Twice Exceptional Learning

Developing the Talents of 2E Students

Students who are exceptional need and deserve more than a traditional school can provide. These students have gifts that can grow to nearly unlimited heights with the right development. Yet they also struggle to overcome unique and complex challenges that can interfere with their learning experience and leave these students feeling frustrated and misunderstood.

That’s why we created Academics West.

We believe that twice exceptional schools in NYC should be preparing 2e students not simply to survive the rigors of a college preparatory curriculum but to thrive and face the future with excitement. But in order to succeed on this learning journey, twice exceptional students must have the right support tailored to their ever-evolving needs. Our Clinically Informed Academics® approach assesses specific needs and provides multiple layers of support that are seamlessly integrated into the academic program.

Each student has a unique learning plan designed to nurture their talents, develop their strengths, and strategically surmount the challenges they face.

Twice Exceptional Students are Heroes

The classic “hero’s journey” in fiction involves a protagonist who leaves the world they’ve known to enter a new environment where they face seemingly impossible trials and discover hidden resources they never realized they possessed. A mentor works with the hero to develop their newly-discovered talents so that they are prepared to succeed in the trials they face. The hero emerges from the journey transformed and triumphant.

We embrace this archetype with one key difference—in our school, the journey is real, not fiction, and we know that every one of our students is a hero. School can often be the home of the monstrous challenges, so we provide a network of mentors to enable students to dig deep to define and hone their talents. Students even learn how to mentor others on their journeys, further building their skills and self-esteem.

Understanding 2E Students

The term “twice exceptional learners” has become popular as a way to describe students who are gifted with significant academic talent and potential and who also grapple with social-emotional or cognitive challenges that can impede their progress academically in a variety of ways. Both their gifts and their needs are exceptional, hence the “2e” designation.

The reality, of course, is that the talents they possess and adversities they need to overcome add up to a much greater number than two. These students are frequently gifted with superior skills in reasoning, creative endeavors, and numerous academic subjects. At the same time, they may struggle with aspects of executive functioning, communication disconnects, and emotional overloads that can manifest in symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, ADHD, dyslexia, non-verbal learning disabilities, and other disorders.

Their strengths often include:

• Verbal skills and vocabulary advanced far beyond grade level
• Sophisticated and sometimes unconventional reasoning skills that take people by surprise
• Unique thinking processes
• Powerful memory and recall
• An ability to delve deep into complex areas of knowledge
• Rapid grasp of broad concepts as well as myriad details
• Unique insight intellectually or emotionally

Challenges for 2e students may include:

• Executive dysfunction that causes difficulties with organization, time management, and planning
• Inconsistency or asynchronous skill development
• Intellectual development that exceeds emotional development and maturity
• Difficulty regulating emotions, discerning social cues, and forming peer relationships
• Excessive apprehension, anxiety, and fear of failure
• Low tolerance for frustration
• Difficulty managing transitions
• Lack of interest in engaging in traditional learning environments

Twice exceptional learners often find themselves bored, frustrated, or anxious in a traditional school environment. Yet families struggle to find the right alternative for these students, who have so much unfulfilled potential. 

Schools that focus on learning disabilities tend to ignore the social and emotional obstructions that can trigger or exacerbate learning dysfunction. On the other hand, schools that focus on therapeutic interventions often fail to apply sophisticated strategies to address disconnects in the learning process. They also lack the academic rigor necessary to prepare for self-directed success in college and beyond.

Our Dual Approach

Families that are looking at twice exceptional schools in NYC should not be forced to choose between academic excellence and therapeutic support. A program that integrates personalized therapeutic reinforcement into an academic curriculum tailored to a student’s strengths, needs, and goals can enable students to comfortably bridge the gaps that have hindered their progress and allow them to forge ahead. 

Integrated support services factored into a student’s personal schedule allow for strategic support at critical times of the day without any interruption in academic instruction. Here, students are not removed from class and singled out for “help.” Instead, all students progress through a schedule created uniquely for them, learning and developing at their own pace.

