Every Child is Exceptional
As parents and teachers know, every child exhibits both gifts and challenges! Average children do not exist. Each brain brings unique talents to the planet. Together, we are far, far more than we are individually. So, a label such as twice-exceptional can be confusing. But, in a school setting, “twice-exceptional” indicates a student who may find school nearly unbearable.
Schools Serve Average Students
Because school requires education in groups, it must be tailored for the theoretical “average” student. This works tolerably well for many children. It fails spectacularly for most twice-exceptional students. Thus, 2E becomes a “disability” at school. Outside the classroom, 2E means simply a delightful difference.
What Makes Twice-Exceptional a Disability?
A student labeled twice-exceptional exhibits giftedness in at least one area while struggling in another. For example, a child who is gifted in math may read below grade level, due to dyslexia. Another child may read like a whiz, but numbers make no sense. Maybe all the school work is a mess, but music, art, or dance come naturally. In the classroom, these differences can cause a student to fall through the cracks. The lagging skill prevents the gift from being recognized, while the giftedness provides ways to get by. The student receives passing grades but suffers daily frustration. Teachers with little time for one-on-one may assume the student is lazy. The student absorbs this negative reaction, becoming emotionally disengaged. This produces daydreaming, behavior problems, anger, or depression. A downward spiral initiates, resulting in a student who hates school and parents who dread homework.
What Does it Mean to be Twice-Exceptional?
Twice-exceptional students exhibit unusually high levels of creativity and independent thinking. (See The Dyslexic Advantage
But That Doesn’t Solve the School Problem
Well, no. If students feel understood and valued by a caring adult, that rescues self-esteem, and frees them to flourish and develop their gifts. It doesn’t raise their GPA. In the course of a 30 year career as an academic tutor working with hundreds of twice-exceptional students, I’ve seen a variety of successful approaches to 2E education. Successful, to me, means the student is happily learning, the stress level connected to school is low, and the student is developing his or her particular gifts. It does not necessarily translate into high test scores, though that often happens by high school.
Successful, Happy Twice-Exceptional Students
Every student needs a unique approach. Parents may choose to home school, allowing students to progress in each subject at a pace that suits their abilities. Or parents may opt for a small charter or private school so the student gets more teacher time. Public school plus quality tutoring can allow the student to excel and can drastically reduce the frustration homework often causes. One of the simplest and profoundly effective methods is surprising. Many students flourish when parents say, “Grades mean nothing to me; just learn as much as you can, treat others with respect, and it’ll all work out in the end. I’ve always got your back and I know what you’re good at.” That has to be said a lot of times to counteract the messages from school, but I’ve seen some outstanding successes this way.
Students Succeed When They Know Their Parents Believe in Them
One student in Albuquerque flunked every grade, 1-12, due to reading/writing difficulties. However, his parents insisted that he be passed along and even placed him in gifted classes! They hired a lawyer to write a letter to the school district threatening a lawsuit based on ADA if their requests were ignored. The student went to college on a wrestling scholarship and did well with the help of a tutor. This highly dyslexic student became an award-winning engineer, with a 4.0 GPA on his master’s degree. I don’t recommend this approach for everyone! But it highlights the drastic measures that may be called for when student and classroom aren’t a good match.
So, What DOES a Twice-Exceptional Student Need?
When a student’s abilities fall far outside of “average,” that student needs a trusted adult who really understands both their struggles AND their gifts. Next, the educational setting must be adjusted to allow real success. Third, the student must be given time, access to training if needed, and permission to develop his or her particular gifts, EVEN if that means sacrificing grades. It’s a lot to ask of parents and teachers. But the results are spectacular. Twice-exceptional learners include Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Agatha Christie, in fact, thousands of innovators, inventors, actors, business leaders, heads of state, scientists, mathematicians, computer wizards. Creativity and independent thinking come naturally to twice exceptional people! For some inspiring videos on this subject, visit Made By Dyslexia.
@GrahamYvonna
Many twice exceptional students find audiobooks a wonderful tool. You can download free classic read by volunteers from Librivox. For $15/mo you can access newer titles at Audible. A dyslexia diagnosis will give you access to textbooks read aloud at Learning Ally. And even better, many public libraries lend audiobooks and paper books together for audio-assisted reading.