Talking to 2e Kids about George Floyd, Protests & COVID
2e News
06/06/2020
Dr. Lesli Preuss
With the COVID-19 pandemic and the protests related to police brutality dominating the news and playing such prominent roles in our daily lives, it is important to consider how children digest these events. This concern is especially relevant for twice-exceptional learners, who often process information much differently than their neurotypical peers.
2e News chatted with Dr. Lesli Preuss, a clinical child and family psychologist who specializes in the treatment of 2e and intellectually gifted children and adolescents, to discuss how best to talk to twice-exceptional kids about these issues.
Q: In general, how might twice-exceptional students respond differently to crises as compared to neurotypical peers?
Dr. Preuss: Due to the often-found concrete, black and white thinking patterns in 2e kids, they may be struggling with the concept of who is good and who is bad. Moreover, our 2e population may be having challenges sorting through all of the information being presented and being able to identify reliable sources of information. I am also seeing a much higher level of anxiety in the 2e population related to what [these events] mean for the future.
Q: Is trauma an accurate description of what may result from the pandemic and the protests?
Dr. Preuss: I don’t think that trauma is appropriately used here in a broad sense. Not all kids, or adults for that matter, are having a hard time with the pandemic. Moreover, exposure to the protests and conflicts has been limited for some families, often by choice, and especially for their children, so there would be no reason to believe that those children have been traumatized. In addition, many families have tried to find whatever positives they can in each of these situations, so their children may be coming away feeling proud of what they’ve accomplished and/or contributed and not be traumatized at all.
This does not take away from the children, adolescents, and adults who have struggled, been unduly affected, and have had severely negative experiences with COVID-19 and/or the protests and riots. For some people, these have most certainly been traumatic events.
Q: How should parents, educators, and professionals communicate about major issues — or are there cases when 2e kids shouldn’t be told?
Dr. Preuss: This information can be shared with 2e kids, but it has to be done in a developmentally informed way. Younger children can be given more positive messaging on what we are learning, how we can be better as humans to one another, etc. Whereas with older children, they can be more involved in the news coverage and having discussions at a higher and more involved level.
Q: What types of questions do these kids ask and are there any guidelines on how to answer?
Dr. Preuss: I am predominantly hearing questions such as: Are all police officers bad? Are we safe? Why did this happen? Is it bad to be a white person? Are the looters going to come to my house/neighborhood? Are the protesters bad people? How may I safely protest/show my support?
Responses to these questions vary somewhat by age of the child, but they can generally follow these themes: We shouldn’t discriminate against any group of people based on race, sex, gender, occupation, or where they live, etc. Parents and educators can say that we as adults will do everything in our power to keep them safe, and also reassure the child that the parents will be with the children.
The racial challenges of America need to be presented differently to each child by his/her family in their own way — I won’t try to tackle that here. I will offer a list of resources for parents who would like additional information (see links at end of this article). Whether a parent wants to discuss the larger systemic issues the protests seek to highlight and subsequent changes that need to be made could depend on the child’s age and maturity level.
It is important to reassure your kids that you feel safe and will do everything you can to keep your family safe.
Q: Specific to COVID-19, what is the most effective way to communicate issues to 2e kids?
Dr. Preuss: I think as with all topics, a multimodal approach is best. The virus’ prevalence and incidence can be explained verbally or read about, and there are many videos available related to the spread of COVID-19 that may be helpful to our more visual learners (see end of article). Remember to present information as your child is asking and offer information only when the child seems interested. Try not to inundate the kids with data when they are not ready or willing to listen.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Due to the often-found concrete, black and white thinking patterns in 2e kids, they may be struggling with the concept of who is good and who is bad.[/perfectpullquote]
Q: Specific to George Floyd, race, and the protests, what is the most effective way to communicate issues to 2e kids?
Dr. Preuss: I would say the same as above in terms of multimodal, age-appropriate verbal, written, and visual presentation. Also, it is really important to not push too much information on a kid when that child is not ready or in a place to hear it.
Q: Are there potential dangers or roadblocks in these communications? More so for kids with anxiety and depression?
Dr. Preuss: If you are asking if the information should be presented differently for kids struggling with anxiety and depression, then yes, absolutely. This is why it is so important to share information in a way that is palatable for your particular child.
Responses to these questions vary somewhat by age of the child, but they can generally follow these themes: We shouldn’t discriminate against any group of people based on race, sex, gender, occupation, or where they live, etc. Parents and educators can say that we as adults will do everything in our power to keep them safe, and also reassure the child that the parents will be with the children.
The racial challenges of America need to be presented differently to each child by his/her family in their own way — I won’t try to tackle that here. I will offer a list of resources for parents who would like additional information (see links at end of this article). Whether a parent wants to discuss the larger systemic issues the protests seek to highlight and subsequent changes that need to be made could depend on the child’s age and maturity level.
It is important to reassure your kids that you feel safe and will do everything you can to keep your family safe.
Q: Specific to COVID-19, what is the most effective way to communicate issues to 2e kids?
Dr. Preuss: I think as with all topics, a multimodal approach is best. The virus’ prevalence and incidence can be explained verbally or read about, and there are many videos available related to the spread of COVID-19 that may be helpful to our more visual learners (see end of article). Remember to present information as your child is asking and offer information only when the child seems interested. Try not to inundate the kids with data when they are not ready or willing to listen.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Due to the often-found concrete, black and white thinking patterns in 2e kids, they may be struggling with the concept of who is good and who is bad.[/perfectpullquote]
Q: Specific to George Floyd, race, and the protests, what is the most effective way to communicate issues to 2e kids?
Dr. Preuss: I would say the same as above in terms of multimodal, age-appropriate verbal, written, and visual presentation. Also, it is really important to not push too much information on a kid when that child is not ready or in a place to hear it.
Q: Are there potential dangers or roadblocks in these communications? More so for kids with anxiety and depression?
Dr. Preuss: If you are asking if the information should be presented differently for kids struggling with anxiety and depression, then yes, absolutely. This is why it is so important to share information in a way that is palatable for your particular child.