An average counselor-to-student ratio of 1:5 is designed to ensure that students have access to the support they need at their own pace. Our mental health counselors are trained in both traditional and innovative, cutting-edge support interventions. A significant portion of our education faculty are trained and experienced in special education strategies that can enable them to pinpoint the most effective learning approach for each student.

Mapping a Route for Each Student’s Development

We’ve trademarked our groundbreaking approach as Clinically Informed Academics®, which we refer to as CIA. This approach combines evidence-based clinical practice with research-based educational interventions to help students become strategic learners. Our multi-faceted team collects information for each student from numerous different sources so we can build an initial profile for each student. 

This evaluation includes not just IEPs and progress reports, but neuropsychological and psychoeducational assessments, educational and therapeutic observations, formative analyses, and summative measurements. From these and other sources, we develop a carefully constructed learning plan called the CIA Profile, with customized interventions to best support the student’s learning and emotional needs.

Each student’s learning plan includes emphasis on building on strengths and remediating the areas that are underdeveloped and where skills may be lagging behind their optimal progress. The building process is ongoing, and plans for development are adjusted frequently—we do not want or expect our students to progress in a predictable pattern because every student develops according to different parameters.

While we are elated to share in the joy of a breakthrough, we know that setbacks are a crucial part of the journey and that these moments often provide the greatest learning opportunities. The route for each student’s learning journey is broken down into manageable components, layering on successes to build a foundation to push off for the next step. Throughout the journey, students are surrounded by nurturing support from a team that encourages them to become resilient and self-reliant.

Targeted Interventions for 2E Learners

While all students struggle with weakness in some neurocognitive areas, twice exceptional students may experience greater difficulties and needs that overlap and combine in ways that make the challenges exponentially more difficult to overcome without the right assistance and guidance. Students may struggle with challenges in executive skills, such as:

• Delayed information processing
• Being unable to rely on working memory to store and retrieve information
• Difficulty integrating motor and cognitive skills
• Trouble maintaining focus on a task or instruction
• Inability to control impulses

Social and emotional difficulties affect executive dysfunction in multiple ways, so to enable a student to make the most progress, it is important to address these concerns together in a concerted plan. The interventions must be unique for each student because each experiences the world differently, and the brain’s neuroplasticity encourages them to adapt in a style that is all their own.

Social-Emotional Learning

Mainstream educators are finally starting to grasp the importance of social-emotional learning in the school environment, but they lack the specialized knowledge and experience to adequately address the needs of students who labor in this arena. Heightened emotional sensitivity, difficulty discerning interpersonal necessities, and other challenges often interfere with a student’s ability to engage in the learning process.

Twice exceptional schools in NYC need to help students establish competency with individual interpersonal skills and then to encourage the development of compound interpersonal abilities that allow them to:

• Communicate effectively verbally
• Appropriately distinguish and convey nonverbal communications
• Adjust to evolving circumstances
• Determine the source of conflict and engage in resolution efforts
• Demonstrate genuine respect for others
• Participate in joint efforts with shared responsibilities

Interventions to develop social-emotional learning competencies progress in a variety of ways through the course of a student’s academic career. A combination of individual and group interventions help students build the skills necessary for self-regulation, the reduction of anxiety, and increased confidence.

A Supportive Environment That Nurtures Twice-Exceptional Students in NYC

Families seeking a comprehensive educational program for twice-exceptional students often felt they had no choice but to send their student away to a residential placement in order for the student to receive adequate support. But the environment of a residential program often deprives students of their greatest source of support: their families.

We view families as a critical part of the development team of each student. We often see our students apply at home the skills they learn and practice on campus, strengthening their bond with parents and siblings. And we know that it is the support they receive at home that enables our students to progress forward with such a great degree of success.

Our multi-layered therapeutic supports are designed to help students overcome the educational trauma they may have experienced in the past, including social isolation as well as the frustration of academic underperformance. Students deserve to feel that their concerns are understood and supported, and we keep that target ever in our sights.

