Compounded disadvantage occurs when multiple barriers interact in ways that intensify their impact. Rather than simply adding together, these barriers reinforce each other, creating situations where each difficulty makes the others harder to recognise, address, or resolve. In education, compounded disadvantage often arises when a student has more than one characteristic that shapes how their needs are understood—such as disability, giftedness, language differences, poverty, or trauma. Systems that are designed to respond to only one factor at a time may fail to recognise how these experiences intersect. For example, twice-exceptional students—those who are both gifted and disabled—may have their abilities masked by disability-related challenges, while their disability is overlooked because they show high capability in some areas. Educators may interpret behaviour before recognising unmet learning needs, rely on academic output as the primary signal of ability, or misunderstand executive function differences. These dynamics can prevent students from receiving either appropriate disability accommodations or opportunities for advanced learning. When barriers interact in this way, disadvantage becomes self-reinforcing. Students may be misunderstood, under-supported, or placed in environments that do not reflect their full profile of strengths and needs. Recognising compounded disadvantage helps schools design responses that address the whole student rather than treating each challenge in isolation.