The explanation seems obvious, but I've received conflicting answers from two therapists.

I've been tested twice now. The first time was last year and the second time was last week. They were done by different psychologist. I got a second neuropsychology test done because my new therapist thought the first test was wrong.

He said he had never seen someone have a significantly higher sub score than overall score. I don't know how true this is. However, I'm stuck with him because of a change in my insurance. Luckily, I can switch, but I'm also burnt out and don't want to if he's not wrong.

Anyway, my scores were nearly identical on both exams. The only difference is that the second exam did not calculate an overall IQ because that psychologist thought the discrepancy was too big. There was more than a 30 point difference between verbal skills and working memory and 20 point difference between verbal skills and perceptual reasoning. I'm going to sum up the results from my first one. My overall IQ is average, but my verbal skills are gifted (whatever that means), but working memory is low average. Everything else is average. Processing speed is average and perceptual reasoning is average, but on the lower end. One point less and it would've been low average.

I'm sick of being an overly emotional rollercoaster and just want to work with someone who gets me. While my initial therapist was the one who introduced me to the term twice-exceptional based on my results (ADHD and a learning disability and the discrepancy), he would just say things like how it doesn't make sense I'm doing so poorly. I'm obviously smart enough and just need to apply myself.

Based on how it had been going, I was going to switch anyway, but my insurance sped that up. As for the second therapist, well, he's convinced that college isn't for me. He said that average people like me aren't cut out for college and this was the reason behind my struggles. "If college was for everyone, then we would all have a college degree."

I'm very hurt by this, but a part of me is starting to wonder if this is true. I've had some moments throughout my academic career where I've felt really smart, but I can't seem to reproduce that consistently. However, most of the time, I'm waiting to be exposed as a fraud. Once middle school hit, I struggled to keep up and it has been going down hill since.

This new therapist is telling me about how we all have our good moments and strengths. While I did have nice ve

Hello all! I am currently 20 years of age and have been formally labelled gifted, which is a commonly acknowledged, unofficial "diagnosis" where I'm from (unofficial because it's not in the DSM).

I notice that the fact that giftedness is not formally recognised in the medical world makes me feel insecure in this part of my identity. I have evident neurological differences from my peers (hypersensitivity, over and understimulation, living with intensity), but would not bring up the term gifted with them.

Furthermore, my therapists thus far keep trying to diagnose me with a bunch of conditions based on my experiences, such as mood disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, autism, ADHD. I do suspect I might be autistic, and do understand the ADHD suspicion (although I doubt that one), but generally feel so lost in this search to understand myself.

I feel like I keep asking myself two main questions: 1) What are the ways whereby I function? And 2) What makes I function in those ways? For whatever reason I still attach value to answering these seemingly impossible, utterly confusing questions.

Have you experienced struggling with your gifted identity? Have you been misdiagnosed or are you twice exceptional (gifted plus a comorbidity)? What is your view on these matters?

Were you regarded as "gifted" when you were a child, while having a bunch of "quirks" that made life harder for you than for other kids? From preschool on, I had exceptional drawing ability that fascinated my teachers and family - but at the same time, I had terrible motor abilities/coordination and couldn't figure out how to tie my shoes until I was about 10. For most of my life, I couldn't understand why I felt so smart yet stupid at the same time.

I tested gifted in elementary, but my ADHD diagnosis came later in high school. By then my self esteem was already too low and I was rebelling hard. Long story short, here I am 13 years later and completely struggling/“failing” at basic life tasks, and I’m just now realizing the full extent of my ADHD and how it’s lead to most of my inner turmoil and depression/anxiety issues. I feel like my psyche is uniquely damaged by being gifted but struggling to apply that trait and letting myself & others down so often and so intensely.

I had a little hope from the validation that life truly is different/harder for me due to my brain’s wiring, but I’m still struggling to gain hope as I just want to crash & burn because I am tired and frustrated with all my “wasted potential”. I know life doesn’t owe me anything - it’s just a tough pill to swallow and I’m sure you can relate.

