This four-part series will provide a glimpse into what it takes to build and run a successful school for 2e children. It will offer teachers a primer of what 2e students need to thrive, and show parents how they can help or hinder the work of specialized educators. Additionally, it can help medical and therapeutic professionals understand the emotional and social pressures of being 2e. I have worked with 2e children and their families for 20 years, and have created and operated a school for 2e children for the past nine years. This series will celebrate the exceptional abilities, and tackle the most difficult aspects of working with 2e students and their families, through day-in-the-life stories from my school. Stories are how we humans relate to each other, learn from each other, and develop empathy for each other.

Part 1 – Education and Emotional Health

“We need help! There’s trouble in the Zen Room!” (The irony of that statement does not escape me). I hurried into the room to see James menacing our math coach with a pencil. On the floor lay most of the contents of the bookshelves and table. I eased our coach out of the room and faced James, “You’re safe, James, it’s OK.” James threw a pencil at me and grabbed the electric pencil sharpener. As I reached down to unplug it, he pulled out the shavings drawer and flung shavings in my face. Then he grabbed the cord and tried to swing the pencil sharpener at me. As I caught it, his eyes darted around the room for something still within reach. When he realized nothing was left, he pushed a chair against me and tried to crush me between the chair and the wall. Fortunately for me, James was only six, so I didn’t feel particularly threatened, despite the well-aimed pencil shavings. After James realized he had thrown everything that wasn’t nailed down, he tried to crawl into the bottom of the book shelf and pulled a chair in front of him. I turned the lights off and sat down next to the shelf, intentionally making myself small. I began to murmur to James that he was OK. I would keep him safe, and no one was going to hurt him. After nearly 30 minutes of quietly bearing witness to his pain, James eased the chair away and said in a quavering voice, “I thought you were going to punish me.” I told James we don’t punish children at Big Minds, that our job is to help them figure out what they need, so that everyone can do better. He was quiet for a few more minutes, and then a sad little story poured out of James. James said he had always been bad at math, but his teacher made him stand up and do his math problems in front of the whole class, correcting his errors along the way. Then she made him stay in for recess on many days because he wasn’t finishing his math worksheets on time. When he cried about missing recess, she told him that he should be grateful that she was helping him with math because he was never going to learn without extra help. When he was reluctant to do the problems, his teacher told him he should stop being so lazy, because “at this rate, he would never get to go to recess.” As James’ humiliation and frustration increased, his behavior got worse. When James began to refuse to do his classwork, he was sent to sit in the hallway. Soon he was telling his teacher he hated her, and she responded by taking away more privileges and putting red behavior flags on his desk. One day he tore the flags off, wadded them up, and threw them at the teacher, so she frog marched him out of the classroom and down to the principal’s office. This pattern repeated itself until one day when the teacher grabbed James’ arm to haul him out of the room, he stabbed her with his pencil and told her he wanted to kill her. At this point in his story, James looked directly into my eyes and said, “Adults are bigger than me and I know they can hurt me. I figured out that anything can be made into a weapon, and once I have a weapon, it equalizes the power.” How have we created a school system where children feel they need a weapon to equalize power? It is distressing to know that there are many more 2e children out there who are stuck in a similar loop of escalating maladaptive behavior. We are punishing children for their disabilities. [dropshadowbox align=”right” effect=”raised” width=”40 percent” height=”” background_color=”#eeeeee” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” rounded_corners=”false” inside_shadow=”false” ] Intellectual Characteristics of 2e Children

• highly curious, divergent thinker
• intellectually advanced
• creative problem solvers
• insatiable need for information/learning
• learns “systems” to a high degree of competency
• can see obscure connections not easily seen by others
• advanced creativity
• strong metacognitive (thinking about their thinking) skills
• unique insight into complex issues
• has different, often unusual perspectives
• likes to explore wide ranging, often esoteric, subjects
• can rapidly accelerate learning to high levels of expertise
• advanced, wicked, often bizarre sense of humor
• extraordinary perceptions and/or abilities in one or more areas
• autodidactic (ability to successfully teach one’s self)
• responds well to academic flexibility and self-directed learning
• may seem introverted, spends a lot of time daydreaming/thinking

