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2e defined: At the 2022 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Conference this past spring, the Division on the Association for the Gifted (TAG) revised the definition of twice-exceptional (2e) students indicating that:

"Twice-exceptional (2e) individuals evidence exceptional ability and disability, which results in a unique set of circumstances. Their exceptional ability may dominate, hiding their disability; their disability may dominate, hiding their exceptional ability; each may mask the other so that neither is recognized or addressed. Additionally, 2e individuals come from - and are impacted - by all forms of diversity. "

This inherently means that students who fall under the twice-exceptional category are less likely to be identified in either gifted and/or special education services. There are currently about 385,000 2e children in the U.S., however this is a huge underestimate due to misidentification. Many of the missed identification challenges of 2e students are due to the limited number of trained professionals in these areas (gifted, special education, and 2e), a lack of understanding of what to look for in identification of 2e students at the school and home level, inconsistent implementation across states in acceptance of gifted programming, and non-existant federal requirements for gifted services.

What does 2e look like? If you are a teacher or administrator, outside of their individual talent or disability, you might see recurring frustration, stress, anxiety, depression; challenges with personal identity; difficulties with peer or social relationships; a heightened need to understand their diagnosis; shyness; and hiding of their own struggles or disabilities due to worrying what others may think; and refusal to accept accommodations (even when they need them) because they may think it makes them look "weak" or that is a form of "intellectual cheating." There is also a misconception that if you are gifted, you must be smart, therefore you don't need educational support. Remember that giftedness could be in the form of non-academic content such as art, theatre, abstract thinking, any trade skill, or technology including computer science. In addition, some students may perform really high in one academic area, but poorly in others. The student may be gifted in mathematics, but struggle with reading, and visa versa.

According to the department of education, education is more than just academics and grades; it is the education of social, emotional, and life skills and additional vocational training to prepare for life after high school or what special education considers transition to post-secondary education and employment. Many 2e students miss out a great deal in a " specially designed instructional environment...unique to the student " as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) because their gifts are not addressed through special education services, which is what many advocates in 2e research are fighting for. These students are included in special education services, but not in gifted services or are missing "talent development plans". On the flip side, some 2e students are served in gifted classes, but their disability is not addressed through an individualized education plan (IEP) or is being "masked" by their achievements.

Teachers play a leading role in advocating and identifying 2e students. Do you know of a student who has a disability but is also very gifted? Or a gifted student who might struggle in one or more special areas related to any form of education? You may know a 2e student. Identification is the first and most missed step so it is vital to refer the parent and student to the special education and/or gifted and talented program for testing wherever it applies. If you are interested in learning more about 2e students, check out some of my favorite 2e books and resources below.

Online Learning Extensions for Advanced Learners Poster Presentation (NAGC National Conference, 2021)

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

2e Online Resources Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Gifted and Talented Professional Standards​
https://exceptionalchildren.org/taxonomy/term/79 and https://exceptionalchildren.org/gifted-education-professional-standards

Th e Bridges 2e Center for Research and Professional Development​
https://2ecenter.org/ 2e News Newsletter and Magazine​
https://www.2enews.com/ ​

T he 2e Resource​
https://2eresource.com/​ Bridges Academy Website​ https://www.bridges.edu/​ Bright and Quirky 2e Resource Center​ https://brightandquirky.com/​ National Association for Gifted Students (NAGC): Resources for Parents of Twice-Exceptional Students​ https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources-parents/twice-exceptional-students​
TECA: Twice-Exceptional Children's Advocacy ​
https://www.teca2e.org/​

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2e: Twice exceptional, but Twice-Excluded

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2e defined: At the 2022 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Conference this past spring, the Division on the Association for the Gifted (TAG) revised the definition of twice-exceptional (2e) students indicating that: "Twice-exceptional (2e) individuals evidence exceptional ability and disability, which results in a unique set of circumstances.

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Gifted children come with a certain set of needs. The same is true for students with learning challenges or disabilities. But what about kids who fall into both groups?

These children are known as twice-exceptional. 2e kids display amazing gifts, talents, or potential in some areas while also being challenged in other areas with learning differences, such as ADD/ADHD, Asperger's or autism spectrum disorder, sensory issues, and more.

Why is focus in this area important?

Increasing numbers of 2e students are being reported. According to the Oak Foundation, approximately 20 percent of children (10 million students) in United States public schools have learning profiles that are not aligned with the expectations and teaching methodologies prevalent in mainstream school systems. Yet, there is limited educational literature providing comprehensive theory and strategies for meeting their academic and social emotional needs, and misdiagnoses, missed diagnoses, and misunderstood behaviors are common problems.

