Twice Exceptional - what does it mean?

Is she gifted?

Is he gifted?

Many people are unaware that gifted students can have learning difficulties. 



They still have the narrow view that gifted students are 'straight A' students who breeze through school.  It is probably one of the reasons that many teachers are reluctant to give any extra attention to gifted students, after all school is so easy for them!  There is also resentment from other parents as they feel the gifted student has an unfair advantage over their child.

It is not uncommon for gifted students to be dyslexic or autistic or have ADHD or a whole range of learning difficulties. The difficulty is that giftedness can mask the learning difficulties as bright children can often find ways to compensate for their difficulties.  On the other hand sometimes the learning difficulties masks the giftedness as teachers and adults focus on the behaviours and deficits rather than he child's abilities.

To add to the confusion gifted children also have overexcitabilites which can be misinterpreted as a learning difficulty like ADHD. They can be perfectionists, be rigid in their thinking and have difficulty socialising within their own age group which can be mistaken for autism. Their asychronous development can also mean that their motor skills and writing skills do not match their intellectual ability and can seem like a dyslexic type difficulty.

The result of these uneven profiles is that many gifted students are never recognised as 'gifted' within the school context.  Their parents will see how rapidly they learn new things at home, their extreme curiosity and hunger understand the word around them, their advanced vocabulary and heightened sensitivity and awareness.

But at school, the teachers are unimpressed - they complain about the child being distracted, not listening to instructions, rushing to complete tasks, not completing written tasks carefully. They are frustrated that the child seems to want to follow their own agenda rather than dutifully completing the task as the teacher instructed.

And so the journey of disappointments, frustrations and misunderstanding begins for the child, the parents and the teacher.

As a parent and a teacher I can see both sides of the story. I understand why teachers behave in the way they do, as they rely on children's responses to a narrow range of activities in the classroom.  But I also know the frustration when teachers do not see your child as you see them and they do not value your insights from your experiences at home.

The best way to identify twice exceptional children is for there to be an open and honest dialogue between teachers and parents.

The missing part of the puzzle is very often information that only the parent will have. There needs to be an acceptance that if a parent says their child is gifted the chances are that they are gifted. I don't even like the word 'gifted', I don't use it to boast, I use it because it the most helpful way of understanding my child.  I find that very often my motives are questioned when I draw a teacher's attention to my child's abilities. Like all parents the well being of my child is my main concern, its not about 'status' or having unrealistic expectations. In fact I spend most of my time keeping quiet about my child's abilities with both friends and family.

Parents often see a different side of their child which may not be obvious in school.  Teachers should not forget that parents have been observing their child from the day they were born and are quick to notice when their child does not behave or react to things in the way other children do. Often parents will spend many years puzzling and piecing together observations and researching possible causes for their child's difference. Parents know things about their child that teachers would never know from the school context. And just as many adults have a work persona and a home persona, children can present very differently at home and at school. Teachers need to value a parent's insights more and think about how it relates to the child they see in school.

In my experience, teacher's can often misinterpret a child's behaviour or shortcomings and the reason for these difficulties. They often blame parents when actually those things are very intrinsic to the child. And no amount of correction or persuasion will change it.  My child is a perfectionist and no matter how many times I tell him it is ok to make a mistake, he still cries or gets angry when he does.

From a teacher's point of view, many have not had training about how giftedness may present itself in the classroom or the full range of gifted children they may come across.  They are trained to value and judge a child's ability by how successfully they complete routine classroom tasks. There continues to be a big emphasis on what a child can record in writing.  This can lead some gifted children to be grouped with 'lower' ability children because they are easily distracted or their writing is weak. Of course gifted students do need to learn to focus and improve their writing skills if this is an issue.  But if we put all the focus on  child's weaknesses and do not acknowledge or give time for them to be challenged or excel in their area of strength, this leads to frustration and demotivation. Which in turn can lead to behaviours which further distracts the teacher from the giftedness and a downward spiral begins.

Well informed teachers and parents are the key to the success of gifted students and particularly those who are twice exceptional.

Over the next few weeks I will be discussing the full range of twice exceptional students and the dangers of misdiagnosis.