BY HOLDEN AGUIRRE

The term “twice exceptional” is used to describe children and students who have the characteristics of giftedness, while also having a special need or disability that often masks their potential. These children, also referred to as 2e, can get lost in the fray when poor identification practices are employed by the educational system, or the child’s “bad” behavior becomes the primary focus.

One concern with this population is that educators and caregivers often focus on the perceived deficits of 2e children, making behavior correction the primary goal, rather than acknowledging and nurturing their incredible gifts.

Yet, within a larger educational system that often flounders in its attempts to create programs that support the neurodiversity of 2e students, spaces emerge like Big Minds Unschool. A micro-school for the twice exceptional in the San Francisco Bay Area, Big Minds caters to the unique challenges and specific learning needs 2e students require for their academic success.

“The idea is to have this be a flagship school where people can come and look at this and go, ‘hey, yeah, we really can help these children,’” says Melanie Hayes, founding director of Big Minds. 

Big Minds offers up a community for 2e students, where a non-typical learning environment fosters their abilities and staff work through the challenges that other institutions may see as a roadblock.

“I’m working with them, helping them understand the tension in their body when they’re challenged. We work through it and go with it because it’s usually right before something really cool happens,” says Judy Jones, the assistant director at Big Minds.

Big Minds students, staff and families will be substantially featured THE G WORD:


Julie Skolnick, founder of With Understanding Comes Calm, an organization guiding parents and educators to bring out the best in their 2e children, also agrees that this deficit-centered approach to 2e kids needs to change. 

“Adults constantly pay attention to the wrong thing about a 2e kid, and going through life being misunderstood is a quick ride from self-confidence to self-loathing,” says Skolnick. 

Along with better identification practices, Skolnick strongly advocates for improved teacher training, promoting a methodology she has coined as the Cycle For Success. 

“The Cycle For Success requires a deep understanding about what it truly means to be gifted and 2e, and it means throwing away the myths and misnomers about giftedness, and embracing the asynchronous development, perfectionism/anxiety and overexcitabilities (OEs) that 2e people display,” says Skolnick.

Skolnick’s organization With Understanding Comes Calm produces both a blog and monthly newsletter designed to support parents and educators in implementing the Cycle For Success, and to help them to craft durable strategies to respond, rather than react, to behavioral challenges presented by 2e individuals. 

Skolnick is also the producer of the annual 2 Days of 2e Virtual Conference for parents, educators, and clinicians to learn how to best reach and teach 2e learners. She brings together experts and thought leaders to discuss a variety of 2e topics such as emotion regulation, social thinking, and trauma to learning styles, classroom regulation, and teaching strategies.

The second annual 2 Days of 2e Virtual Conference features sessions from twelve renowned 2e experts and is available on demand through April 2020. Registration details here. Look for The G Word in the Exhibitors’ area!

FURTHER READING

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Holden Aguirre

Holden Aguirre is a Journalism Major at San Francisco State University minoring in LGBT Studies. As someone who thrives in a diverse environment, Holden transferred from American River College in Sacramento to pursue interests in film, music, the arts, and education.

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