What we do know is that this population of students is that their dual diagnosis results in a paradoxical set of needs. Such youngsters require both remediation and enrichment, as well as special counseling to help them grasp the mix of conditions with which they must learn to succeed. And even more important is to really understand the duality of their needs and how that makes this population of students unique and leads us to question the appropriateness of using traditional talent development and remedial approaches with 2e students.

It's Not Easy Being Green

The color green is a combination of yellow and blue. In the adjacent graphics, yellow is used to represent traits indicative of giftedness and blue is used to represent the learning, attentional, and behavioral challenges or the "other e." This clearly shows the 2e students are not separable into only their "yellows" or their "blues." These individuals are shades of green.

In order for 2e students to thrive parents, teachers, administrators, and therapists need to understand these students in order to provide appropriate programs for them.

* PARENTS face the challenge of finding professionals who understand how to identify twice-exceptionality and understand the issues faced with dual diagnosis. They need to remember that "treatment is not only fixing what is wrong but nurturing what is best." (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). They need to advocate for their children to assure that appropriate programming is in place that includes both intellectual stimulation in strength areas and support in areas of academic or behavioral challenge in ways that are respectful and acknowledge the strengths of their youngsters.

* CLASSROOM EDUCATORS AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS face the challenge of understanding the complex profile of these students and their need to be learning within a strength-based talent-focused curriculum. Baum, Schader & Hebert define this approach as using knowledge of students' strengths, cognitive profiles, learning preferences, interests, and talents to engage them in the curriculum. The strengths and interests can be leveraged for skill development - including academic skills, self-regulation skills, executive function and emotional regulation.

* THERAPISTS face the challenge of understanding how the discrepancies between what 2e students can do and what they can't do causes these youngsters great anxiety and play havoc with their self-esteem, and may result in low self-efficacy. Therapists must understand the strengths and abilities that are associated with a particular diagnosis and use that understanding in providing support for these students. For instance, because dyslexic students may not read well but may be outstanding Lego builders, therapists need to know how to use that information to help students grow academically, emotionally, and socially.

* SPECIAL EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS AND TUTORS face the challenge knowing when to question the efficacy of using traditional kinds of remedial techniques that are typically used for skill development. For instance, using materials that match their skill level might be demeaning to a gifted youngster with decoding difficulties. They need to find ways to engage students intellectually while attending to the level-specific skills. In addition, these professionals must use strategies that authentically weave students' strengths, interests, and talents into their teaching.

Our Mission

2eNews.com and Variations2e magazine are focused on providing the latest news, research, and perspectives around how to best support the needs of this population of learners. We provide readers with high-level information and perspectives about twice-exceptional education, covering a broad range of topics that are essential for all educators, parents, and industry professionals. Our content is presented in the following categories: Teaching & Learning, Health & Wellness, Child Development, Home & Family, Advocacy & Policy, Voices, Resources, and Book Reviews. We also house the entire catalog of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter, and we publish the Variations2e print magazine twice per year.

Our mission is to maintain a fruitful conversation among key stakeholders to improve the lives of gifted students with learning differences. Many resources on our site are public, though the majority of our original content is available via a subscription to 2eNews.com. You may sign up for a free subscription here.
View definitions, resources, and more primers on twice-exceptionality here.

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What is 2e? A Guide to Twice-Exceptionality - 2eNews.com

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2e kids display amazing gifts, talents, or potential in some areas while also being challenged in other areas with learning differences.

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Before we begin

On a personal note, I absolutely love working with 2e, twice-exceptional kids. I often say, "the more complex the kid, the better", because 2e kids are truly the most interesting people I know. They tend to be intellectually deep, incredibly creative, emotionally intense, quirky, and when they get their educational needs met, they do really cool things as adults. Many of the people who "change the world" were twice-exceptional kids. They're just super cool people, and too many of them fall through the cracks because they are misunderstood.

Adults don't always understand their strengths and/or challenges. In fact, strengths and challenges often mask each other. Consequently, rather than figuring out what these kids need to thrive, they are often shamed with ignorant messages like, "you're lazy", "you don't try hard enough", "you don't care enough about school", "you just need to be more disciplined and motivated". These shame comments don't help, they hurt, and many of these kids internalize the messages and begin to feel like they are not enough, that they are stupid, that they are failures, or that they are broken.

I happen to see these kids as the most important game-changers for creatively solving the world's future problems, and it's particularly important to society as a whole that these kids get the education they need. Now let's dive in...

(btw- you can get the 2e assessment freebie here or you can sign up for my Blog and Student Success Toolkit

What is 2e or Twice Exceptional?

