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November 4, 2024 20 mins

In this episode of the School for School Counselors podcast, host Steph Johnson talks through the unique challenges faced by gifted and twice exceptional students. Despite their abilities, these students often struggle with perfectionism, social isolation, and managing dual needs. Steph discusses practical strategies for school counselors to support these students. 

She also introduces the new "Technique of the Week" segment as well as insights into the goings-on in her own school counseling program.

00:00 Introduction: The Struggles of Gifted Students

01:34 Understanding Gifted and Twice Exceptional Students

05:14 Diving Deeper into Gifted Students' Challenges

07:44 Strategies for Supporting Gifted Students

13:59 Technique of the Week

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References/Resources:

Assouline, S. G., & Whiteman, C. S. (2011). Twice-exceptional learners: Psychological and educational perspectives. Psychology in the Schools, 48(3), 205-214.

Baum, S. M., & Owen, S. V. (2004). To be gifted and learning disabled: Strength-based strategies for helping twice-exceptional students achieve success in school and life. Prufrock Press.

Foley Nicpon, M., Allmon, A., Sieck, B., & Stinson, R. D. (2011). Empirical investigation of twice-exceptionality: Where have we been and where are we going? Gifted Child Quarterly, 55(1), 3-17.

Reis, S. M., Baum, S. M., & Burke, E. (2014). An operational definition of twice-exceptional learners. Gifted Child Quarterly, 58(3), 217-230.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What would it be like to be a gifted student in a
school and still struggle?
For gifted students andtwice-exceptional students, this
is a daily reality.
There are high expectations forthese kiddos, mixed in with
some unique challenges we don'toften realize.
And in today's episode, we'regoing to look at the world of

(00:23):
gifted students and twiceexceptional students to figure
out practical ways to supportthem through their educational
careers, from managing theiremotional intensities to
building a sense of belongingwith other students around them.
We're going to figure out whatit really takes to help these
students thrive.

(00:44):
We're going to figure out whatit really takes to help these
students thrive.
Hey y'all, I'm Steph Johnsonand I am so glad that you've
joined me back here at theSchool for School Counselors
podcast.
I'm a full-time schoolcounselor, just like you, on a
mission, because I believe thateach and every one of my
colleagues deserves support,validation and empowerment.

(01:05):
That's why I founded School forSchool Counselors, where we
take practical tools and makethem work in the real-world
situations that you face on thedaily.
Through this podcast and ourcommunity, I want to bridge the
gap between what they taught youin grad school and what's
really going on.

(01:25):
I want you to feel competent,connected and inspired to make a
difference, even if you'reworking in difficult
circumstances.
And as we continue ourconversations about special
student populations, I want tolook at gifted and
twice-exceptional students.
They have some pretty uniqueneeds.

(01:46):
Gifted students often face highexpectations due to their
abilities, but they often battleperfectionism and sometimes
they have to confront somepretty strong feelings of social
isolation.
Twice exceptional students, whoare students who are gifted but

(02:07):
also have learning challengesat the same time, have
additional barriers.
On top of all that, and I thinkbecause these students know how
to fly under the radar, theyknow how to make things look
okay, we don't often recognizetheir unique challenges and
needs.
The good news is that we canhelp play a role in helping

(02:32):
these tremendous studentsnavigate these challenges and by
the end of this episode, I'mhoping that you're going to feel
better equipped to support bothgifted and 2E students and
provide them some tools for somesuper meaningful growth.
Now, before we get into thegifted and 2E conversation, I

(02:56):
would love to take a little sidetrip out in the dirt roads a
little bit to look at some ofthe latest and greatest going on
in the world of schoolcounseling.
This is something new.
I'm trying on the podcast justto broaden our perspectives a
little bit and to just kind ofgive us some additional
knowledge or perhaps sometimes apeek into what's going on in my

(03:17):
own school counseling programand I will share with you.
Currently in my program on mycampus, I am elbow deep in
holiday outreach programs.
The previous podcast episodewas all about setting up those
outreach programs on your campusand assisting students while
still maintaining their dignity.

(03:39):
That's a huge, huge push for meon my campus.
I never want a student who isthe recipient of supports to
feel any different than theirpeers.
I want them to feel empoweredthrough those initiatives and
not belittled.
So I published a guide forsetting up your holiday outreach
programs.
You can find it on our homepageschoolforschoolcounselorscom.

(04:03):
You can find it on our homepageschoolforschoolcounselorscom.
It will walk you step-by-stepthrough creating those holiday
initiatives like coat drives,like food drives, like gift
donations, whatever the case maybe.
This guide is going to take youthrough it step-by-step.
You can find it atschoolforschoolcounselorscom.
Currently I am organizing threedifferent initiatives at the

(04:27):
same time.
I am working on a canned fooddrive for the week prior to
Thanksgiving.
I am working on a gift drivefor students later on in the
month of December, and I'm alsoworking with an incredible donor
in our community to bring fullThanksgiving meals to over 200
of our students in need.

(04:48):
Y'all that is a lot ofcoordination, it is a lot of
organization, but I love it.
It fills my heart and I'm sograteful to be in a position
where I can assist and where Ican also lead others in
maintaining recipient's dignitythroughout the process.
All right, so enough about meand my school counseling program

(05:13):
.
Let's jump into gifted studentsand twice exceptional students.
According to CROSS 2016 andRecent Team 2014, we often look
at our gifted and 2E students asself-reliant.
We assume they have everythingthey need.

