What is Twice-Exceptionality (2e)?
What does 2e mean?
Twice exceptional learners are children who are both highly capable (gifted) and also have a learning and/or attention disorder. These children tend to fly under the radar and may be identified late due to their giftedness masking their learning and/or attention disorder or vice versa.
What are the signs that a child might be twice exceptional?
Developmental asynchrony: This means that kids develop intellectually and emotionally in a way that is uneven. This is why you might be able to have high level conversations with your 7-year-old child about advanced topics, but you will still see them break down in a tantrum when it’s time for bed.
They’re advanced in one area (e.g. a child architect in Lego building) but can’t seem to remember more than 2 things in a row when it comes to chores.
Complaining about school, despite being able to succeed there.
They’re disorganized and emotionally dysregulated, but they manage to ace every test they take.
What can be done to help 2e children succeed?
Identify
The best way to help your 2e kid succeed is identification of their strengths and weaknesses. A comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation can discover and highlight those areas.
Plan
After evaluation, your psychologist should be able to provide you with a number of recommendations that you can take to your team (school, pediatrician, therapist, family). These recommendations should be tailored to your child’s unique cognitive profile and be actionable items that will assist your child in scaffolding where they need support and finding ways to let their strengths shine.
Communicate
A good psychoeducational evaluation comes with a report that clearly delineates the reason for the evaluation, the presenting concerns and the history, and the data. You should be able to follow the reasoning of how the clinician came to that diagnosis and you should have a solid idea of what’s happening with your child intellectually, academically, and emotionally.
That report is your ticket to communication with your team. It’s also a roadmap that will need to serve your child in order to obtain services (whether it’s an IEP or a 504 plan or accommodations) for at least the next 3 years.
It’s also important to communicate with your child about their unique cognitive profile in a way that they understand. They are often already aware of what they struggle with. Helping them to realize that they have amazing strengths, that they have the ability to work with their weaknesses, and that they have potential can be a game-changer.