I’m currently mulling over a Writing Project concerning twice-exceptionality (gifted + learning disabilities). 

I understand both giftedness and learning disabilities as atypical and extreme ways of processing information which can have both positive and negative consequences.  In the case of twice exceptionality a person has both extreme strengths and extreme weaknesses; if the strengths are valued by the person’s environment and allowed to develop, they’re seen as talents; if the weaknesses are seen as problematic and interfere with functioning in the person’s environment, they’re seen as disabilities.  In fact, I want to stress in this project the fundamental unity of the “gifted” and “learning disabilities” communities, and what the gifted community can learn from the autism community and other neurodiverse communities.

I’ve seen many caring, well-meaning parents and teachers completely misunderstand and hurt their twice-exceptional children, in part because they have no idea what to reasonably expect from them.  In part, this is because very little has been written about how to raise or communicate with twice exceptional people.  The little there is includes a lot of misinformation (IMO), and nothing from the perspective of a twice exceptional person.  I’d like to help provide that missing perspective.  But as only one person with all the limitations that entails, I need YOUR help.

What interests you most about twice-exceptionality—what would you most like to know?  What do you feel is missing from current writing on the subject? What do you think people misunderstand the most?  Are there any common experiences or life stages you think occur across various disabilities, age of diagnosis, and other differences?  Anything you think I should read or know about?

I would particularly love to hear from twice-exceptional people, but I’d appreciate questions and comments from family members, friends, teachers, counselors, and anyone else curious about the twice-exceptional people in their lives.

Please repost if your followers have any interest in this topic.  Thanks!

codeman38:

It continues to amaze me how just plain dodgy my auditory processing is.

Just tried watching a few minutes of a TV episode on Netflix with subtitles off at my uncle’s house, because their streaming Blu-Ray player didn’t support that functionality of Netflix. Gave up after quite a few lines of…

autisticproblems:

Autistic Problem #103: When you are constantly obsessing over something and then realize nobody you are telling actually cares.

Submitter’s anecdote: I recently wrote a paper for a high school english class on a really obscure topic about which I am very passionate. I constantly talked about my new ideas and what I was writing. my friends and family were quite thankful when I finally turned it in, much abridged at twenty pages!

[submitted by http://de—profundis.tumblr.com/]

Those of us concerned with neurodiversity talk a lot about how disabilities really involve unusual strengths.  Similarly, the very traits that make people especially intelligent or creative can be seen as disabilities.

iamnotjayden:

Because you would be fucking pissed if you were frequently infantilised and/or demonised too. We’re snotty because we are pissed, we are pissed because ableism towards us is happening all the time. It is allistic people with the attitude problem, not us.

EDIT: As always, comments should be taken as my own and not as the opinion of the person I’m reblogging.

Yes.  At some point when people have been hurt for too long by too many people, they start to lash out at even the slightest threat that they might be hurt again, or even that someone else might be hurt the way they were.  Autistic, NT, doesn’t matter.

Basically, if you’re the parent of an autistic child and you don’t want them to grow up with attitudes like the current generation of autistic adults, then please, DON’T TREAT THEM THE WAY THOSE ADULTS’ PARENTS DID. 

This is not to say you’re a bad parent.  It’s 100% possible to love your kids, yet say and do things—without even meaning to—that convey hurtful messages.  That they’re immature, incapable, less-than, not the child you really wanted, heartless, bad.  Even though that’s not really how you see your child, if you’re not careful, those messages can slip through to them.  How do I know this, when I’ve never met you or your child?  As a neurodiverse person with much more neurodiverse family members and much more neurotypical parents, I’ve been on both the giving and receiving end of this.

Please, instead of getting in a pointless battle with them, understand why they behave this way, whether you like it or not…and move on to helping your child lead a better life. 

Best regards to you and your child,

mosaicofminds

iamnotjayden:

Because you would be fucking pissed if you were frequently infantilised and/or demonised too. We’re snotty because we are pissed, we are pissed because ableism towards us is happening all the time. It is allistic people with the attitude problem, not us.

A PhD student at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, is conducting research to find out about the abilities and achievements of twice-exceptional individuals on the autism spectrum.

Participants are sought from the following five groups: adults with an ASD; parents; teachers; psychologists; and mentors and coaches.

According to the researcher, the study involves an online questionnaire (approximately 15 minutes) and an option to take part in interviews conducted by e-mail.

Full details of the study can be found in the explanatory statement by following the link to the online questionnaire at http://tinyurl.com/monasheducation. Or, find a “recruitment poster” for the research.

via the 2e Newsletter.

Characteristics of gifted children with learning disabilities, from the Eide Neurolearning Blog.