See full list[/dropshadowbox] Twice-exceptional children have unique needs and behaviors. Most of the problem behaviors I see in 2e children are related to their disabilities. While there are no precise statistics on the number of gifted children who also have disabilities (including emotional and mental health issues), estimates range between 10 and 15 percent of students nationwide (National Education Association, 2006). There is additional research stating that children with overexcitabilities, sensory processing dysfunction, and social integration issues can be traumatized by events that would normally have less impact on their neurotypical peers, such as high campus noise levels, unfair treatment by a teacher, or being taunted on the playground (Ben-Sasson, Carter, and Briggs-Gowan, 2009). In fact, many 2e children are highly triggered by what happens to them each day in their school environment. The most common reasons 2e children act out in the classroom are sensory overload, overexcitabilities, boredom, and anxiety/trauma/depression. In children, anxiety, depression, trauma, and sensory overload can present as irritability, anger, or aggression, which often alienates those who are entrusted with their care and well-being. Escalating punishment, or even positive behavior modification efforts, are ineffective because they are not based in solving the root cause of the child’s behavior. Twice-exceptional children often have “hidden” disabilities that are mistaken for bad behavior and, consequently, punished. Regular exposure to bullying, humiliation, and punishment can be very traumatic for 2e children. Struggling to cope with these issues on a daily basis can dramatically undermine behavior, disrupt motivation, impact focus, and dull creativity (Kearn, Newschaffer, and Berkowitz, 2015). Twice-exceptional children can develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from exposure to school stressors. Then when you add overexcitabilities into the mix, 2e children often become a behavioral nightmare for the average teacher. Dabrowski (1972) identified five overexcitabilities: psychomotor, sensual, intellectual, imaginational, and emotional. Children with overexcitabilities do everything bigger. They react vehemently, talk louder, move more, resist more strongly, are more dramatic, and more sensitive. In her article, Overexcitability and the Gifted, Sharon Lind provides an excellent summary of each overexcitability, and strategies that work at school to help these children thrive and their teachers survive! While there are many instances of intentional abuse, I believe that most teachers mean well, but mistreat these students due to lack understanding of 2e issues. This creates difficult situations for everyone, as the child’s response is often disruptive and defiant; but the teacher inadvertently makes it worse through misguided attempts to exert control and gain compliance. The long-term corrosive effects of school trauma produce out-of-control behaviors, like James’ weapon production, and make these children unlikely to succeed in any school placement. Understanding the root causes of the behaviors, and having the right tools to successfully engage the child, can prevent trauma on both sides. Teachers and administrators should educate themselves about the common learning disabilities and learning differences of 2e children (see attached Characteristics of 2e Children).   If behavior is approached as a symptom of the problem, rather than the problem itself, adults can work with the child to figure out what is causing the behavior and take steps to change it. Dr. Ross Greene calls these behaviors “Lagging Skills” and “Unsolved Problems” and helps to reframe how we look at a child’s behaviors, and at the child themselves. I recommend his website: https://www.livesinthebalance.org/ for many free and effective tools for managing behaviors in ways that actually work for 2e children. [perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]If behavior is approached as a symptom of the problem, rather than the problem itself, adults can work with the child to figure out what is causing the behavior and take steps to change it.[/perfectpullquote] For most 2e children, their lack of compliance in the classroom is seen as a behavioral issue, when, in fact, it is often related to their learning disabilities or their learning differences.  Learning disabilities commonly found in 2e children are: fine motor skills issues, dysgraphia, dyslexia, ADHD, working memory issues, processing speed issues, auditory processing issues, visual processing issues, and sensory issues. Learning differences common in 2e children are: asynchronous development, ability to learn rapidly, intense singular focus, capacity to accelerate many grade levels in areas of strength, high need for choice and flexibility, resistance to rote practice, easily bored, top-down/big-picture systems thinkers, and highly creative. Twice-exceptional children need a highly individualized curriculum that holistically accommodates all of their gifts and challenges. This can be difficult for most educators, as they are trained to provide learning models based on control and compliance. I am always surprised at the lack of interest most educators have in getting authentic feedback from their students. What other industry doesn’t solicit and respond to feedback from their primary clients? With 2e children, this feedback loop is critical. Educating 2e children is an open, reciprocal learning process that is inquiry-based, dynamic, and follows student interests. When it is done in a way that truly meets 2e children’s needs, it can change their lives and the lives of their families. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that it can literally save their lives. And one day, it may save all our lives, as these children have the potential to change the world. Read Part 2 of the series.