Understanding 2e Children - Part 1
- Christine Henry
- Apr 8
- 3 min read
This is part one of a two-part blog series about understanding and parenting Twice Exceptional (2e) kids.
When our children struggle with their learning or their social-emotional development, we try to figure out what is the underlying cause so we can address it with appropriate support. For parents of Twice Exceptional (2e) children, this becomes particularly tricky because of the unique challenges faced by the combination of giftedness and co-occurring learning disabilities or neurodivergence. Twice Exceptional children, who are intellectually gifted students, simultaneously possess exceptional strengths within areas like creativity, problem-solving, or advanced verbal and mathematical abilities and have co-occurring learning, attention, sensory, or social-emotional challenges. This unique mixture of presentations can make their needs easy to overlook: their talents may mask struggles, while their difficulties can obscure brilliance, leaving families and educators unsure how best to support them. Understanding 2e kids means recognizing both sides of the equation, creating environments that challenge and nurture their gifts while providing targeted interventions and accommodations so they can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
Let’s dive deeper into understanding what Twice-Exceptional means. Gifted students are generally those who score in the top 2% of intellectual ability on various cognitive tests or psychological evaluations. Many gifted programs have their own criteria for qualifying students, including accepting up to the top 10% of students with academic achievement, while others for highly intellectually advanced students only accept the top 0.5% of students. Regardless of qualifying criteria, these kinds of programs provide an intellectually stimulating learning environment to support a child’s unique strengths.
On the other hand, neurodivergence includes a wide range of challenges varying from dyslexia, dyscalculia, or dysgraphia, to ADHD or Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), to Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), or even Anxiety or OCD. While there are Special Education (SPED) programs for children struggling with learning or academic achievement, many children remain in General Education with their peers and receive additional support like OT, Speech Therapy, or tutoring. The challenge for 2e children comes when the coexistence of high ability and disability cause a phenomenon called asynchronous development.
Asynchronous development is the term used to highlight the discrepancies between a child having advanced intellect and lagging emotional or executive functioning/life skills. A child may have intellectual ability well beyond his or her chronological age but still be struggling to develop skills from an earlier/younger developmental stage. An example would be an elementary school age child who reads at a middle school level but struggles to organize their backpack or manage frustration. It is important to understand Asynchronous Development because of the impact it has on the either the child’s disability masking their intellect, or a child’s high intellect masking their disability or struggles. This masking effect oftentimes leads to misidentification the child’s strengths or challenges and therefore missing out on appropriate supports or programs. Proper identification of 2e children helps us advocate for fair grading and access to accommodations. For example, if a child is graded harshly on skills affected by their ASD or ADHD—like handwriting or organization—we can explain that these are areas of lagging development, not “lack of effort.”
Ultimately, because of the wide range of presentations for 2e kids, it is important to recognize common features as well as understand the variations of their challenges. Often 2e kids show an intense curiosity and creativity with a deep passion for specific topics, including having a hyperfocus during preferred activities. These children demonstrate an “out of the box” thinking style and can have exceptional problem-solving skills. Some can hold long conversations on diverse topics and show deep connections or analytical thinking. Many 2e kids are highly sensitive or have an emotional intensity that can cause social-emotional struggles or feeling “different.” Because of various underlying sensory profiles, many have sensory aversions or unmet sensory needs that can also cause distractions or dysregulated behavior. Finally, because of their own awareness of the gaps between their intellectual ability and challenges with learning, they may have heightened anxiety or worries, perfectionism leading to burnout or frustration tolerance and challenges with low self-esteem or self-doubt.
If these descriptions remind you of your own child, please see the resources below. Also, be on the lookout for Blog Part 2: Parenting 2e Children.
• SENG: Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted
• NAGC: National Association for Gifted Children
• 2e Center for Research and Professional Development
• Mensa for Kids
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