Generally speaking, twice exceptional, or 2e students, are both intellectually gifted & talented and learning disabled. In the education world, giftedness and learning disabilities are both considered "exceptionalities", so the term "twice-exceptional" refers to a student with exceptionalities on both sides of the proverbial bell curve. In a nutshell, if you have a child who you know is smart/bright, but who struggles to show it, they may be 2e. About 5% of kids are 2e.

The '2e' abbreviation - People use the abbreviation "2e" for simplicity. It's used interchangeably with the term "twice-exceptional".

Multi-exceptional - Many professionals, myself included, prefer the term "multi-exceptional" because of how complex these kids are. Labels like 2e can be misleading because there is often a lot more that needs to be considered when planning to meet the complex educational needs of these kids. For example, it's not uncommon to have an intellectually gifted child who has also been diagnosed with ADHD, ASD, processing disorders, and an emotional disorder. Unfortunately, teachers rarely know the full story, and even if they do, they are not always given the time, training or resources they need in order to meet the needs of these kids.

Asynchrony - The #1 key concept to help understand 2e learners is asynchrony, aka dyssynchrony. 2E kids tend to develop quite "asynchronously". They are "all over the place" in terms of grade level ability or age appropriate development. For example, you might have a 6th grader who reads at the 12th-grade level, has the fine-motor handwriting of a 1st grader, writes papers like a 3rd grader, understands math concepts at an 9th-grade level, calculates math facts at a 4th-grade level, can hold remarkably deep conversations with adults, and has temper tantrums like a 3-year-old. You get the picture, the developmental levels of 2e kids aren't "in sync". The discrepancies between "potential" and "output" causes many problems.

I read a lot of neuropsychologist reports and it's not at all uncommon to see a 2e child in the superior range for some metrics and in impaired range for others. For example, a 2e child may be at the 98th %ile for verbal ability, but the 2nd %ile for processing speed. As you can imagine, these discrepancies cause a lot of misunderstandings.

I like to think of asynchrony like an old stereo EQ (see below). Imagine that each slider represents one developmental area. Perhaps one slider represents math, writing, reading, social, emotional, visual-spatial (of course you could break it down into smaller sub-skills if you wanted to). Sliding it up indicates greater ability and down indicates less ability as compared to most peers of a similar age. The image below could describe someone who was "on grade level" since the different domains are all at the same level, they are in sync. Standardized tests for such a child would show average grade level scores (they might be labeled "proficient" on tests). Now imagine an eq for a 2e child where the sliders were all over the place, some average, some very high, some very low. This would represent asynchronous development.

Neuro-typical - When discussing 2e kids, it's good to be familiar with the term "neurotypical" (a word commonly used in ASD circles, originally used to refer to non-ASD people). This word refers to kids who experience "neurologically typical" development cognitively, socially, emotionally. For example, it might be considered neurotypical to learn multiplication tables in 3rd grade or to be able to write a good research paper by high school. Some would argue that neurotypicals compose 80% of kids in the "middle" of the bell curve. 2e kids are, by their very nature, not neurotypical. I sometimes use the term neurotypical to refer to 2e kids or other kids who are outside-the-box learners.

Bell curve - Bell curves can be useful when used properly, but the metaphor of the bell curve can cause a lot of misunderstanding. I want to clarify how I think of it so you can have a better understanding to help your kids. The bell curve below is called the "normal bell curve" and the world normally carries a lot of baggage. The problem is that if there are "normal" people than there are "abnormal" people, and that frame can carry a lot of hurtful judgment. I have seen way too many kids who feel like they are broken, who feel like there is something wrong with them, and those feelings can cause a lot of trauma. I wanted to mention this because it's important that we are careful about the messages we send.

3-d Bell Curve - I think of the normal bell curve as being limited and one-dimensional. In other words, it doesn't give me nearly enough information about the complexities that make up students. These are human beings with incredibly complex and rich personalities and learning needs. Therefore, I like to think of these metrics as parts of 3-d bells, with countless interrelated qualities. Imagine that you could look at this bell from hundreds of angles to get perspective on various relevant aspects of these kids. It's so much more interesting and useful.

Identification: How do I know if my child is 2E or Twice Exceptional?

It's critical for parents and teachers to have clarity regarding their Twice Exceptional students because a failure to understand them can have devastating effects. Also, as stated above, adults who don't understand 2e often use shaming words that are damaging, sending misinformed messages that these kids are lazy, don't care about school or don't try hard enough.

Testing for intelligence and learning disabilities - 2e students are "smart but struggling", so if this describes your child, you should explore this until you feel clear about what's going on. Generally, parents have a gut feeling about this sort of thing, but many families find clarity through getting professional testing done by a neuropsychologist or other diagnostician who tests for giftedness and learning problems. Schools may also provide testing in order to see if they will offer services.