I’d looove to hear from other “twice exceptional” ladies on here. Does it get any better? Do you eventually find ways to make life work for you and feel inner contentment on any sort of consistent basis?

I appreciate any experience/thoughts/feelings/advice you care to share ❤️

TL; DR - 6 year old son starting first grade; awaiting neuropsych report; have scores: WISC-V = 135 (with significant disparities between verbal and performance related scores); WIAT-IV Total Achievement Score = 145. Seeking guidance on next year’s schooling.

Hi All,

We have long suspected that my 6 year old son is both gifted and has ADHD (both hyperactive and inattentive). With regard to the former, he learned to read around his third birthday, was doing math for fun at four (this had me questioning whether he was mine!), and was generally curious about things like space and geography.

Concerning the latter, his behavior was always a challenge, but was manageable. However, when he went to kindergarten, things became a real challenge. Lots of oppositional behavior, refusing to listen to the teacher, occasionally hitting students, etc. The oppositional issues became a problem at home as well. I’m not sure if this is pandemic related—I suspect it was difficult having mom and dad at home, but not available (which was never the case before).

Anyhow, we decided to take him to a neuropsychologist for an evaluation, as we wanted to get our ducks in a row for getting accommodations/IEP if necessary. We are awaiting her full report, but we have some data that I was hoping to get some opinions on. (I’m not sure how accurate it is because my son was hiding under the desk and refusing to cooperate when his WISC was as administered.)

WISC-5

FSIQ=135

VCI=142 Sim=17 Voc=18 Inf=17

VSI=135 BD=16 VP=16

FRI=137 MR=16 FW=17

WMI=112 DS=12 PS=12 LNS=14

PSI=105 Cod=9 SS=13

WIAT-4

Total Achievement=145

Reading=146

Written Exp=127

Math=135

Word Reading=151

Reading Comp=134

Spelling=129

AWF=112

MPS=160

NO=109

Oral Lang=144

LC=141 RV=129 ODC=140

OE=140 EV=135 OWF=112 SR=142

Most of this is Greek to me, but I was hoping for some guidance from guy all.

• First, do the WISC scores likely confirm ADHD?

• Second, given his WIAT score, will he be bored out of his skull next year in first grade? He is already prone to behavior issues and I fear things will be worse next year. (In fact, the same day we we were sent these scores, he was asked to leave the day camp he was enrolled at. ) At least kindergarten is mostly play-based. If my son is going to be confined to a desk all day learning stuff he already knows, I know it’s gonna be bad news.

• Finally (and I know I’m giving you a very incomplete picture of my son, based mostly on d

I have a mind that is capable of absorbing information pretty quickly and effectively if I am given the proper environment to receive the information. Looking back at my schooling experience I realize how much I was stunted as rather than working with my abilities, they continued to work with my disability. Barely, though. Like, literally the bare minimum. I even had a teacher who would put me towards the back because of my last name to make his attendance easier, even though I had preferential seating in my IEP. My mom fought for years in HS to get CART.. For those of you that don't know what that is, it's "Closed Captioning at Real Time". I finally got it for one 45 min class during the last semester of my Senior year.

Now, at the time, I did not want to attend a HoH/Deaf school. My parents are extremely supportive and would have made that happen if I wanted to, but I was beginning to really experience the effects of isolation hearing loss causes and was afraid of ostracization. It probably would've been the right way to go, however, given my intellectual potential was high. I would have gotten a lot more out of it than just a community of other HoH/Deaf individuals.

Just curious if there's anyone else with a hearing loss on here and what your story may be + how you've reflected on it to build a better one. I started college but my hearing aids broke after 3 months. I ended up dropping out, and haven't gone back since. ~5 years later I want to go to school, but am hesitant. I would prefer an integrated school as I don't even know Sign Language... I also want to go to a business school so I can't help but feel that the potential for networking is a bit higher because the hearing world is much larger. The room size could be the same, but the networking that stems from it could branch out more rapidly? It'd also be cool to attend both a HoH/Deaf school + an integrated school, whether or not simultaneously.

