Building Bridges for Twice-Exceptional Students: A Case Study in a Secondary School

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Lawson, A. P., White, J., & Williams, P. J. (2025). Building Bridges for Twice-Exceptional Students: A Case Study in a Secondary School. Education Sciences, 15(9), 1260. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091260

Publication date: 19 Sep 2025 Added to AutiHub: 16 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 3 (33.3%)
  1. Alexandra Pauline Lawson
  2. Jia White *
  3. P. John Williams

Abstract

Twice-exceptional (2e) students, those who are both gifted and experience learning difficulties, are often overlooked in mainstream educational settings. This paper reports on a qualitative case study conducted in a secondary school in Western Australia, exploring the collaborative experiences of one 2e student, their educators, and their mother. Guided by the neurodiversity paradigm and a strengths-based approach, this study engaged the student, their mother, and educators in co-designing practices that addressed the student’s challenges while leveraging their interests and capabilities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, written correspondence, work samples, and analysis of school and specialist reports. While the study found that collaboratively developed, personalised practices can enhance student engagement and wellbeing, it also revealed practical challenges, including time constraints, systemic rigidity, and limited staff understanding of 2e students. This study demonstrated the value and potential of teacher-led inquiry in promoting bespoke, strengths-based educational planning for 2e students, while highlighting the challenges of implementing such approaches within traditional school structures.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 19 Sep 2026 01:01.

Cited references
64
With a DOI
31
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
33
1 / 64 (1.6%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
27 / 64 (42.2%)
References with detected author names
37 / 64 (57.8%)
Without detected author names
27
Without a structured title
25
Without a stable identifier
33
References with raw author names still to review
26
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
79
From DOI or external metadata
79
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
46
8 / 79 (10.1%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 71 / 79 (89.9%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
1 / 79 (1.3%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 1 / 8 (12.5%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 1 / 73 (1.4%).
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