Glossary

2e (Twice-Exceptional)

Describes individuals who are both intellectually gifted and have co-occurring challenges, differences, or disabilities. 

A

Acceleration
An educational approach that allows a student to move through curriculum at a faster pace or at a higher level than typical for their age. Acceleration may be subject-based or whole-grade and is most effective when paired with appropriate social and emotional supports.

Accommodation
A change in how a student accesses learning or demonstrates understanding that does not lower academic expectations (for example, extended time, alternate formats, or assistive technology).

Adaptive Skills
Practical life skills used to navigate daily environments, including organization, communication, self-care, and social judgment. These skills may develop unevenly in gifted and neurodivergent learners.

ADHD (Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder)
A neurodevelopmental condition involving differences in attention regulation, impulse control, and executive functioning. In gifted individuals, ADHD may be masked by high ability or misinterpreted as lack of effort.

Advanced Ability
Performance or potential significantly above age-level expectations in one or more domains. Advanced ability may coexist with learning, executive functioning, or social-emotional challenges.

Affect
The outward expression of emotion. Differences in affect may be misread in neurodivergent or asynchronous students.

Anxiety (School-Related)
A pattern of heightened worry, avoidance, or distress connected to academic or social demands. In gifted and twice-exceptional (2e) students, anxiety often reflects mismatch rather than incapacity.

Asynchronous Development
Uneven development across cognitive and social-emotional domains. A defining feature of many gifted and twice-exceptional learners.

Assistive Technology (AT)
Tools or systems that support access to learning (for example, speech-to-text, audiobooks, or visual planners). 

AuDHD
An informal term describing individuals who are both autistic and have ADHD. Commonly used within neurodivergent communities to reflect overlapping traits and lived experience.

Autism / Autism Spectrum
A neurodevelopmental variation involving differences in social communication, sensory processing, and pattern recognition. Autism may coexist with giftedness and is often underidentified in high-ability students.

Avoidance (Task- or School-Related)
A pattern in which a student consistently avoids specific tasks, settings, or demands. Avoidance often reflects overwhelm, anxiety, perfectionism, or executive functioning load rather than lack of motivation.

See also: School Refusal, Perfectionism, Dysregulation

B

Behavior as Communication
A framework for understanding behavior as conveying unmet needs, stress, or mismatch. Particularly relevant for neurodivergent and twice-exceptional students whose internal experience may not be easily expressed verbally.

Burnout (Academic or Neurodivergent Burnout)
 A state of exhaustion, withdrawal, or loss of functioning following prolonged effort in environments that require sustained overcompensation or masking.

C

Cognitive Profile
A pattern of relative strengths and challenges across thinking skills such as reasoning, memory, processing speed, and attention.

Compensation
Strategies a student uses to work around challenges, sometimes masking underlying needs. Compensation can obscure support needs in gifted learners.

Context-Dependent Performance
A pattern in which a student performs well in some environments but struggles in others, often due to differences in structure, interest, or cognitive load.

D

Differentiation
Instructional design that adjusts content, process, or product to meet varied learner needs within the same learning environment.

Dyscalculia
A learning difference affecting number sense, calculation, and mathematical reasoning. It can coexist with strong verbal or conceptual abilities.

Dysgraphia
A learning difference affecting written expression, handwriting, or transcription, often masking complex thinking.

Dyslexia
A language-based learning difference affecting reading accuracy, fluency, and spelling. Dyslexia frequently coexists with high reasoning ability.

Dysregulation
A state in which a student has difficulty managing emotional, cognitive, or physiological responses to demands or stress. Dysregulation is often situational and reflects overload or mismatch rather than intentional behavior.

E

Emotional Shutdown
A response in which a student withdraws, disengages, or appears emotionally flat under stress. Emotional shutdown is a form of self-protection and is often mistaken for apathy or defiance.
 See also: Masking, Dysregulation

Enrichment
Learning experiences that deepen, extend, or broaden understanding without increasing pace. Enrichment emphasizes complexity, creativity, and connection rather than speed.
 See also: Enrichment Cluster, Talent Development

Enrichment Cluster
A structured enrichment model in which students explore shared interests through real-world problems, creative production, or applied inquiry. Enrichment clusters emphasize engagement and authentic outcomes.
 See also: Enrichment, Experiential Learning, Talent Development

Executive Functioning (EF)
A set of cognitive processes involved in planning, organizing, initiating, self-monitoring, and completing tasks. EF development is often asynchronous in gifted and neurodivergent learners.

Experiential Learning
Learning that occurs through direct experience, reflection, and application. Experiential learning emphasizes relevance and meaning-making and is often especially effective for gifted and neurodivergent students.

F

Fixed Mindset
The belief that intelligence, talent, and ability are static traits that cannot be significantly altered. In gifted students, fixed mindset can develop unintentionally when praise centers primarily on traits ("You are smart" rather than effort (You worked hard for that result.")

G

Gifted Underachievement
A pattern in which a gifted student’s performance does not reflect their cognitive ability, often due to mismatch, unmet needs, or executive functioning challenges.

