Gifted on the Autism Spectrum: Seeing the Whole Child

Mary McDonald
21 minutes ago
6 min read

When Giftedness and Autism Overlap

Many people assume giftedness and autism exist at opposite ends of a spectrum, but the truth is that they can—and often do—coexist within the same child.

Children who are both gifted and on the autism spectrum are sometimes called twice-exceptional, or 2e. These students may show extraordinary ability in one area like math, memory, or music, while simultaneously facing challenges with social skills, communication, and/or flexibility.

Signs of autism can mask giftedness, and giftedness can mask autism. Giftedness can hide a child’s needs, and autism may hide their talents. And of course, a child can be both gifted and on the autism spectrum. To truly support these learners, we need to look at the whole child, not just one label or another.

What Should We Be Focusing On?

Too often, people focus on either autism supports or gifted education strategies.But a twice-exceptional child actually needs both supports.

Instead of trying to fit them into one system, we must be innovative and flexible. We must be willing to adapt how we teach, assess, and connect. The goal is to create learning environments where their gifts are nurtured while their challenges are supported.

It’s Not a Choice: The Bell Curve

A “one-size-fits-all” approach doesn’t work for children, and especially not for those who are twice exceptional. Twice-exceptional students often require individualized support that bridge both worlds: enrichment for their abilities and support for their needs at the same time.

Maybe Another Test is Needed

Identifying giftedness in children with autism can be difficult. Traditional IQ tests may underestimate their potential because of communication or sensory challenges.

In these cases, other assessments may be considered such as nonverbal IQ tests (e.g., Leiter); performance-based evaluations; and structured observation of their interests can provide a more accurate picture of ability. If test results don’t match what you see in daily life, it’s worth exploring a second opinion or different testing methods.

Supporting the Whole Child

Children who are gifted and have autism often thrive when we focus on balance:

Be patient and observant.
Be flexible and adjust expectations and methods as needed.
Be supportive both emotionally and academically.
Provide challenges but balance them with structure and encouragement.

Leverage strengths to build skills. For example, if a child loves numbers, use math to strengthen reading or social understanding. Social skills, empathy, and friendship skills can be taught through stories, videos, and role play.

Behavior—He’s Telling Us Something

Behavior is a form of communication. When a child hides under a desk, runs out of a classroom, or shuts down, they’re not being “difficult,” they’re telling us something about the environment and his or her needs.

Students should have:

A designated space to calm down.
Someone they can talk to when they’re overwhelmed.
Regular check-ins to prevent escalation.
A written support plan if needed.

Brief journaling throughout the day can help a child express emotions, in replacement of disruptive behavior during classes; then sharing what’s on their minds during 1:1 time with a trusted adult can also be helpful to students.

Maybe We Need to Be More Flexible

Sometimes flexibility isn’t just for the student—it’s for us too. We can be flexible and still help our students to learn.

If a child struggles with long assignments, let them do every other problem, or shorten writing tasks without reducing the overall goal. The goal is learning, not perfection, or simply following your rules.

“But it has to be like this…”

Structure is helpful and rigidity is not.

When we insist that learning always looks one way, we risk missing how a child who is gifted and has autism thinks and learns.

We should encourage creativity and flexible thinking:

Don’t think outside the box — think like there is no box.

In the Classroom: Strategies That Help

Model and teach social interactions — don’t assume students “just know.”
Be explicit with language — explain idioms, sarcasm, and double meanings.
Watch for sensory overload — lights, sounds, noisy settings or crowds can be overwhelming.
Use visuals and written directions — use color-coding for organization; or visuals for reminders; textual prompts for instructions.
Communicate with parents regularly — it is so important to collaborate and listen to what parents have to say about their child.
Monitor for teasing or bullying — your student may be a target.
Provide individualized instruction — this can focus on breaking down assignments or providing students with a challenging higher-level assignment.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework helps teachers design classrooms that work for everyone from the start, not as an afterthought.

UDL emphasizes three principles:

Engagement: Offer options to motivate and sustain learning.
Representation: Present information in multiple ways.
Action & Expression: Give students varied ways to demonstrate understanding.

For twice-exceptional students, UDL creates the flexibility in learning and expression that can help them to be successful in the classroom.

Reading: Interest Matters

Students with autism often read far above their grade level, but may not fully comprehend the text. The key here is using their interest. When reading material aligns with their interests, we see comprehension at a higher level and children reading more. More practice reading makes for better readers—for example, a student testing at a higher reading level when allowed to choose books about topics he loved. Limiting his choices limit his success.

Writing: Removing Barriers

Writing can be a struggle for many twice-exceptional students:

Fine motor challenges make handwriting frustrating. Students will sometimes engage in behavior to avoid having to physically write.
Open-ended prompts may cause anxiety.
Creative writing may feel too abstract and the student may not know how to begin.

Support ideas:

Provide student a topic he/she has background knowledge and interest in.
Allow typing or voice-to-text.
Provide prompts or clear parameters. (“Write seven sentences; each starts with a different word.”)
Encourage creativity within structure.
Use graphic organizers and provide support with pre-writing strategies (organizing, outlining)

Math: A Hidden Challenge

Often children with autism may excel at basic math, but as math becomes more language-based and they are expected to show their work, new challenges emerge. Students may be asked to complete a problem multiple ways or only one specific way (different from how their brain is solving the problem). This again comes back to our being more flexible with how someone can express what they know.

Avoid overreliance on repetition or rigid problem formats. Focus instead on conceptual understanding and encouraging persistence. We want students to enjoy the problem-solving of math so that they continue to develop their skills.

Accommodations That Work

Provide notes or let students record lessons.
Use visuals and graphic organizers.
Offer written instructions and predictable routines.
Give frequent breaks.
Allow extra time — avoid unnecessary timed tests.
Prioritize quality over quantity.

Remember, simple supports can transform a student’s learning and engagement.

Case study example: How can we make it work?

A twice-exceptional student was in a general education high school and needed some support in some areas of academics. The student was expected to participate in resource room five days a week to support her academics; however, she was not showing up to resource room, and each day it was a struggle to try to get her there.

At an IEP meeting, it was discussed and determined that the reason she was not attending was because she was uncomfortable having her friends see her go into resource room, and five days a week felt like too much to her—it was all overwhelming. It was decided that she didn’t need to attend resource room five days a week, that she could attend two days a week, and have a consultant teacher for the other three days.

There was further discussion asking if she might go to the library to receive the services, rather than going into resource room. This was agreed to and was a much more acceptable plan for the student who needed the supports, and needed the flexibility in order to be successful.

Processing and Communication

Gifted students with autism may process language differently: