Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Is my child twice exceptional? What should I do?

Hi. I'm trying to figure out if my son is twice-exceptional, and if so, what should I do for him (or what has others done for their child)? I already know this will be a long post mainly because I am so uncertain. I hope someone can point me in the right direction. I'm okay if I'm told he isn't gifted. I prefer honesty, and I know that even if a child isn't gifted they can still excel in the right environments. I just want some opinions to help me understand him more and make the right decisions for him-- to create that right environment.

He doesn't seem to have the same characteristics as other children who are twice-exceptional. His scores in many areas are no where near as high or high in as many areas, there are huge spreads in his scores, and he doesn't seem to get frustrated from being unchallenged... yet, his learning seems to be accelerating. He says interesting and unusual things like "I've been thinking about how the world works a lot. Plants make oxygen and we breathe it in. I'm trying to figure out if there's a more efficient way to get oxygen. Plants can die, and where will we be then?" or "I can't sleep at nights because I'm always thinking about why we are here, what is the purpose of this, or how does this work?" We had no idea that he was always thinking this way until he was able to communicate more. Yes, he does have trouble falling asleep. He is very restless at night.

My son is 7 years old now. He has apraxia with significant impact on speech. From an early age, it was clear he was "different", and some of his behaviors mimicked other disorders such as autism (running off, meltdowns, delayed speech, little eye contact). In addition, he has atypical developments and what I call "mental growth spurts." He would appear to mature overnight or suddenly become very capable in an area where he struggled before. In addition, his autism-like behaviors would disappear over night but each at different points in time. He has some heightened anxiety, sensory issues, and regulatory issues (emotions and sleep). He is an unassuming child, very cheerful, and pleasant. He has deep emotions and feelings-- he must be one of the most empathetic kid ever! There is something very child-like about him (I know he is still young, but it's more so than his peer group), but at the same time, he handles the rigors of general classroom just fine. In fact, although he has tested low in verbal IQ, he is now in the highest reading group and receives differentiated math for classwork and homework for 1st grade. He is always helping his peers. The teacher has commented how he gravitates to those struggling and will help them. He didn't always excel in the classroom.

He has seen many specialists because there were many concerns. We (to include the kindergarten teacher) weren't even sure if he could keep up with his peers in kindergarten. He would forget routines, couldn't remember names of classmates or even the teacher's name, get lost or separated from his group... It wasn't because of a transition to school because he attended a preschool program in the same school and under the same standards the year before. Essentially, it was a repeat of kindergarten standards. He lacked strong vocabulary and didn't know the meaning to many words that most kids knew. I always tried to read to him when he was younger, but he hated it until he turned 4 1/2 years old (one of those weird overnight changes). By the end of the year, he made marked improvements. The teacher said she never had a child who tried new ways of using what he learned to the extent that he does. If he learned a new concept in class, he was testing it in different and unique ways.

The specialists wouldn't and didn't want to come up with any more labels for him. They believe and hope that his strengths will pull him through and eventually pull him ahead. They said because of his atypical developments and unusual "growth spurts", he is most likely developing well, but in his own way. They did want him to receive behavioral support/therapy to help with anxiety and social situations, and he was placed on a waiting list. However, he made one of those overnight changes and no longer needs it.

The psychologist and neuropsychologist indicated that attention should be paid to certain subtest scores because of huge differences. Otherwise, the overall scores will mask areas of strengths and weaknesses. His test scores when he was 5 and 6 years old are:

TONI-4 score=123, superior

WPPSI-IV full scale= 111 (77%)
Verbal Comprehension 99 (47%)
Information 7 (16%)
Similarities 12 (84%)
Receptive Vocabulary 9 (37%)
Picture Naming 11 (63%)
Visual Spatial 94 (34%)
Fluid Reasoning 136 (99%)
Working Memory 113 (81%)
Picture Memory 9 (37%)
Picture Concepts 15 (95%)
Processing Speed 109 (73%)
Bug Search 14 (91%)
Cancellation 9 (37%)

Woodcock-Johnson III
Basic Reading Skills 99 (average)
Brief Math 115 (high average)-- tester noted he hadn't learned math symbols, yet and this area couldn't be fully tested--
Math Reasoning 125 (superior)
Brief Writing 96 (average)
Applied Problems 132 (very superior)

He doesn't show signs of perfectionism. He seems to know his strengths and weaknesses, and he is very okay with it. For instance, he has commented that he cannot draw well (true!! though I would never tell him this), but that he still likes drawing. He will state something like, "If you can't do it well, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy it or get better at it." It's just matter of fact with him. He's emotional, yet logical. Like I said before, he is starting to express himself more, and I'm discovering that I never really knew him as well as I thought. He hasn't always been able to share "what" and "how" he thinks.