Sorry if this is a long post. My son (9) has ASD, ADHD and is gifted (he also might have dysgraphia). He is in 3rd grade and the school has refused to give him an IEP because he 'doesn't have a learning disability'. I finally decided this year to have him full evaluated with an IQ test to see what was going on. His test scores (the school uses MAP) have always been very high in math and recently reading (he was a late reader), and when he was really young, we noticed that he was very quick to figure out math on his own. But, the teachers never mentioned anything to us except if he had done something wrong.

The school did the IQ test and full evaluation, and said he still didn't qualify for an IEP or a GIEP, but when we got the results, we realized that he was highly gifted in math and visual spatial intelligence, but his working memory and processing scores were low and had depressed his overall score. They said that he gets everything he needs from 'small groups', which are based on MAP scores. However, despite having the highest map scores in the entire grade, he is in a lower grouping...because of his behavior. The report also said that he struggles with writing because he 'doesn't like it'. During the writing portion of the test, he grew frustrated and had a meltdown, hiding under the table. Much of this was based on his 2nd grade teacher's evaluation of him, and she thought he was 'emotionally disturbed'. The school gave him a 504 which doesn't address the problems with writing and only allows him to see a therapist in school once a week and lets him take tests in a quiet area (which doesn't happen anyway).

The issues in 2nd grade moved over to 3rd grade, and despite his test scores still being in the 99th percentile, his teachers still have him in lower group even though they have admitted that 'academically, he could do more challenging work'. He's getting into more trouble because he's bored in class. At home, we do workbooks and he's doing pre-algebra. His psychiatrist said that unless he gets enrichment and accommodations, he will be bored of school and will struggle. I want to say that I know the school can't fix everything, but I'm worried that he has been labeled as a 'problem child' and that won't get opportunities that other kids would get because of it.

If anyone has any advice, I would truly appreciate it.

Hey there! I was recently diagnosed as autistic (in addition to being highly gifted) and was wondering if there was any other 2e folk on here. When were you diagnosed as 2e? If you were diagnosed as a young age, how was growing up as 2e in classes with just gifted children? I'm curious as I grew up in gifted programs and still felt very othered so I'm not sure how to reframe my experience and reflect on my time in grade school as a child who was not just gifted but also misdiagnosed and was actually 2e. I had a lot of angry feelings about being gifted and how it was super ridiculous, but come to find out I was underdiagnosed autistic as well and that could definitely explain all my gripes with giftedness and other gifted folk as I cannot understand them completely? I'm not quite sure what I'm asking for beyond some insight.

First I encountered this: gifted kid burnout bingo — about people that were very successful in school and now can't keep up with that in their adult life.
Then I also understood that I have ADHD. Probably a severe one. But since it didn't impair my learning capabilities, but actually vice-versa, nobody at school noticed, and I had a lot of accommodations to make life easier, but also not enough challenge.
So twice-exceptional or 2e is when you're a gifted (exceptional) student, but also impaired (which makes you exceptional too), and probably this stuff is connected.
Now I'm studying at university (compsci). It's tough. You can't just listen to lectures and surprise everyone with how smart you're and how fast you're at learning things. You have to actually work. To make tasks.
And I have a job now. Where I have to work, too. But somehow studying is even harder than that, because it's more boring and also I'm studying remotely and so on.
I can't keep up. And it all makes perfect sense. I think every 2e kid feels like that when they grow up, except some employer noticed their capabilities when they were young, and took them to some job where they had enough accommodations, which isn't my case, unfortunately. I don't know what to do. I started taking meds recently, maybe I'll be able to get through this time and make my studying to the end. But also it still doesn't feel like the right way.

