Twice Exceptional Children

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The word twice exceptional, often abbreviated as 2e, has only recently entered educators’ vocabulary and refers to intellectually gifted children who have some form of disability. These children are considered exceptional both because of their intellectual gifts and because of their special needs. A 2e child usually refers to a child who, alongside being considered intellectually above average, is officially identified with one or more disabilities. There is no direct outline of twice-exceptional children because the nature and causes of twice exceptionality are so wide-ranging. This difference among twice-exceptional children makes it difficult to determine just how many of them there might be. Students who are identify as twice exceptional …show more content…
These high expectations cause twice exceptional students to work harder and longer than their knowledgeable peers. Because of their learning challenges, they may still not be satisfied with the results of their hard work. It feels discriminating to be blessed with the very gifts which lead to the hope of excellent performance, yet have a continuous set of obstructions to overcome. A reliable intake of frustration and bitterness without academic success may lead to subconscious anger aimed at the school and at those who hold these high expectations.
Twice exceptional students who have not learned ways to compensate in their areas of academic weaknesses may develop an expectation of disappointment, hence a subsequent fear of failure. This fear of failure may display itself as anger or frustration while carrying out the task, high levels of stress at any stages of the task, and/or total avoidance of parts of the task or the entire
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On article stated that “These kids score high on test for giftedness but may not do so well in gifted programs.” “As they get older, they may be labeled as “underachievers” or “lazy” as they fall behind their gifted peers.” It also goes on to say, “Some of these children are identified, wrongly, as having emotional problems.” In my opinion these quotes speak to a larger problem in our own education system. If a student has been labeled as an “underachiever” or “lazy” or is considered to have emotional problems steps to correct that behavior should be taken. If the behavior continues further research into the reasons for that behavior needed. A student should not be able to be lumped into a category of average or below average or gifted. Educators must find ways to teach on a more personal level to all students. From as early as preschool lessons should be informative to the group but each child should explore the information in a way that interest them and leads to their maximum understanding. Somewhere in the system we begin to offer a general lesson and pass the exact same worksheets to every student regardless of how they learn best or how they express their knowledge. This form of generalization is not the best practice in my opinion. Every student deserves a personal learning