When parents ask me to refer to someone for testing, the most important factor I consider is how well the diagnostician consults with a family after testing. For example, my favorite neuoropsychologist in Colorado spends a great deal of time with families afterwards so they leave with all of their questions thoroughly answered. I've seen too many families come to me with an overwhelming 10-page report that they don't even know how to read. What good is paying for testing when you don't understand the results?

Common tests you can research - WISC IV, WAIS III, Stanford Binet, Woodcock-Johnson, DAS, UNIT, Ravens Progressive Matrices, NNAT, K-TEA/NU.

Discrepancies - The difference between what a child should be able to do and their actual execution causes a great deal of problems for these kids. Adults often say things like, "he's got so much potential, I don't know why he doesn't try harder?!?!". These kids are trying, but it's often masked. These kids are working very hard using their strengths, abstract reasoning abilities, and intelligence to compensate for their weaknesses, so they are often misunderstood. Unfortunately, the opposite is often true, their challenges can mask their gifts.

Common Learning Disabilities, Differences or Challenges

Don't let the stigma of the word "disabled" (dis-able) scare you, because what's most important is that you know the truth about your child's abilities and needs. Even when there is no formal diagnosis, parents often have an intuition about their child's "gifts" and "disabilities." Here are some common differences to look out for:

Dyslexia

Dysgraphia - writing disability

Dyscalculia - math disability

Processing disorders (sensory - visual, auditory, CAPD)

ASD, Aspergers, Autism

Dyspraxia, Sensory integration, fine motor problems

Dysphasia - problems understanding language

Speech & language

ADHD, attentional, executive function

TBI Traumatic Brain Injury

Emotional disorders, mood disorders, depression, bipolar, anxiety, OCD, etc.

Physical disabilities

Types of Gifts to consider

It does not have to be "book smarts," there are many ways a child can be gifted:

IQ, GT is often thought of as 130+, 160+ is often considered profoundly gifted

Academically - math, science, language arts, etc.

Artistically - art, music, dance, etc.

Kinesthetically, Athletically

Verbal ability

Visual-spatial

Problem-solving ability, original, unique ideas

Abstract thinking, flexible thinking, highly creative, insightful

Gardner's Multiple Intelligences: musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, logical-mathematical, linguistic, naturalistic, visual-spatial, bodily/kinesthetic

Asks unusually deep questions, High-level thinking

Intuitive or spiritual, "indigo kids"

Unusually observant in strength areas, learns very quickly in strength areas

Can communicate in a very mature way (sometimes being incredibly immature at other times)

Enjoys intellectual challenge

Advanced sense of humor

Remembers a lot of details easily

Crave learning and intellectual stimulation

What are common challenges facing 2e learners

Here's a list of common problems these leaners face. It is by no means a comprehensive list, but should adequately shed some light on the issue.

They fall through the cracks, don't get their needs met, waste years of their adult lives "finding themselves"

People who don't understand 2E learners often use ignorant statements like this: "He's just being lazy", "She's not trying her best", "He doesn't care enough about school", "What a shame, she's got so much potential", "He needs to be more motivated and disciplined."

Compensatory strategies that these kids use can mask the gifts or the legitimate learning differences/disabilities ("masking" can even lead to NOT being diagnosed)

Discrepancies between strengths and challenge areas can negatively affect how these kids are perceived

Low grades can mask true ability

Misperceived as not "gifted enough" for GT services and not "struggling enough" for SPED services, therefore do not get the support they need

Spend a ton of time and energy to process and do work as compared with peers and often get lower grades regardless of effort

Schools don't keep up with the research on 2e and don't train teachers adequately to serve them

These kids are often bored, they learn fast and when a school doesn't accelerate curriculum, these kids disengage

They can be sick of things that feel like pointless busywork and refuse to do homework

They often thrive with different aged peers but are kept with same-age peers because of "grade level"

Can't take advanced class because they are "underachieving", causing more boredom and resistance

Pull out programs may not be adequate

Pullouts may make them feel different since they are being pulled out of class (middle schoolers hate to look different)

Sometimes kids in pullout programs still have to make up "missed" work

Sometimes there are no accommodations whatsoever, often when there has been no identification or while they are going through an RTI process that drags out

Processing information at incredibly fast speeds but output ability is incredibly slow

Not using accommodations

Accommodations not articulated meaningfully to make a difference for the student

Teachers unaware of accommodations or disregard them

Teachers not adequately trained to differentiate for all learners

2e learners feeling broken or like something is wrong with them

2e learners NOT having opportunities to build upon their strengths / too much emphasis on weaknesses (strength-based education)

Never tested at all

Overexcitabilities, sensory, emotional (see Dabrowski)

Have to "do what everyone else does" even though it isn't working for them

Deficits can shadow gifts: often, there is a lot of emphasis on how they are NOT performing, they can't shine,

Diagnosis - as you can imagine, these kids can be difficult to diagnose. When kids take tests, many factors can influence the results in both directions, including processing, compensation, intuition. Under-diagnosis, over-diagnosis, misdiagnosis, no diagnosis

They can learn to resent school and learning particularly after middle school begins.

