The Twice-exceptional Elephant: What 2e Is, and Most Importantly, What It Isn’t.
I often joke that I will retire the day that when I tell people my purpose in this world is serving “twice-exceptional students,” they will say “nice!” instead of “what’s that mean?” While the term 2e, or twice-exceptional, has been around for a while as a concept, the terms are fairly new in the fields of psychology and education. If you haven’t heard it, don’t worry, you're not alone. It just means there’s still lots of work to do!
Who are these 2e learners? First, they are our people – it’s who we have designed our Virtual Village to support. I am a 2e learner, and many of our teachers are 2e or love somebody who is. So, what exactly does 2e mean? How do you know your child is 2e? Who gets to define what 2e is, and maybe more importantly, what it isn’t?
One way to conceptualize this is to think of these definitions like that parable about the mice describing an elephant in the dark. One mouse, feeling the elephant's foot, says, “Ah yes, this is a sturdy oak with bark like skin.” Another mouse, perched on the elephant’s trunk says, “No, it’s like a long snake.” So on and so on. Each mouse defines another part of the elephant, but none of them get the whole picture. This is what defining 2e is like, but it seems like some people have a better picture of the elephant than others.
In general, twice-exceptional means having exceptional strengths (often labeled as gifted or talented) as well as great challenges (often labeled as learning disabilities or other neurodiversity). This definition, while generally true, fails to embrace the rich diversity within the 2e population.
We do not have a single unified definition of gifted, let alone a unified definition of “disability,” which on its own is evolving and changing. No neurodivergent community is a monolith, and the critical review of disability services, rights, and culture is actively changing the way that language is used. The evolution of these terms, and the history behind them, are painful, and require deeper discussion, but are a bit outside of the conversation of the day. Perhaps a future blog? We’ll see!
What 2e Is:
While there is no one perfect definition, there are a few that I consider valuable pictures of the 2e elephant.
Twice-exceptionality is asynchronous learning. In 1991, the Columbus Group, a group of parents, teachers, and educators, defined giftedness as an uneven rate of learning, i.e. asynchronous learning. Those learners who are the most asynchronous, as in the largest difference between their strengths and weaknesses are twice-exceptional. This definition is useful because it takes out some of the elitism often attributed to giftedness, as well as removes the stigma that can be attached to disability. We used this asynchronous learning model to offer a wide variety of levels in our classes - without cut and dry age requirements. We know that a 10 year old can do a college-level debate class in one subject, and at grade level or below in another, and may need different executive function scaffolding for each.
Twice-exceptionality is the intersection (the green) of strengths (blue) and challenge (yellow). Dr. Susan Baum, one of the preeminent researchers in twice-exceptionality sees 2e kids, or the “green” kids, as their own entity. We can’t look at them in terms of giftedness or challenge, but rather as a unit with giftedness and challenges integrated in every aspect of their learning. (Fun fact: our YSA logo is green for this reason! I talk about it here.) This definition can be very helpful for teachers and parents who see the strengths and weakness of 2e kids day in and day out. It can also be useful to get out of the medical, deficit lens of disability and learning differences as something that must be “propped up” before a child’s strengths can be explored.
Twice-Exceptionality looks different for different kids. REEL 2E is a parent-support group for 2e people in California. REEL 2e defines twice-exceptionality as giftedness with a learning disability, but they recognize that learning differences can look different in gifted populations. Many kids mask their weakness with their strengths, making it difficult to assess or accurately diagnose many of these disabilities or differences.
Ok - hopefully by now, you have the gist of what twice-exceptionality can look like - the rough shape of the 2e elephant if you will. But, if you are still hazy on the specifics, you aren’t alone. In fact, there’s not even a single unified definition of 2e, and many of the definitions used are only useful in specific situations (medical diagnosis or protected disability), and only some are affirming and strength-based (self-identification, person first, etc).
So, instead of talking about what 2e IS, I’m going to tell you what 2e ISN’T. For the mice on the elephant, they needed someone to tell them that it was not a tree or a snake. We are going to help define the shape of the 2e elephant by taking away all the shapes of the things it cannot be.
What 2e Isn’t: Top Myths about Twice-Exceptionality:
You have to have an assessment/”official diagnosis” to be 2e. Nope. Not at all. There is a lot of chatter in education right now about who gets to be what. Who gets to be gifted? Is it the families who can pay for an assessment? Is it the kids who have neurotypical profiles? The same goes for neurodivergence. Unfortunately, we live in a world/society where children are often misdiagnosed due to social disparities in race, wealth, and gender. There is a reason why women and girls are often underdiagnosed as autistic or diagnosed much later than their male peer. This is even more true with people of color. These groups are often overlooked due to societal expectations - we need a lot more diversity in neurodiversity. For many adults, they didn’t even grow up in school or home environments that would have supported diagnoses. In fact, many adults are only now discovering that they are neurodivergent AFTER their children have gone through the process.
Let’s be clear about something- Nobody should be the gatekeeper on identity and services.
You can’t be gifted and have learning differences. People, especially school administrations or the media, have a tendency to equate “gifted” with high potential or high achieving. But, if you think the variations of definitions for twice-exceptional are hard to manage, you would be blown away by the definitions of “gifted”.