Giftedness
Exceptionally advanced ability or potential in one or more domains. Giftedness is not synonymous with high achievement and does not preclude learning challenges.

H

Hyperfocus
Periods of intense, sustained attention to an area of interest. Common in ADHD and autism; can be an asset or a challenge depending on context.

I

IEP (Individualized Education Program)
A legally binding plan outlining specialized instruction and services for eligible students. Not all twice-exceptional (2e) students qualify for or require an IEP.

Inhibition
The ability to regulate impulses or delay responses. Differences in inhibition are often mistaken for willful behavior.

L

Learning Difference
A neurological variation that affects how information is processed or expressed. Learning differences can coexist with advanced abilities.

M

Masking
The conscious or unconscious suppression of neurodivergent traits to meet social or academic expectations. Masking is cognitively and emotionally costly over time.

Meltdowns
Intense emotional or behavioral responses that occur when a student’s regulatory capacity is exceeded. Meltdowns are not intentional and often follow prolonged effort or sensory overload.
 See also: Dysregulation, Sensory Processing

Metacognition
Awareness of one’s own thinking processes.

Motivation
The internal and external factors that influence a student’s willingness to engage in learning. In gifted and twice-exceptional learners, motivation is often driven by interest, relevance, urgency, and autonomy rather than compliance.

N

Neurodivergence / Neurodivergent
A term describing natural variation in brain wiring, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and related profiles.

Neurodiversity
A framework that recognizes neurological variation as a natural and valuable aspect of human diversity.

O

Overexcitabilities
Heightened sensitivity or intensity in emotional, intellectual, sensory, or psychomotor domains. Often observed in gifted individuals.

P

Perfectionism
A tendency to set unrealistically high standards or avoid tasks to prevent perceived failure. Common in gifted and twice-exceptional (2e) learners.

Perfectionistic Avoidance
A pattern in which a student avoids starting or completing work due to fear of mistakes or not meeting internal standards.
 See also: Perfectionism, Avoidance

Processing Speed
The pace at which information is taken in, interpreted, and responded to. Slower processing speed does not reflect lower intelligence.

Profoundly Gifted
A term describing individuals whose cognitive abilities fall at the extreme upper end of the gifted range. Profoundly gifted students often experience significant asynchrony and require a highly individualized learning experience.

R

Refusal (Task Refusal)
Consistent resistance to engaging in specific academic tasks or routines. Task refusal often reflects mismatch, overload, or executive functioning weaknesses rather than oppositional behavior.
 See also: School Refusal

Response Inhibition
The ability to pause before acting. Differences may affect classroom behavior or task persistence.

S

Scaffolding
Temporary supports that help learners access tasks until independence increases. Effective scaffolding preserves challenge while reducing overwhelm.

School Refusal
A pattern of difficulty attending or remaining at school, often accompanied by distress. School refusal is typically driven by anxiety, sensory overload, or unmet needs rather than lack of interest in learning.

Selective Engagement
A pattern in which a student participates fully in preferred or meaningful tasks but disengages from others. Often reflects differences in motivation or executive functioning load.
 See also: Context-Dependent Performance

SEL (Social-Emotional Learning)
 An educational framework focused on developing emotional awareness, self-regulation, relationship skills, and decision-making. For gifted and neurodivergent students, SEL is most effective when integrated into meaningful academic and relational contexts.
 See also: Social-Emotional Learning

Sensory Processing
How the nervous system interprets sensory input. Sensory differences may affect attention, regulation, and comfort in learning environments.

Shutting Down
 See Emotional Shutdown.

Slow Processing Speed
A pattern in which thinking is complex but output is slower. Common in gifted and twice-exceptional learners and frequently misinterpreted as lack of understanding.

Social-Emotional Learning
 See SEL (Social-Emotional Learning).

Somatic Complaints
Physical symptoms such as headaches, stomachaches, or fatigue that occur in response to stress or anxiety. Somatic complaints are common in school-related distress and reflect real experiences.
 See also: School Refusal, Anxiety (School-Related)

Strengths-Based Approach
 An educational perspective that builds from abilities and interests rather than focusing exclusively on remediation.

T

Talent Development
 An educational approach that focuses on identifying, nurturing, and expanding areas of strength and interest over time. Emphasizes growth trajectories rather than static labels.
 See also: Enrichment, Experiential Learning

Task Initiation Difficulty
Difficulty starting tasks despite understanding expectations. Commonly associated with executive functioning differences and often misinterpreted as procrastination or defiance.

Twice-Exceptional (2e)
Describes individuals who are both intellectually gifted and have co-occurring challenges, differences, or disabilities. 

U

Underidentification
Failure to recognize giftedness, learning differences, or both—particularly common among twice-exceptional students.

W

Working Memory
The ability to hold and manipulate information in mind to complete tasks or problem-solve. Differences in working memory often affect multi-step tasks and written output.

Work Avoidance
A pattern of minimizing, delaying, or evading academic work. Often reflects overload, perfectionism, or lack of appropriate scaffolding rather than disengagement.
 See also: Avoidance, Perfectionism