What other choice do I have? I thought like this: I drop out of my uni, I quit my job (I don't really like it, the business is small enough to be patient to my weirdnesses, but I have zero ambitions there, it's stagnation). During summer I write a CV, like: I don't really have many skills yet, but I'm exceptional and learn really fast and will bring you a lot of profit if you accommodate me. I mean, maybe it's worth trying, but it sounds like some BS, especially since I live in Ukraine and there aren't a lot of big businesses that can waste money to try weird stuff like this.
Or I go somewhere to actually prove my capabilities. Like some compsci competitions, or data science competitions like Kaggle, and if I will do good some

I was identified as what they called highly gifted when I was 7. I sincerely think that I cheated on the IQ test they gave me. I remember it vividly. I was stuck on the harder questions and then realized two of them had the same patterns when the instructions were to do them one at a time. I had a rare flash of brilliance/flow state and figured them out. But that sort of high level thought is not something I can just do normally for anything I want.

I've talked to highly gifted people and realized I don't belong grouped with them very fast. It's really hard to say what my "real" place is on the gifted hierarchy. I have those moments of genius sometimes, but most of the time I just feel slow.

I feel I'm more incapable than most other people, maybe incapable of life in general. When people talk to me, it takes me a few seconds to understand what they're saying. And it's hard to me to translate my thoughts into words, and I always use extremely vague descriptions even though I have a large vocabulary.

I feel like I think primarily in data coded into emotions, and the pictures and words that make up the content of most peoples' thoughts are all secondary to that. I have to translate what I'm thinking into words.

My family and friends act like I'm so smart that I should have good opinions on every topic, but I always feel like I've missed something and haven't learned enough to take a strong position. This especially goes for controversial topics like gun control. But really, I'm completely incapable of having any sort of debate even to play the devil's advocate for one side.

I see so much evidence that I'm not actually gifted but instead have some other unidentified problem like autism. I took tests for autism and they found that I was good at identifying social cues like a neurotypical person and did not have other autistic problems like being unable to handle change. But maybe I need a second opinion for a condition adjacent to autism like PDD NOS.

And with my social problems + my slowness, I have no self confidence. I feel that I could do a lot of things, but I have no conviction and don't believe in myself enough to not just give up on something out of boredom halfway through. I was told no throughout my childhood when I wanted to move up in math, learn different musical instruments, go to summer camp, learn computer programming, etc etc etc. I was bratty and spoiled if I wanted things I don't have the high amount of energy or drive that most other

Hi I was wondering what other peoples experience was or is I guess about being twice exceptional.

For those of of you who don’t know what it means it basically gifted student burn out that’s caused by not having a support system in place when you get into higher upper levels of education like high school and college and it’s because you’ve been able to compensate for you know you’re ADHD. But then you hit a point where that compensation starts to fail and everything just kinda spirals.

Anyone have any experience with kids classified as twice exceptional? Our 4.5 year old was recently diagnosed with ASD - high functioning aspegers subtype, but also gifted and talented. Hence, twice exceptional.

He gets PT, OT, and Pragmatic Speech and Language services. He can read, and and subtract quite well. His verbal intelligence is unreal. His non verbal, social emotional is the weak area. The quarantine has been tough on him but his providers have been awesome with tele sessions.

Curious if anyone has experience with this unique subset of kids.

Thanks!

I typically didn’t see my doctor that often and the reasons for that are kinda complicated, but one day In high school I had an appointment and we spoke and I tried to talk about how I’d been struggling in school.

She first asked what my grades were like

I was ranked top ten of my class in a big school. I was a full ib diploma student, I was in charge of many events on the science Olympiad team, I was leading my cyber patriots team, etc. etc.

And she said if I was doing so well why would I need any help.

That just really pissed me off. I was suprised my doctor would ask that. I had to really push myself to do well in school. I still struggled to focus I still struggled with my adhd in all the same ways I always had. I’d just learned to push past it and to devote myself to my work in a meaningful way. I was tired and exhausted to do that well. It really took everything and I thought someone who’d been through medical school would get that.