May not "look" gifted

Standardized test problems

The can internalize shame and feel bad about themselves

They don't know the value of their strengths

They don't develop gifts/talents/strengths

They don't feel capable

Don't know how to advocate for themselves, how to articulate what they need

How can parents and teachers support and empower 2e learners

Use education (and life experiences) to build upon their strengths, gifts, talents, interests, passions

Don't put too much emphasis working on weaknesses. There's a time and a place to do this, but it should be done mindfully.

Create project based lessons based on interests, that give students ownership and choice in their learning

Use experiential learning experiences

Use authentic forms of assessment

Get rid of assessments that do not measure what we are looking for

Get rid of pointless busywork

Rethink homework all together and only give homework when there is a real purpose

Understand what the research says about the value of homework (hint: it's not nearly as valuable as you might think and interferes with much needed family, social and play time)

Alternate product possibilities based on student choice, don't just do tests and papers for assessment

Provide alternate options for how kids process knowledge

Support social and emotional needs

Coach EF skills, like how to chunk studying, how to use a planner, organize, etc..

Teach HOW to learn, not just what to learn

Build independence

Differentiate: Scaffold the curriculum. Accelerate curriculum to keep pace with learning. Compress curriculum,

Teach self-care

Catch em' being good, celebrate even small successes

Provide kids with great role models, older peers who can guide them

Make sure that documented accommodations actually work! They should be carefully and thoughtfully articulated so they effectively communicate to teachers what is needed. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen accommodations that are unclear and thus meaningless. Also, the older kids get, the less their teachers know about their accommodations, so advocacy is critical.

Expose them to a diverse range of experiences to expose them to many areas where passions may develop

Plan experiences that allow them to explore their curiosities

Allow them to use their imaginations regularly to explore learning

Dynamic assessment, performance assessment

Ideas for teachers and parents they can post

Use adequate wait time. Be patient and let them process their thoughts instead of expecting quick responses.

Give honest compliments and praise... Often.

Actively listen to your children: Ask "what do you think? Why, why, why?" Really listen.

Design creatively differentiated curriculum

Interdisciplinary learning experiences teaching holistic approaches

Make learning RELEVANT, meaningful, make it matter, give them experiences they care about.

Make clear expectations, in writing so it's concrete and not abstract.

Learn to coregulate emotionally

Challenging work

Don't focus too much on memorizing facts, worry about teaching how to think

Reconsider what "achievement" means

Educating teachers and parents about 2e

Advocacy, stick up for these kids (and all kids of course)

Do your own deep, inner work. The more you take care of you, the more you can support your child

Know your legal rights, make sure your child is properly identified and that they have effective documentation to support their needs. This may include ALPs ILPs IEPs RTI 504 Documentation (see IDEA)

Avoidance & Resistance

Another giant issue to consider is avoidance, and it deserves it's own section here. It's can be very difficult to help children when they seem unmotivated, when they avoid, when they are overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, withdrawn, push you away, and when they resist help. Their emotional overwhelm is so great that they have created many tools designed to avoid the perceived stress of dealing with these issues.

Be sensitive to these issues and consider a good coach or therapist to help deal with the underlying emotions so your child can learn to break through this avoidance and start to have more successes.

Executive Function

As you might have guessed, 2e kids often struggle with Executive Function. Often times, because they have trouble with "execution", their grades do not reflect their abilities. Problems with EF/execution include problems with organization, time management, planning, prioritizing, focus, reflective thinking, emotional regulation, and .

Processing Disorders

In my experience, processing issues cause seem to cause most of the misunderstandings. In other words, adults seem to confuse processing issues with some sort of willfulness, and this causes a lot of damage to students. When a student has trouble processing information, but the adult doesn't know that this is going on under the surface, it can look like the student is not trying, isn't paying attention, is being lazy, isn't motivated, etc..

Final thoughts

When giftedness is noticed and learning differences are not, adults often blame problems on laziness, not trying, low self-esteem, unmotivated rather than noticing how the disability affects the learner.

When the disability is acknowledged without noticing the giftedness, adults tend to focus on weaknesses rather than strengths.

When unidentified, this is the grey area. Perhaps worst scenario of all, the most misunderstood of the 2e kids, they compensate "too well", and the "two exceptionalities" hide one another.

