Identification and Prevalence of Twice-Exceptional Female Students in Al-Ahsa

This study investigates the prevalence of twice-exceptional students—those who are both gifted and have learning disabilities—among female elementary school students in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. These students possess outstanding abilities in academic or creative domains, while simultaneously experiencing difficulties in specific academic or developmental skills. Using a descriptive-analytical research design, the study targeted a purposive sample of 275 female students from 30 elementary schools who had been previously diagnosed with learning disabilities by qualified special education teachers. The identification process of twice-exceptional students followed a systematic three-phase approach. In the first phase, students demonstrating high academic achievement were shortlisted. In the second phase, their teachers completed the Teacher Rating Scale for the Behavioral Characteristics of Gifted Students with Learning Disabilities. In the third phase, students who met the criteria were administered Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices to assess their cognitive ability. The results, analyzed using SPSS, revealed that 18.91% of the students with learning disabilities exhibited gifted characteristics. Furthermore, the findings showed no statistically significant differences between fourth and fifth graders in their responses to the second instrument, while statistically significant differences were found in the third instrument in favor of fifth-grade students. This study highlights potential disparities in the educational and psychological services provided to this population and emphasizes the need to develop more accurate diagnostic tools and implement specialized educational programs to support inclusive learning environments for twice-exceptional students.