🧠 Is my Child Twice Exceptional or 2e?

Parents and teachers, what’s up?

I’m here to answer an important question for you: What is 2E? What is twice-exceptional? What is a twice-exceptional student, learner, or kid?

Let me start by telling you that I am biased because my favorite students to work with are twice-exceptional students. I think they’re amazing, and I think their potential is absolutely incredible.

What I mean by that is that these are students who have some of the quirkiest, most creative, and most interesting brains I’ve ever seen. I’m also biased because I happen to think these are the kids who are going to make some of the most important impacts in solving the world’s current and future problems as they grow up.

One of the problems we have is that these kids can slip through the cracks. That means children with incredible potential—not only to contribute to their friends, families, and communities, but also on a global level—may never achieve that potential if their needs aren’t met. If they’re not seen for their strengths, they can fall through the cracks.

Not only does that hurt them, but in my opinion, it literally affects the entire planet.

So anyway, what is 2E or twice-exceptional?

A 2E student, learner, or kid is someone who has two exceptionalities. In the education world, giftedness is considered an exceptionality, and so are learning disabilities.

A 2E student is someone who is gifted and talented on one hand and has some type of learning disability or learning challenge on the other. Put those together, and you have two exceptionalities.

Now you’re probably wondering: What if there are three, four, or five exceptionalities?

That’s a very valid question. That’s often called multi-exceptionality, and honestly, I prefer that term because human beings are extremely complex. Twice-exceptional kids are even more complex, and I’ll get into that in a minute.

Real quick: the terms “2E” and “twice-exceptional” are interchangeable. They mean exactly the same thing.

Maybe 3–5% of all students are twice-exceptional.

The number one most important concept to understand when thinking about 2E kids is something called asynchrony.

In our world of standardization, standardized tests, and highly manufactured curricula, people don’t talk much about asynchrony because we tend to think of students as standardized beings who should perform at certain levels based on their age or grade.

Don’t get me wrong—there are developmental tendencies. Most students tend to be at certain levels in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, speech, and language at certain grade levels.

So we tend to think of students as developing synchronously and predictably.

However, many students do not develop synchronously. They don’t meet standards at exactly the same times. They’re either above or below grade level.

Very few students are at grade level in every subject. Most students are somewhat asynchronous anyway.

One characteristic of gifted students—even before we talk about 2E students—is that they tend to develop asynchronously.

If you look at different metrics like math, science, social studies, reading, writing, social skills, emotional skills, metacognition, musical talents, or physical abilities, gifted kids tend to be more uneven. They’re often all over the place developmentally.

That said, a typical gifted student is usually above average in many areas.

There’s a lot of nuance around different types of gifted students. In fact, George Betts talks about six different types, but I won’t get into that here.

Generally speaking, gifted students tend to be strong in multiple areas.

A 2E student, however, is what I would call super asynchronous.

They may be an eighth grader reading at a college level, writing at a third-grade level, doing tenth-grade math, and performing at a sixth-grade level in science.

They may be extremely immature emotionally when things don’t go their way, yet capable of having very sophisticated conversations with adults.

They may be extraordinarily talented in certain areas, while struggling in ways that leave adults baffled.

You look at them and think, “I don’t understand why this child is struggling so much with this particular thing.”

That’s why asynchrony is such a key concept for understanding twice-exceptional kids.

They are all over the place developmentally.

There’s a term called neurotypical, which refers to people who learn in more expected ways.

Twice-exceptional kids are often neuroatypical. They don’t learn, think, or feel in typical ways.

If you imagine a bell curve and look at various domains—math, science, social skills, emotional development, and so on—you’ll see that most people cluster toward the middle.

2E kids are the outliers.

In fact, by definition, they are often outliers in multiple domains at the same time.

How do you know if a student is twice-exceptional?

The most important thing to know is that there is a lot of misunderstanding around 2E. There is over-diagnosis, under-diagnosis, misdiagnosis, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation.

So you have to be careful.

That said, testing can be very helpful. You can test for learning disabilities, giftedness, and other factors.

A neuropsychologist can perform comprehensive testing to develop a deep understanding of a student’s strengths and challenges.

You can also trust your gut.

Many parents and teachers simply know there’s something different going on with a child. They sense that the student might be twice-exceptional.

Often, they’re right.

One of the biggest problems 2E kids face is the discrepancy between their gifts and their challenges.

For example, a student may have extraordinary verbal abilities. They can hold deep, sophisticated conversations with adults and leave people thinking, “Wow, this kid is brilliant.”

Yet they can’t turn in homework consistently and may be failing several classes.

The discrepancy between their intellectual abilities and their executive function challenges can be enormous.

Adults often become confused.

They say, “I know this student is smart. Why are they failing?”