She then told me to drop clubs I cared about if I wanted to get into a good college. I was kinda insulted. Nonetheless I ignored her and I’m now double majoring in the school ranked 2nd and 3rd in my majors respectively. But uh thanks doc

2e children are those that are both gifted and talented and have a learning disability or an attentional or behavioral disorder. Has anyone heard of this? Has your child been diagnosed with this? If so, what was the outcome? Did your school accommodate? I am watching a webinar from Dr Michael Postma on ADDitudemag. I wasn’t going to watch this webinar. Glad that I am. It is shedding a new light on how I view my son.

TLDR: "Borderline" gifted teen with ADHD is either bored or miserable in school. Need help in determining if GT evaluation would just add to the problem or if it's really what he needs.

My son (14) would probably be "borderline" gifted. By that I mean while he tends to finish his tests much quicker than other students (possibly gifted ones included) he only scores around the 95th percentile. While this does technically place him in a GT area range, it's just barely and I don't know if they would even take him seriously.

He's ADHD-C and tends to struggle sometimes in classes. Makes mostly A's and B's, however alarmingly he has made a C once or twice.

In on level classes, he does actually do his work. This tends to backfire though however when I learned from him that he was literally doing nothing for 3 DAYS after his classmates did poorly on their tests and had to correct questions (he made a 41/44, although he could've gotten a 43/44 if he double checked his answers again :/ )

Pre-AP is absolutely awful though and way worse, oddly. While he only felt comfortable taking Pre-AP science since he wanted to be safe, it's terrible for him. The class functions more as a tutor group in that the material is almost the exact same as OL just with more work. Comes home with 3 unfinished worksheets on material he mastered 2 weeks ago for extra "practice" work.

How do we help him? Would GT classes be a dumpster fire? Is he absolutely bored out of his mind or just lazy?

Thanks. Also you're welcome to share any other things we should take into consideration or do for him :)

I just got diagnosed this morning with ADHD and intellectual giftedness. I feel like this is a curse.
I was expecting ADHD but not the other, I always felt like my mind was racing but I never could live up to my expectations, no matter what I did.
I felt like I wasn't as smart as everyone told me I was, I couldn't grasp easy advanced math concepts but I learned how to take apart my engine piece by piece and put it back together in a week.
I feel like it's what defines me, I could learn extremely quickly and well but I could never choose what I wanted to learn, it was completely random.
You guys have prepared me for this diagnosis, I've lurked for months and each time I would read posts I always felt like this is me!
I always felt like what happened to me was normal, that I had to tough it out.
I don't know how to feel about it however.
On one hand I'm relieved to know that all my troubles are explained, that I finally know what I am and that I am certainly not alone.
But on the other hand, I will have to deal with this for my entire life, I will need to relearn all of my methods because damn, my DIY coping mechanisms suck!
And most especialy, I have no idea where to start.

Sorry for the long post!

EDIT: Sorry for the formatting, I was on mobile

Thank you all so very much for being here sharing all of your experiences.

My son was recently diagnosed as gifted with an IQ in the 99th% and some areas in 99.6th%. His evaluation also noted that he has ADHD, which could make it seem like he has a learning disorder.

He has asynchronous development and overexcitabilties (think meltdowns and shutdowns). We have spent months focusing on the gifted diagnosis and not so much on his ADHD diagnosis.

We are working on his environment at home (communicating more, stepping in with his sister more). I have wobble seats, indoor slackline, ninjaline, trampoline, supportive conversations, weighted blankets, sensory sack, books, (tried Mightier tablet), yoga, calming apps, manipulatives, books, love, and determination. Of course all of this helps, but he still suffers from reactive aggression.

Tomorrow, we are going to try a very low dose of medicine and see how it goes.

He doesn't want to be this kid who gets so angry and physically hurts people. We have tried all these strategies and he looked at me and asked..."what if no one can help me?".

So stigma of ADHD meds for young kids be damned. We're going to see if it helps knock the impulsive edge off for him (with continued behavioral modification).

I'm going to let go of feeling judged for all the things other adults (talking to you mother-in-law) think when a young child takes ADHD medications. I'm not a bad mom. I haven't given up. I don't want to change a thing about him except...