Ideally, there is clarity regarding gifts and challenges so that we may design learning experiences that are appropriately challenging and supportive. Our educational culture is usually looking for easy ways to teach and measure, but kids are complex, and 2e kids are extraordinarily complex. We simply cannot rely on cookie-cutter curriculum to meet the diverse needs of these learners. There is no quick fix or magic bullet. Educating these kids requires a real investment in time and energy to creating engaging and meaningful learning experiences.

2e Twice-Exceptional Assessment Tool

Download and print my informal assessment below. It will help you gain a much better understanding of your child.

Great Links to 2e & Twice-Exceptional Resources

1. is a great website/blog with tons of excellent free articles. It's probably the best resource out there and I definitely recommend subscribing.

2. SENG Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted - a classic site got GT families

3. Hoagies Gifted Site is one of the best sites out there about gifted learners. It's a classic.

4. is a well-known 2e school in Studio City, CA.

5. is a great site for homeschool families and they have an excellent 2e resource.

6. The National Center for Learning Disabilities is the place to go to understand your rights as a parent of a 2e child.

7. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law ensuring educational services to children with disabilities. IDEA is good for parents and teachers to become familiar with.

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Video transcript:
Parents and teachers, what's up? I'm here to answer an important question for you. What is 2E? What is 2e? What is twice-exceptional? What is a twice-exceptional student? What is a twice-exceptional learner? What is a twice-exceptional kid? Let me start off by telling you that I am biased because my favorite students work with are twice-exceptional students. I just think they're amazing and I think that their potential is absolutely incredible. And what I mean by that is that these are students that have some of the quirkiest, most creative, most interesting brains I've ever seen. I'm also biased because I happen to think that these are the kids that are going to make the most important impacts in terms of solving the world's current and upcoming problems as they as they grow up. One of the problems that we have with kids is that they can slip through the cracks, which means that these kids with incredible potential, not only for them being able to contribute to their friends, families, and communities, but for them to be able to contribute on a global level. If these kids don't get their needs met, if they are not seen for their strengths, if they fall through the cracks, they will not achieve their potential. Not only does that hurt them, but it quite literally affects the entire planet, in my opinion.

So anyway, what is 2E or twice-exceptional. A 2e student, or a 2e learner, or a 2e kid is somebody who has two exceptionalities. In the education world, giftedness is considered an exceptionality as are learning disabilities. So a 2e student is somebody who is, on the one hand, gifted and talented and on the other hand, has some sort of learning disability or learning challenged. So you put them together and you got two exceptionalities. Now, you're probably thinking what if there are three exceptionalities, or 4 or 5, and that is a very valid question and that is called multi exceptionality and I prefer that word because human beings are extremely complex. Anyhow, and twice-exceptional kids are even more complex. I'll get into that in just a minute. Real quick, the terms 2e and twice-exceptional are interchangeable. They both mean the exact same thing. Maybe 3 to 5% of all students are twice-exceptional.

The number one most important concept to understand when thinking about 2e or twice-exceptional kids is this concept called asynchrony. Our world, in this world of standardization and standardized tests, in the education world that so dependent on highly manufactured curriculum, in a world that's so obsessed with collecting data in order to understand students. People don't talk about asynchrony because we think of students as being these standardized beings that 'should' perform at certain levels depending on their age or grade. Don't get me wrong, there are developmental tendencies. Most students tend to be at a certain level in Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, Speech, Language. etc at certain grade levels. So we tend to think of students as learning and developing synchronously at predictable developmental levels. However, many students and don't develop synchronously. They don't meet the standards at the exact same times. They're either above or below grade level. Very few students are at grade level in all subjects. So really most students are fairly asynchronous anyway, but one of the characteristics of gifted and talented students, I'm not talking about 2e students yet, I'm just talking about your typical gifted and talented students. One of their characteristics is that they tend to develop asynchronously, anyhow, meaning that they're not following the standards. So if you were to look at different metrics like Math, Science, Social Studies, Reading, Writing, you can even look at metrics like social skills, emotional skills metacognitive ability, musical talents, physical talent, you can look at any metrics you choose but gifted kids tend to be more all over the place. But your typical gifted student will be above grade average in most things typically.

