Parenting Exceptional Kids?

Exceptional children are often described as "more". More Intense. More driven. More emotional. More headstrong. More picky. More active. More sensitive. They are an unstoppable force. They may be prone to meltdowns, and can have difficulty socializing with peers. To an outsider, it can be mistaken for bad behavior, lack of discipline, or defiance.. This couldn't be further from the truth. They possess a well documented, normal variation of brain development with associated strengths, challenges, and personality traits. In other words, it is not their will, but their wiring that is responsible for these struggles. As a parent, you may desperately want the world to see your child how you see them. Strong, independent, talented, brilliant, and wildly entertaining. Common traits of exceptional human beings are:

• Gifted in one or several areas (intellect, verbal, arts, sports, reasoning, problem-solving, math, spatial, etc.)

• Asynchronous Development

• Highly creative

• Independent, out-of-the-box thinkers

• A heightened sense of justice 

• Sensitive to environment (lights, noise, smells, textures)

• Always active or busy

• Extremely curious and observant

• Can exhibit intense focus on areas of interest

• Experience difficulty with change or transitions

• Hard things are easy and easy things are hard

• Struggle with emotional or behavioral regulation

• Are often picky eaters

• ​May have imaginary friends

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Twice Exceptional (2e)

Children with this variation sometimes also have one or more learning disability such as Dyslexia, ADHD, ASD, Visual or Auditory Processing Disorder, or Sensory Processing Disorder to name a few. When these occur together, the child is considered "Twice Exceptional" (or 2e for short). The learning disability can mask the giftedness and vice versa. As a result, these kiddos are even more prone to flying under the radar and missing out on accommodations and other supports to help them thrive.

 

Parent's Role

In addition to the role of parent, you must also become their advocate, cheerleader, teacher, coach, and container for their emotional dysregulation. You may be feeling judged, blamed, or alienated by other adults. You also may feel overwhelmed, under-equipped, exhausted, and uncertain how to help your child. You have followed all the "expert" advice without success.

 

Coach's Role

You need a different approach. That is what I bring to the table. No cookie-cutter methods. No blame-the-parent when a technique doesn't work. Believe it or not, you already are the expert of your child. I work with parents to take their expert knowledge and develop tailored, evidence-based strategies together, fine-tuning as we go along. 

 

You don't have to do this alone any longer.