I want him to be able to control his impulse to cause harm when he is angry. I want for him to be able to have that anger, take a breath, and make a different choice. More importantly, he wants that for himself.

If you have read this far, I want to thank you for giving me courage. I no longer feel afraid that medication will take my fun-loving bright child from me and replace him with a shell of a person. I don't feel as afraid that medication will take his ability to learn at his own pace from him.

Medication could help him. It might not.

We're going to give it a go and find out.

Thank you all.

Just got back from my 3rd unsuccessful child study meeting. (One in elementary, one in middle, and this one in high.) My daughter 15, has always struggled with attention issues and (what I now know to be) executive functioning issues. I've been told time and time again that "it's not affecting her grades." Well this year, as a Freshman, she is failing. She knows the materials and aces her tests, but struggles to complete work on time and/or turn it in. Now that it is affecting her grades, the bar has been moved to "could she function at grade level?" Well the school system has tested her at GIFTED levels many times?? Why should "grade level" be her goal? She made it into the prestigious STEM program and she wants to stay there, but since the school says they "aren't used to making accommodations for students in gifted programs" that maybe she should "take easier classes." She burst into tears when they said that! She wants to be challenged, she wants the tough classes; she just needs help getting organized. I'm so defeated right now by this. She just barely misses the cutoff for ADHD and I don't know what else to do!?! 😥😥😥

Hey guys,

So long story short, first im 19, I just came back from my physiatrist after significantly struggling in University. She has stated that I may have Twice-Exceptional ADHD with gifted, first I have no clue what that (google has helped kinda), but apparently I'm excellent in complex puzzles and tasks, but simple ones im far below average. Did a bunch of tests and quizzes and now I gotta see another physiatrist for a second opinion.

Just confused about; what, how and when surrounding this Twice-Exceptional ADHD. Any help would be great. Cheers.

Normally you gain an action every 10 minutes, and you cannot store more than 20 actions

By spending $7/month, do I now get double the number of actions, meaning gaining an action every 5 minutes or gaining 2 actions every 10 minutes. Or do I gain them at the same rate, just that now I can store 40 actions instead of 20?

Many of us have multiple challenges or differences from those who might be considered neurotypical. The following essay explores the emotions that come with said multiple challenges.

http://sengifted.org/the-affective-side-emotional-issues-of-twice-exceptional-students/

Reddit makes formatting a bit hard. So I made a picture of my poem. My text is also written below, but I would ask you to look at the picture first.

2e (twice exceptional)

You said with a sigh that in every race

Whatever you do, you take the

last / first

place.

You’d have to

deceive / pretend

take shortcuts and cheat / to be tired and spend

to run with the rest,

so you don’t do your best.

But fear not their

Pity or humiliation! / envy or glorification!

Your loss should not stop you / Your win will not stop them

from trying.

If you do your best, you might not run like the rest.

You might take the

last / first

place,

but life’s not a race

1, 2

I've just stumbled across this term, abbreviated as 2E, which means someone who is gifted but also has a learning disability, ASD or ADHD. I'd never heard of such a thing before but it really described me very well, high IQ but undiagnosed ADHD all my childhood. The only problem I have with it is the name. It just sounds really like a "buzz word" or part of the movement to make ADHD etc. a "gift" rather than a disorder. Maybe I'm just being too sensitive. Any thoughts?

Sometimes I would have a difficulty falling asleep after a studying because I have lots of ideas in my head. At one time I was up till 2 a.m. laying in my bed, trying to fall asleep, and I had these ideas and formulas being made up in my head. I had to get up and write down the math formulas and designed a helicopter on my whiteboard. At the time it all made sense to me but as time went on I just forgot about it. I really don't like how I have this poor self-image of myself because I know that I am not what my subconscious is telling me. I do workout and maintain a healthy diet but it bothers the fucking shit out of me that I can't stay motivated and focus on the things that I like. I have a microscope and sort of a mini-lab set up in my room to perform experiments but I just can't do it and I do have fun ideas and experiments to do but whats the damn point of it all if I can't do anything? Edit: a word