Twice-Exceptional Students’ Lived Experiences of Social-Emotional Autonomy Support in Primary School

The importance of centering twice-exceptional students’ voices has been acknowledged by researchers, yet there remains a gap in lived experience research with gifted children who have ADHD. This doctoral study begins to close this gap, centering the voices of five young boys, identified as twice exceptional (gifted with ADHD), and their lived experiences of autonomy support in the social-emotional domain. Honoring the phenomenological methodology, the authors present the findings through four existential themes: lived corporeality (body), lived spatiality (space), lived temporality (time), and lived relationality (human relations). Results indicated that gifted students with ADHD were empowered to navigate affective challenges with a high level of self-awareness when they perceived social-emotional autonomy support. Recommendations for professional practice include greater teacher awareness and understanding, inclusion of student voice, and positive student–teacher relationships.