 11). Self-concept and ability measures were administered as a part of comprehensive evaluations to assess for co-existing high ability and disability. Despite the presence of a disability, overall self-concept profiles were in the average range, suggesting either co-occurring high ability serves as a protective mechanism or a possible positive illusory bias among participants. There was no relationship between ability, educational services, and self-concept, implying that high cognitive ability and related educational interventions are independent of how twice-exceptional students feel about themselves. Findings raise questions about the precision of traditional identification models in selecting twice-exceptional students for participation in gifted education programming.