As a result, people begin telling themselves stories:

• They’re not trying hard enough.

• They’re lazy.

• They don’t care.

• They’re not applying themselves.

Those stories are often based on misunderstanding.

In other cases, the disabilities overshadow the gifts so much that nobody even notices the strengths.

The student may end up in inappropriate remedial settings, creating an entirely different set of problems.

The discrepancies create confusion, and that confusion often leads to poor support.

Some common disabilities seen in 2E students include:

• Dyslexia

• Dysgraphia

• Dyscalculia

• ADHD

• Autism

• Asperger’s

• Speech and language challenges

• Attention issues

• Executive function difficulties

• Brain injuries

• Concussions

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Bipolar disorder

Some common gifts include:

• High IQ

• Artistic talent

• Athletic talent

• Social strengths

• Exceptional verbal abilities

• Strong visual-spatial skills

• Mathematical giftedness

• Abstract thinking

• Problem-solving abilities

• Deep curiosity

• Creativity

• Unique humor

• Strong memory in areas of interest

• A craving for learning and intellectual stimulation

These kids face many challenges.

They often fall through the cracks.

They are frequently perceived as lazy, unmotivated, or not trying hard enough. That misunderstanding can create tremendous shame, which is deeply damaging.

Their grades may mask their abilities.

Schools often don’t provide enough training about twice-exceptional learners, so teachers may not recognize them or know how to support them.

These students are frequently bored, which can create additional behavioral and emotional challenges.

Sometimes they’re performing just well enough that they don’t qualify for services, even though everyone can see they need help.

Pull-out programs can make them feel different.

Sometimes they are never tested at all, and nobody ever realizes they’re twice-exceptional.

There’s another concept called overexcitabilities.

This means these kids can be highly sensitive.

They may be sensitive to smells, sounds, touch, taste, visual input, and other sensory experiences.

They may also be emotionally sensitive.

This sensitivity can be a tremendous strength, but it can also create challenges.

Their deficits can overshadow their strengths, and their strengths can overshadow their deficits.

They can be difficult to diagnose accurately.

Many aren’t even aware of their own strengths because so much attention is focused on their weaknesses.

Standardized tests often fail to tell the whole story.

Many of these students don’t know how to advocate for themselves because they don’t even know they are 2E.

Fortunately, there is a lot parents and teachers can do.

Build upon their gifts, talents, interests, and passions.

These strengths are often the foundation of future careers and meaningful lives.

Be careful not to focus too heavily on weaknesses. Address challenges, but maintain balance.

For teachers, project-based learning can be incredibly powerful because it gives students ownership, choice, and buy-in.

Experiential learning helps.

Authentic assessments are often more meaningful than traditional grades because they provide real feedback about growth and learning.

Reduce pointless busywork.

Think carefully about homework and make sure it serves a meaningful purpose.

Provide multiple ways for students to demonstrate learning.

Support their social-emotional needs.

Coach executive function skills.

In fact, the biggest issue affecting many 2E students is executive function.

All 2E kids who struggle in school struggle with executive function in some way.

Learning about executive function and helping students build those skills is critical.

It’s probably the number one thing I would emphasize.

Teach them how to learn, not just what to learn.

Teach self-care.

Catch them being successful.

Use the 3:1 rule—three positive observations for every one negative correction.

Focus on effort more than outcomes.

They desperately need that encouragement.

Give them positive role models.

Document interventions and accommodations that work so information can be shared from year to year.

Expose them to a wide range of experiences so they can discover and develop their strengths.

Learn co-regulation so you can help them regulate emotions when they’re dysregulated.

And advocate for them.

Be the squeaky wheel.

They need you.

Another major challenge for 2E students is resistance and avoidance.

“I don’t want to.”

“I don’t feel like it.”

“This is stupid.”

“This is pointless.”

“I’m lazy.”

“I’m a failure.”

Whatever the story may be, resistance often gets in the way of action and execution.

Whether they view something as meaningless busywork or are emotionally exhausted, resistance is a huge issue.

It’s beyond the scope of this video, but it’s important to understand that resistance is one of the defining challenges many 2E students face.

Approach it with positivity, honesty, and openness.

Finally, the world needs 2E kids.

I’m not trying to be cheesy.

We genuinely need them.

They have unique ways of thinking, seeing problems, and generating solutions.

We need them to develop their strengths, talents, interests, and passions.

We need them to feel good about who they are.

As a culture and as a world, we need what they have to offer.

And most importantly, they deserve a great quality of life.

They deserve to feel happy, successful, fulfilled, and capable of becoming who they are meant to be.

That’s what we want for all our kids.

So I hope this helped.

If you liked it, please give it a thumbs-up, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and share it with someone who might benefit.

And most importantly, take some positive action for the 2E kids in your life.

Take care.