Are these signs of being twice-exceptional? I know math is a relative strength for him and so is problem solving. He is different from his siblings and peers. Everyone is amazed at how "sweet" he is because it differentiates him from other kids, especially boys. I know all kids can be sweet and kind, but I don't know how to describe it. There's an innocence about him, and yet, he seems to be thinking about larger concepts... even dark ones. For instance, we were talking and I said one day he may be a daddy. He became upset because if he had kids, that meant I would be a grandma, which meant I would be old and eventually die. He worries about me, doesn't want me to suffer, and will miss me when I am gone (which I also understand is an example of anxiety). Most people wouldn't notice his intellectual and emotional depths unless they work with him regularly (a teacher) or gave him a test. He seems to be a paradox.

Any comments, advice, insights, anything would be helpful. I feel lost. I just don't know if I'm doing enough or not enough for him. I don't even know if he is considered gifted. To be honest, I was relieved when he kept up with his peers.

If you got this far, thanks! I think kids are complicated beings, and most times, a test score can't give you the complete picture of the child.

Hi,

I've read your post a couple times now, because i really want to respond. We all know what it's like to be so unsure which way to turn. I am no expert - so I'm only answering based on the wisdom from others on this board who are, and on our personal experiences.

The 2e label is just another label, and it covers a vast range of "stuff." The first e is exceptional ability in some area(s), and it looks like your child has that. The second e is something that interferes with the child's access to and/or application of those exceptional abilities. There are brain wiring issues like dyslexia or sensory processing challenges, "mechanical" issues like vision and tracking problems, diet issues like food sensitivities, and the list goes on and on.

What I'm not seeing is where this second e is an issue for your child at this time.

He seems to have had the social struggles and chunky learning patterns that many of our kids have - and that have so many of us parents suffering from whiplash. But on the other hand, these don't appear to be interfering with his access to application of his abilities right now. Or am I mis-reading?

On another thread, a wise parent said that it's dangerous to self-diagnose, and then assess. That's because the quirks our kids have can often fit into many different syndromes/disabilities/buckets. And pre-conceived ideas have a way of being self-fulfilling.

So it seems the best plan is to identify the struggles your child is handling and ask for assessment to understand WHY the child is having the struggles.

Finally - here's the really fun part - once you identify one or more second e's, be prepared for the assessment to evolve. The very nature of the asynchronous development of our kiddos' brains means that things may change as fast as you can figure them out. I am learning that our support strategies are going to always be evolving. Often exhausting, often overwhelming, often exhilarating and rewarding (!), but always, always a work in progress.

So to answer your question - try to hone in on what your child's struggles are. Then - don't ask the experts for a label, ask them to help figure out what is causing the struggles and how to help your child through them.

And to the extent my advice is inconsistent with any real expert, please ignore me! I'm just another struggling mom, here.

Regards,
Sue

My DS is around the same age (second grade) and he also had a lot of delays and oddities, many of which resolved or greatly improved over time. Some of them looked like ASD--toe-walking, hand flapping, odd voice prosody and pitch, social awkwardness, etc. He has dyspraxia (developmental coordination disorder) and it affects speech and motor skills. Does your DS have any issues with fine or gross motor skills? Those often go along with apraxia of speech. DS did the WPPSI (or maybe just a brief version?) when he was 3 1/2 and part of the problem was that he was acting goofy and he was under the table, but his FSIQ was only 106. He was re-tested a couple years later on the WISC and his score was a lot higher. So when he was 3, I was so worried about him appearing behind with so many skills, and he is STILL that way, but he also scores 99th percentile for both math and reading. He was just accelerated to pre-algebra for math, yet he has an IEP and is getting speech, DAPE (developmental adapted phy ed), OT and writing. With my DS, I believe that therapies are going to help him make progress and he's not simply going to "outgrow" all of his difficulties. So that is something you need to seriously consider. If you are not sure about the "gifted" part you can always re-test on the WISC. The scores may be completely different than they were before on the WPPSI.

If I understand the OP correctly, your DS has been diagnosed with 1e, apraxia, and you're wondering, based on certain behaviors, if he might have a 2nd e of giftedness, though the testing so far does not bear that out. Is that correct?

If so, based on what I've seen here, it sounds like you may be on to something. The positive traits you've observed indicating giftedness (thinking about big issues, existential angst, mental growth leaps, emotional sensitivity, empathy etc.) are good reason to believe he may be, and the traits negating that hypothesis (forgetting names, routines, or what he's supposed to be doing, extreme scatter on evaluation scores) would seem to me that they can be explained by a single factor: lack of sleep.

I have endured sleep deprivation over a period measured in months, and seen how it affects cognitive function. People thought I was an idiot, and based on my performance during that period, they had good reason to think so. I met my future DW when she was going through a similar episode, and I liked her well enough at the time, but seemed rather reserved and didn't joke much. Then she started sleeping, and holy {bleep}, she's hilarious!

So, if I were in your place, I'd focus primarily on the sleep issue, and then see what sort of child you have once he's sleeping regularly. It could be that these episodic leaps are linked to times when he's sleeping better.

Good advice so far and hopefully aeh will chime in on the scores. The one thing that really jumped out to me was the fluid reasoning which is so important to learning. It is certainly a great strength for your child and perfectly in keeping with his capacity to think and wonder and speculate in ways consistent with giftedness.