Gifted is not a globally recognized term. It can mean anything from an IQ of 120 (or 130 or whatever cut off is necessary) to the top 1%-2% to a variety of talents and expressions and abilities. Watch this video interview with Dr. Joseph Renzulli to learn how he uses gifted (a much more inclusive usage than most!). Regardless of how the definitions break out, they all deal with one thing: people. Humans. These amazingly unique, complex, creatures. None of us are the same, yet all of us have strengths and weaknesses. Why would we assume that a person with high ability would be high ability in everything they do always? For example, dyslexia is a highly inheritable learning disability. Generally, dyslexia (or specific learning disability in school lingo) includes challenges with reading and often spelling. Dyslexia in public school systems can often be a huge challenge. At the same time, many dyslexics have incredible visual processing. They have a gift, you might say – as well as a challenge.
Giftedness does not mean universally talented. Just like having a disability doesn’t make a person universally dis/abled.
Giftedness compensates for disabilities or learning differences. There is a common trope that parents hear when their children are diagnosed with a disability or a cognitive difference. It is what I like to call the “at least”s or the “but they”s. For example, a child may have ADHD, “but they are so smart”. Or a family of a 2e autistic child may hear “at least they are good at math”. These types of phrases feel like they may be helpful, but instead they are dismissive of any struggles that a learning difference can bring, while also assuming that neurodiversity requires some sort of cushion to “soften the blow” of the diagnoses. When we frame someone’s lived experience as worse because they are physically, emotionally, or mentally different, we are being ableist. Ableism is wrapped deeply into twice-exceptional conversations because as a society, we celebrate “genius” and try to cure “disability.”
Autistic adults often talk about the damage curative language, or words that define autism as a “disorder,” does to them. Neurodiverse people experience many challenges in integrating into a neurotypical world. Being “smart” or “capable” doesn’t lesson a challenge that exists because the environment is not supportive or affirming. We can’t reason our way out of a learning disability. Building fast connections between things doesn’t make it easier to sit still and listen to a boring lecture. We need to recognize that 2e learners have just as much right to have access, accommodations, and scaffolding supports – this includes access to gifted programing and courses designed for accelerated learners. We must also treat all children (and humans really) as a whole entity - not just a summation of a lot of parts, some of which are glorified while some need to be “fixed” and remediated.
It’s better to remediate the weakness before you focus on the strength. NOOOOOO! WRONG! Many school environments come at learning differences from a deficit-based model, meaning they focus on all the things you can’t do before looking at what you can’t do. Imagine as adults if the only thing we heard from our bosses or our workmates was all of the things we did wrong. It would be soul crushing. Yet, schools do this to children regularly when they look at learning disabilities from a deficit lens. We need to do better. This is even more important for 2e students who often have great strengths and great challenges, and due to their deeper awareness often see the great differences between what they THINK they are able to do and what they CAN do (at the moment). They often know they have the capability to meet incredibly high expectations, yet often are lacking skills and abilities to perform or produce.
Often with scaffolding and affirming environments, they are able to produce and create beyond their own expectations. It is incredibly important to understand your child – what they like, what they feel they are good at, and how they like to talk about their neurodiversity. If you are not part of the neurodiverse community of your child, help them connect to other adults within the community. During my Illuminating Interview with Dr. Siobahn Lamb, she talks about the importance of connecting with neurodiverse communities: “Always speak through strength-based narratives” to your child. Build up and support their strengths, and you will “see” your children much more clearly than you ever can by only looking at their weaknesses.
Every 2e learner is the same. There is a saying that “once you’ve met one 2e student, you’ve met one 2e student.” Every child is not the same, so every 2e person can’t be the same either. Neurodiverse people experience the world in so many different ways, and so often strengths in one area can be a weakness in another. Three children with ADHD may all experience their ADHD differently and express it differently as well. This can definitely make it more difficult for a parent or educator to know how to best support each child! But, this is why we at Young Scholars Academy use a strength-based approach for all of our classes. This lets each child experience their learning from a place of strengths. When we approach all learning differences from a strength-based approach, we are able to meet children wherever they are at and help them go wherever they want to.
2e education is just gifted education with added supports. Just like no child is the same, no education path works for all 2e learners. Navigating the pros and cons of each path can be exhausting for parents and children alike, but there are several ways to find the best education possible.
Realize that every child is different and has different strengths. If you haven’t heard it enough yet, I’m going to say it again: Start with strength-based learning. Always. What are your child’s strengths? Write them down. Ask them what they think they are good at. This is a great exercise for everyone! Heck, while you’re at it, write down your own strengths. It’s the best feeling!
Determine what YOU as the parent want for your child. Now is the time to be specific, not vague like “I want them to be happy adults”. That isn’t actionable. Do you want them to be with like-minded peers? Do you want them to have an opportunity to stand up in the middle of the day? Do you want your child to go to Harvard and study law like your father and his father before him?
Make sure your goals and your child’s goals align, and in a strengths-based model, your child’s goals trump yours (outside of health and safety of course). =)
Work with the education system you have (homeschool, private, public, etc) to make your child’s education a strength-based education. My Illuminating Interview with Dr. Dann will help guide you with 5 non-negotiables for 2e learners.
I hope this brings me a little closer to retirement by shining a bit more light on the 2e elephant. I have dedicated my life to 2e education, which is why Young Scholars Academy’s Virtual Village is designed for 2e learners - all of whom can be a bit different and that’s just fine.
Remember to approach your child with a strength-based approach, and you will be well on your way.
If you’re looking for a way you can jumpstart your strength-based development right now…
CLICK HERE !!!
I can’t wait to see your kiddo on the inside of our virtual village, shining in all their glory, and support you.
Most of all, I can’t wait for you to write me in a few weeks and share your story about how your family’s life has changed, just like these moms above have done.
It’s time to start with strengths.
It’s time to break the cycle.