Now, there's a lot of nuance around types of gifted and talented students. In fact, George Betts talks about six different types, I'm not getting into that here, but typically you can think of your gifted students as being strong in multiple subject areas. Now, 2e student is what I would call 'super asynchronous.' They are very all over the place. They develop very asynchronously. They may be an 8th grader who is reading at college-level, writing at 3rd-grade level, maybe they're in 10th-grade level in math, maybe there at the 6th-grade level for science. Maybe they're extremely immature when it becomes too emotional handling things that don't go their way, but extremely mature when it comes to having very very high-level conversations with adults about certain topics. Maybe these kids are extraordinarily off the charts talented in certain areas and their other areas were you just baffled and you're saying " I don't understand why this child is struggling so much in this particular thing." So asynchrony is a key, key, key when understanding twice-exceptional kids. These kids are super asynchronous, they're all over the place. There's a term called neurotypical, a neurotypical is what you would consider your general typical learners. These kids that learn asynchronously, these twice-exceptional kids are neuroatypical, they don't learn and think and feel typically, they're all over the place. So if you're to look at a bell curve in terms of different domains again, in terms of math science, social, emotional, etc and you were to look at it a bell curve in terms of any domain you wanted to examine, you would see that there are people in the middle of the bell curve. The outliers are where 2e kids fit. Be the very definition 2e kids are outliers or they are super outliers. They're outliers in many different domains. How do you know if a student is twice-exceptional or not? The most important thing to know is that there's a lot of misunderstanding around this. There's a lot of over-diagnosis, underdiagnosis, misdiagnosis, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation. So you have to be really careful when you're looking at these things having said, that testing is a great way to do it. You can test for various learning disabilities, you can test for giftedness, etc. A neuropsych is someone who does a wide range of testing, so neuropsychologists do really deep intense tests so that they can get a really deep understanding of all the various aspects of a student. You can also try to figure out if your student is to 2e by listing to your gut. A lot of times parents and teachers know in their gut. " Hey, there's something going on with this kid. I think they might be twice-exceptional." So a lot of times that's a great way to know. You probably just know. Now, you're looking at gifts and you're looking at challenges, and one of the biggest problems that 2e kids face is the discrepancies between their gifts and their challenges. If you have a student this often happens, where there have really incredible verbal ability. These are the kids who can have an adult conversation about a really deep topic in the adult is just going, " Holy cow, this kid is brilliant, and then they can't turn in their homework week after week and they're failing four out of six classes." The discrepancy between executive function and verbal ability is so big that adults are often baffled. They're saying, " I don't understand why the student is failing. It doesn't make sense to me. I know they're smart. I know they're bright. So why is this happening? " And then it gets very convoluted and then we tend to think, okay well this kid must not be trying hard enough. They must not be applying themselves, they must be lazy, they must not care about school, and all these different stories that are based on misunderstanding. So that's one of the biggest challenges with 2e kids is the discrepancy. The discrepancy can be a challenge in another way to and then that is when the disabilities outshine the abilities or the gifts and gifts are not even noticed. This can happen too and then these kids are off and put into remedial classes that may not be appropriate and etc. etc. They're all kinds of other problems that happen with this. But the point is is that a lot of problems with these kids are because of the discrepancies and the confusion that these discrepancies cause adults.

Some common disabilities will be dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD, autism, Asperger's, speech and language issues, attention issues, executive function issues, brain injury issues, concussions, emotional disorders, depression, anxiety, bipolar, etc. Now some of the gifts that they can have is that they can having a high IQ, they can be artistically gifted, they can be athletically gifted, socially gifted, incredible verbal ability, visuospatial ability, mathematically gifted, great with abstract thinking, problem-solving, they ask ridiculously weird and deep and interesting questions, they're incredibly observant in certain strength areas. They love an intellectual challenge in their strength area. They think can be really funny and have a really deep interesting sense of humor, a really unusual sense of humor. They can remember tons of detailed very easily in certain areas and they can just crave stimulation and learning.

Now, as I said before, these kids face a lot of challenges. One of the biggest challenges is that these kids can fall through the cracks. Another challenge is that these kids are often misperceived as being lazy, not caring, not trying, not working hard enough and this can cause a lot of shame. Shame is very internally damaging. These kids can have low-grade which masks their ability. Other challenges that schools often have is that they don't understand 2e, they're not doing training for the teachers on 2e. So these teachers don't even know that they have 2e students in their class, and if they do they really don't know what to do with them or don't know enough about it. The schools are not equipped to handle that. These kids are off and bored and this causes tons of other problems. Sometimes these kids are performing well enough that they can't get the services that they want. They're not struggling enough, even though they desperately need services and parents see it and teachers see it but they can't make it happen because of the bureaucracy and hoops that schools have to jump through. Sometimes pull-out programs can make them feel different. Sometimes these kids are never tested at all and nobody ever finds out that they're 2e.