Understanding of neuronal development is still relatively young. So much impacts upon how the brain learns and changes and its ability to function is impacted at different levels.

A very simplified way I use to understand why there may be inter related problems is to remind myself of all the processes involved and how they impact on each other First there has to be clear information input so functioning eyes ears etc. Then that information has to be transmitted to different areas in the brain and processed. Clear input can become muddled if the transmission pathways have a problem, similarly if there is a processing defect. So the eyes and ears can work but there can be auditory, visual or sensory defects at a different level. Then there must be information transmitted back to enable a response. That's where can get defects of speech production or motor disorders. So one area of neurological difficulty can impact in multiple ways.

Your son has one diagnosis which impacts, apraxia. Already you have a hint that his neuronal development is not going to be exactly like other kids his age. Apraxia is a broad term as there are many kinds affecting different areas eg congenital apraxia of speech, oculomotor apraxia and so on and it is not uncommon that the apraxia also affects sensorimotor, cognitive and affective processes. What has the neuropsych said about how how your DCs apraxia might be impacting?

The good news is your child is coping really well and making great leaps in his learning. By the way, learning is not necessarily a smooth curve of improvment and has been shown to follow a step wise path, particularly in skills acquisition so sudden jumps are normal. Those jumps may be exaggerated in gifted kids giving rise to the "whiplash effect".

I would think 2E helps you appreciate that your child has potential and strengths that are being impacted by challenges. I would do what others have suggested and deal with the challenges as they arise and keep supporting and celebrating his strengths. I am sure you have had the basics checked.....vision and hearing etc. if those areas are fine do consider other processing problems if warranted. But you have a neuropsych so I am hoping all that has been addressed.

With your child's score scatter and challenges a single IQ score showing Giftedness may not be easy to obtain. But giftedness isn't just an IQ score.

I'm away right now, so I'm having to keep these short. If I need to, I'll try to add more when I'm back. But for now, a few brief comments:

You mention late-developing speech. The VCI on the Wechslers is more about expressive than receptive language. I would imagine the odd disparity between VCI and reading reflects the oral language delays. That may (likely will) change in a few years, when his vocabulary and knowledge have received a boost from his reading prowess. And it matches the achievement done closer in time.

The VSI is the kind of visual-motor cluster (similarly PSI, about which more later) which I would expect to be affected by motor planning issues that often manifest early as apraxia, but which should more accurately be classed as dyspraxia, not limited to speech.

FRI is in the gifted range, and the single best measure of overall intelligence.

WMI has multiple reasonable explanations. I would agree that looking into sleep is prudent. However, it is not unusual for apraxia/dyspraxia to be accompanied by poor working memory (relative,in this case). They have difficulty acquiring automaticity. Looks like his auditory memory is better then his visual memory, from the incomplete set of subtest scores.

PSI has a high score and a low score, distinguished by the crossing out task vs the stamp marker (like a bingo marker) task. (Actually, the other way around.). This may also be a dydpraxia/motor coordination thing, as one is easier than the other, from a fine motor standpoint.

His achievement scores appear to be no longer representative of his skills, a year later, based on your classroom reports. His oral language lag was probably interfering with his reading growth, in the past. Plus lack of formal instruction in the vocabulary and written symbolic language of mathematics was likely a factor, as your evaluator said.

Your post reminds me of my 10 year old son. My son also had childhood apraxia, and in addition to being gifted, he appears to have a lot of strange things going on (chronic tic disorder, ocd, sensory issues, stereotypic movement disorder(?), anxiety). He is friendly and empathetic, but also appears younger than his peers, more innocent /naive I guess.

When tested with a private tester he is highly gifted but 2e, however in a school gifted test he is not gifted at all. He also doesn't present as the "globally gifted high achieving child" that the teachers instantly recognize as gifted...luckily my son has a great teacher this year who has been very open and helpful in trying to figure it out, and who tries to protect him from other kids who might ostracize him for his differences, which as he is getting older only become more apparent.

After stumbling around trying to figure out what exactly is going on, I finally decided I have to try and treat what I see which is hard, because it is difficult to see because of both Es, that is the problem with 2e, they mask each other. But I think suevv is correct, you have to start with what you see. Labels only give you some place to start from. Test results can be different depending on the day, the tester, the type of test, etc.

It is wonderful that he seems to be outgrowing his challenges on his own

Just to elaborate on what aeh said, DS with his dyspraxia/delayed language had a large gap between VCI and PRI on both the WPPSI and the WISC, with verbal being a lot lower on both tests. I'm not sure if the test is not accurately representing the verbal intelligence, or if the verbal intelligence is actually lower (or measuring expressive ability much more than receptive, and maybe a different test which picked up receptive language better would be a better match for these types of kids). I guess it's not really surprising to me that a child with dyspraxia would measure lower for VCI on tests that really heavily on expressive speech, but is it really a fair measure of their intelligence? I don't know. He did the CogAT recently as well which also showed a gap but it wasn't as big. Whether it was just a fluke with that test, or the gap is closing, I don't know. But his verbal score has gone up dramatically from the WPPSI to the WISC to the CogAT.