What is our role as ambassadors of twice-exceptionality for our 2e children?
As a SENG board member, researcher, teacher, and parent of a 2e child, I am more than an advocate in the medical and educational arenas. The knowledge I hold about cognitive neurodiversity, asynchrony, and twice-exceptionality can help break down barriers for 2e children everywhere.
Parents and teachers of twice-exceptional students understand that asynchronous development is the rule, not the exception. Erikson’s 1968 theory of psychosocial development identified the stages of development through the lifespan. But how do 2e learners move through these stages?
There is no baseline for how gifted students may or may not meet those stages, and without this starting baseline, it is difficult to understand the developmental trajectory of twice-exceptional students. My study, conducted as part of my dissertation, How Parents, Teachers, Psychologists, and Educational Environments Influence Developmental Transitions of Preadolescent Twice-Exceptional Students, is a means to understand the supports and barriers to successful developmental transitions of twice-exceptional students from the perspectives of the parents, teachers, and psychologists.
Although Erikson’s model theory of psychosocial development identified eight stages, for this article, the first five stages, through the age of eighteen years, are used (see Figure 2). Excerpts are quotes from interviews and all names have been changed.
Four Barriers That Impact 2e Students
In addition to communication as a barrier — which will be explored further in a future piece — four additional areas emerged as barriers that inhibit developmental transitions: lack of oversight, lack of patience, negative school experiences, and home life (Arnstein, 2020). Each barrier will be explored with examples and suggestions as to how to counter these barriers to help make these transitions a bit smoother for twice-exceptional students (see Figure 1). The ideal environment for a 2e student is one that challenges their areas of strength while simultaneously providing accommodations to support areas of need (Baum et al., 2017).Lack of Oversight
The lack of oversight ensuring that accommodations are implemented with fidelity can have significant ramifications. Unfortunately, teachers often do not receive the training to realize the relationship between learning differences and the development of identity. The psychologist interviewed stated: “I did not realize the impact a learning difference can have on identity development until I faced this situation as a parent. I did not know how a learning difference could impact identity development in my preservice teacher education program; now, I see the need to make changes to the curriculum (Arnstein, 2020, p. 224).” In the case of Ruthie, a 2e student in the study, accountability to ensure the implementation of accommodations with fidelity was nonexistent. Ruthie was to receive in-home classes during the time she was on medical leave from her public school. Although her mother hand-carried the medical note and forms to the school, where administrators told her to expect a call to set up the in-home support, she was never contacted. School interventions such as speech, occupational therapy, speech-to-text software programs, and the ability to move are powerful supports, yet without proper implementation, they are wasted.
Lack of Patience
The lack of patience for twice-exceptional students to exhibit the same level of physical, social, and emotional levels of maturity as their age peers can be difficult for many educators and family members. Marie, a parent of a 2e learner, expressed frustration that other people could not understand that twice-exceptional kids do not have the same developmental trajectory as neurotypical children. Katherine, another parent, shared her sense of isolation and loneliness within her own extended family structure. She described how her daughter Julia avoids social situations with her cousins because they cannot understand her, and that stress acts as a barrier for Julia. Kristy, whose son Charlie is 2e, expressed frustration that even with a diagnosis as common as ADHD, her son’s emotional needs continued to be misunderstood and dismissed as unimportant. Kristy believes that twice-exceptional children have an internal richness that does not respond to the typical classroom management style. The issue may be systemic. For teachers and educators, impatience and misunderstanding of asynchrony reflect outdated professional development. District priorities focused on assessments, scores, and standards will deter school culture from focusing on understanding the whole child. In this way, neurodiverse children will continue to be pathologized, neither receiving access to appropriate curriculum nor reaching their full potential with the necessary scaffolding due to a system overloaded with other needs. Teachers must do more with less time and support each year.Negative School Experiences
Twice-exceptional student Charlie received incessant teasing for a birthmark on his face while experiencing frustration with a mathematics curriculum not advanced enough to meet his needs. Ruthie learned to mistrust adults at school from her experience with the yard duty monitor, who had said to come to her for help; however, when Ruthie did, she was turned away. Ruthie came to understand that adults were not there to help her; they were there to make sure children followed the rules. Marie shared that her son Felix received so much negative feedback from his teachers that he began to avoid participating in tasks that would support his social and emotional growth. Ms. Hanks, a teacher in a program designed to support 2e students, said that many of her students bring negative experiences from their previous schools that range from bullying to feeling like they had never learned anything. Another teacher, Mr. Clark, related that his students shared how they were bullied because of their interests or learning differences or because of something they could not do. In these cases, public school teachers were either unaware of the bullying or unaware of the learning difference, leading back to the lack of professional development.Home Life
Many families struggle with the pressure to conform to societal expectations with an asynchronous child. Every parent interviewed recalled having an image of what childhood and school experiences should be like for their children. In the beginning, Marie repeatedly asked herself, “Why can’t he just enjoy this?” and “Why can’t you just be neurotypical?” Pressure to conform can come from extended family, neighbors, teachers, and society, but support from other parents helped those with 2e children minimize comparing their child to others. This helped allow space for their children to grow.How Did We Get Here?
Why are these barriers to development so prevalent for 2e children? Why is asynchrony intolerable in our society? Erikson’s 1960’s-era stage-based theory of development — which is still widely accepted (Wiley, 2015) — can provide a useful framework. Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development comprises eight stages, with each requiring resolution of a crisis to advance to the next stage (Cross, 2010). Each stage and its associated conflict arise from individuals’ interactions with their environment (Cross, 2010). In addition to Vygotsky and Piaget, preservice teacher training programs also center their developmental theory around Erikson’s stages for preservice teachers to understand childhood development.
What Can We Do as Ambassadors?
Steps can be taken to help break down some of the barriers that twice-exceptional students often face in moving through these stages of development. These steps include:- Create oversight to keep the school accountable. Ask to observe in the classroom, schedule an addendum “mid-year check-in” IEP, and request documentation for service minutes delivered.
- Regarding lack of patience, parents and educators already have to advocate, but until the asynchronous gaps begin to close, we must continue to help others learn about twice-exceptionality. Think of yourself as an Ambassador for Cognitive Neurodiversity!
- Listen to your children and your students when they need to talk about their previous school experiences. They may be negative, but they need to process those experiences to move forward. Children need to feel that they have been heard and have their feelings validated.
- As for home life, parents need to check in with themselves and their partner on a regular basis. Are unrealistic expectations being placed on the child? Are parents feeling pressured by extended family or neighbors? Identifying and acknowledging these societal pressures can be illuminating. Parents should get help when they need it!
References
Arnstein, K. B. (2020). How parents, teachers, psychologists, and educational environments influence developmental transitions of preadolescent twice-exceptional students [Dissertation, University of Denver]. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1715 Baum, Owen, S., & Schader, R. (2017). To be gifted and learning disabled: Strength-based strategies for helping twice-exceptional students with LD, ADHD (3 edition). Prufrock Press. Cross, T. L. (2001). Gifted children and Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. Gifted Child Today, 24(1), 54-55,61. Cross, T. L. (2010). On the Social and Emotional Lives of Gifted Children (4th ed). Prufrock Press. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity, youth, and crisis ([1st ed.]). WWNorton. Wiley, K. (2015). Theories of social and emotional characteristics and needs of gifted children. In M. Neihart, S. Pfeiffer, & T. L. Cross (Eds.), The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children: What Do We Know? (2 edition). Prufrock Press.