Empowering Students to Take the Initiative

Students don’t go to school to become better students. They participate in the learning exercises of a school so that they can develop the skills they need to continue learning on their own throughout their lives. Our goal is to develop learners rather than students. 

We work to prepare our students to succeed off campus in whatever endeavors they choose to pursue. This involves teaching students to understand their unique learning process and how to advocate powerfully on their own behalf. It also involves equipping students with the emotional and social skills that can enable them to feel more at-ease in new situations.

Step by step, inch by inch, we hand over the reins to the learning process to enable 2e students to take control of the future and determine the directions they wish to explore. These students have such tremendous potential that we consider it a privilege to help them forge the tools that will enable them to strike out and forge their own path.

Keys to Success

Twice exceptional schools in NYC generally need to provide appropriate emphasis on four key components to provide the best support for 2e students.

• Executive functioning support
• High-level academics
• Targeted clinical support
• Social-emotional learning

If any of these core components are neglected, students may struggle more than necessary to bridge the gaps and make the leaps forward to reach their full potential. Moreover, if any of these components are not tailored to develop a student’s strengths and support specific areas of need, students may not be able to receive the benefits they should from the school’s program.

We believe that customization is the key, taking advantage of the latest advances in educational and psychological clinical research to find the most effective strategies to address each student’s directives.

An Education That Fits

The traditional educational curriculum and environment were created with “average” in mind. Schools are built to enable students with mid-range abilities achieve a certain measure of success. This model barely works for students in the middling range of academic abilities and social-emotional proficiencies. Students with extraordinary talents quickly find themselves bored. They may absorb little or nothing of the educational material presented because their minds are far ahead, considering other possibilities. On the other side of the coin, students who struggle with any measure of executive dysfunction, emotional interference, or other challenges are also unable to absorb the academic material presented in the traditional average environment.

Twice exceptional students often need academic instruction from professionals trained in both gifted education and special needs education. Moreover, each student’s particular balance of strengths and struggles will be different, so these students need education targeted to start where they are now and to take them where they need to go in the days to come.

A Variety of Integrated Support Services

Students often benefit from a range of support services, but the support will be different for each student at each phase of their educational journey. Our highly-trained staff is able to offer a wide variety of services integrated into a student’s academic programming day. Schedules are arranged to include at least five support services each week. Some of the many services available to students include:

• Individual and group counseling
• Art therapy
• Executive functioning coaching
• Speech and language therapy
• Personal training
• Mindfulness therapy
• Social thinking and skills development
• Canine therapy
• Occupational therapy

Our counseling staff are required to adhere to strict standards of evidence-based practice. They receive regular additional training on topics of importance to the population of twice exceptional learners at the school, keeping staff at the top of the curve when it comes to modern treatment modalities. In addition, all counselors and other staff who work with students are certified in the evidence-based de-escalation intervention process of the Crisis Prevention Institute. Our team is committed to implementing the least restrictive response to ensure the safety and well-being of our community. This focused training teaches staff to recognize the stages of an escalating crisis and how to use research-based techniques to appropriately de-escalate.

Learn More About the Advantages Clinically Informed Academics® Can Provide for Twice Exceptional Students in NYC

Families searching for the best twice exceptional schools in NYC are frequently worn down by the continual parade of challenges faced by their students and the inadequacies of school programs that are not equipped to meet the needs or nurture the talents of 2e students. We want to change the narrative.

At Academics West, we know that it is not possible, nor is it wise, to avoid challenges academically, emotionally, or socially. Instead, what is necessary is to provide the right support so that struggles become opportunities for learning and that success leads to resilience. That is our goal.

The support we provide is multi-functional and tailored to the specific needs of each student. We offer a degree of academic and therapeutic specialization and integration that few schools can match.

If you’re looking for the right educational environment to develop the strengths of a 2e student while assessing and strategically implementing supports to meet the student’s evolving needs, we invite you to learn more about our program. You can schedule an informational meeting over the phone or arrange an in-person tour of our campus. Or if you’re still in the information-gathering phase of your educational search, you can request information about our programs. Of course, you’re welcome to call us at 917-970-2348 or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.