There's a term called overexciteabilities, which means that these kids can be highly sensitive. They can be sensitive with their senses, smell, touch, taste, vision, hearing but they can also be sensitive emotionally and this can be a great strength, but it can also cause a lot of problems. Their deficits can often overshadow their strengths and their strengths can often overshadow their deficits. They can be difficult to diagnose properly and accurately. These kids often aren't aware of their strengths and their strengths are often not built upon. Oftentimes their weaknesses are so focused on that they start to feel bad about themselves. Standardized tests often don't tell the whole picture of what's going on with kids and these kids off and don't even know how to advocate for themselves. They really don't know what to say. They're not even aware that they're 2e or that the term even exist a lot of times. But there is a lot that you can do as parents and teachers to help support these kids.

One of the things that you can do is help build upon their gifts and their talents and their passions. These are the things that they're going to create careers out of anyhow when they get older. So the more you can build on that whether a teacher or a parent the better. Beware of how much emphasis you put on the challenges are the weaknesses. While it's important to address these things just make sure it's in balance. Project-based lessons for teachers are a great way to allow them to have ownership in choice, in buy-in in the assignments that they're doing so that they can really take it and run with it in a way that's congruent with who they are and what their strengths are. This means that you're going to have to let go of some of the more traditional curricula and find creative ways to build these things into your classroom. Using more experiential learning helps them and also using authentic forms of assessment rather than traditional scores and grades are very important. Authentic assessments are going to give you real feedback, a real understanding of the growth and learning that they're making rather than just giving them a letter grade or a number grade. It's going to give you actual feedback. Being very careful to get rid of pointless busywork, things that actually are not benefiting them, learning about compacting and acceleration in terms of teaching, rethinking homework altogether, and making sure that any homework that is given really has a real purpose, a meaningful purpose for these kids. And for all kids, of course. Give these kids and all kids alternate ways of process. There's content process and product process, the product is how you show your learning, give them other ways of showing their learning than just the typical ones the typical ways of showing learning are tests, papers, and your old school projects. Make sure to support their social-emotional needs, coach them in executive function. The biggest problem that these kids have, the biggest problem that really affects their lives and impacts them negatively is that they struggle with executive function.

All 2e kids who struggle in school struggle with executive function in some way shape or form, so learn about executive function and helping coach them with executive function stuff is critical for these kids. That's probably the number one thing I have to say about how we can support them. Teach them how to learn, not just what to learn. Make sure to teach them self care and catch 'em being good. Use the 3-1 rule, find three positives to every one perceive negative you're going to use with them. Really find the things they're doing well and reinforce those over and over and over and over. Don't focus too much on what they're not doing right, focus mostly way mostly, on what they are doing right, on their effort, not the outcome but the effort. They desperately need that. Give them great role models, older kids that can help them, or teachers that take an interest in them, or relatives that take an interest in them. Parents and teachers, be sure to document interventions that are working, accommodations that work. Keep track of these so that you can communicate these easily from year to year from the new teachers'. Exposure. Give them exposure to a wide range of things that they can learn about of experiences that they can have so that they can really try on a lot of different things to develop their strengths and interests and passions and talents. Learn to co-regulate. So learn about your own emotional regulation so that you can co-regulate and help them when they're nervous system is out of whack so that you're more attuned to where they're at in their nervous system is that you can help them to regulate when they start to become dysregulated. Advocate for these kids, be the squeaky wheel when there is a need don't stop advocating for these kids. They really need you.

Now, one of the other biggest problems that these students have, the 2w kids have is resistance and avoidance. Resistance, resistance, resistance. " I don't want to, I don't feel like it this is stupid. This is dumb. I don't care. I'm a failure. I'm just lazy, " whatever the story is they resist, they have stories that help them to not take actions, to not execute, to not use executive function to do things they don't want to do, whether it's because they think it's pointless busywork, whether they're just exhausted emotionally, whatever. So resistance is a huge thing to deal with. It is outside the scope of this video but I just want you to know that resistance is a huge characteristic of to 2e kids and a huge issue that you have to contend with in order to help them be successful. You want to approach it in a really positive, honest, and open way. Finally, we really need, literally, I'm not trying to be cheesy here, the world needs 2e kids. We need them to develop their strengths. They have a very very very unique perspective and approach to life, to thinking, to problem-solving. We need them to develop their strengths and their talents and their passions and their interests. We need them to feel good about who they are, as a culture, as a world we need them. But also just for themselves to have a great quality of life. To be able to self-actualize, to be able to feel happy and successful. That's what we really want for our kids. So, I hope this video helped you, if you like it please click thumbs-up subscribe to my YouTube channel. Share this with somebody and have a great day and take some positive action for the 2e kids you know. Take care.

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IS MY CHILD 2e or TWICE EXCEPTIONAL-The Ultimate Guide

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Parents & Teachers- 2e or Twice Exceptional students are complex kids who are GIFTED & HAVE LEARNING CHALLENGES (adhd, asd, dyslexia, executive function etc