(05:33):
They don't need any extra helpor supports, and that often
shadows the hidden strugglesthat they're facing.
The truth is, these studentsactually require additional
helps to handle the academicpressures they face, but also
their unique social challenges.

(05:54):
Our twice-exceptional studentsin particular often feel a pull
between their strengths andtheir struggles, and they start
to feel confused and somewhatisolated because it's almost
like they have a foot in twodifferent worlds.
My own child is an example ofthis.

(06:14):
She is in all honors and giftedclasses except for one where
she has a learning disability,and it's an interesting
dichotomy to watch unfold rightin front of my very eyes, where
she's part of one group duringher school day, but then she
switches to being part ofanother peer group, and it is
confusing and it is somewhatisolating for sure.

(06:36):
Gifted students often learn tofear failure.
They often feel like they haveto get it perfect all the time
right, and as adults sometimeswe cheer them on to that end.
We are very guilty ofreinforcing those
perfectionistic tendencies, andthat can be exacerbated in
twice-exceptional students whostruggle to meet those academic

(06:57):
standards and they feel like ifI just keep pushing, if I just
keep pushing, I'll finally getto where I need to be.
If these kiddos can't meet thestandards that they've set for
themselves, or the standardsthat have been set for them by
others at school or at home,they can feel misunderstood or
they can feel inadequate.
And then, as we look at thedynamics of the peer groups for

(07:23):
gifted students and the dualidentity of twice exceptional
students, we have a keg ofdynamite on our hands here.
We need to make sure that weare taking a thorough look at
these challenges and reallypreparing to assist and support
these students throughout theirschool experience.
So what are some things that wecan do to support the

(07:47):
social-emotional needs of giftedand TUI students.
One strategy supported by theresearch is validating and
normalizing the uniqueexperience of these special
populations.
When we can validate theirfeelings about their situations,
it has been shown empiricallyto reduce stress and foster a

(08:11):
safer environment for students.
We've got to acknowledge what'sgoing on, especially with our
two E's, that it's normal tofeel amazing at one thing and
not so great at another, andthat if they're not amazing at
all the things, that doesn'tmean they're faking or that
something's wrong.
We also need to encourage allof our gifted students to

(08:36):
remember self-compassion.
This is going to be reallyimportant in countering
perfectionism and reducing thestress of unmet expectations,
because, as much as thesestudents resist it, they are
going to fall short from time totime.
So self-compassion is going tobe a huge, huge safety net for

(08:57):
them.
Another way of supporting ourgifted students is providing
resources for managing thatperfectionism, the resulting
anxiety and or any learningchallenges in our 2E students.
Mindfulness and relaxation aregoing to be a huge help for both
that performance anxiety andfor the learning challenges, and

(09:20):
we need to really be looking ataccommodations for our 2E
students, even though they oftenexcel in the majority of their
classes, they have an area ormaybe two where they need some
accommodations, where they canstill access their education and
be successful and also havetheir giftedness supported at

(09:44):
the same time.
At the same time, third, it'svery important for us to work to
build peer connections ininclusive counseling groups.
Now, normally I'm not a hugefan of small group counseling on
school campuses, and that mightblow some of your minds, but
it's concerning to me how easilywe seek to pathologize students

(10:07):
in the environment in whichthey spend most of their waking
hours, and so for me to run asmall group for students, it has
to be a pressing need orsomething that doesn't feel like
a label has been placed ontheir behavior or their ability
to perform at school.
This, however, would be a goodopportunity to create a

(10:30):
counseling group where giftedstudents can discuss the
pressures that they're facing intheir academic careers,
allowing students to connectover those shared experiences
and feelings that the majorityof their peer group probably
does not have, and we can leadthem to understanding that they

(10:51):
don't have to just be labeled asa gifted kid right, or they
don't have to choose betweenbeing labeled as gifted or
challenged.
They can be that and more.
There are so many layers tothem, so many elements to their
awesomeness, but often they getstuck in this sort of tunnel
vision of performance andperfection and they can't see

(11:14):
past that.
So it's a great opportunity forus to give them a more rich
understanding of who they areand what they're capable of.
All right, so we've talkedabout validating and normalizing
gifted students' experiences,providing some resources like
mindfulness and accommodationsfor managing perfectionism and

(11:36):
anxiety, and building peerconnections in inclusive
counseling groups.
Now let's look at how we canhelp these students develop
balanced and resilientidentities, much like what I was
just talking aboutunderstanding what their
non-academic strengths are.

(11:57):
Wren and Plucker 2014 assertthat exploring these strengths
help students form more balancedidentities.
So that could look likeencouraging students to explore
hobbies or skills that bringthem joy, that don't necessarily
have a performance component,or recognizing intangible

(12:21):
qualities like empathy,creativity and resilience, and
talk about how important theyare as standalone qualities, but
also how they can be valuableto academic performance.
We can teach self-advocacyskills to our 2E students.
They may need helpcommunicating their needs.

(12:42):
Teachers may not understandthat just because they're
labeled as a gifted student,they also need supports.
We can help them do thesethings by practicing
self-advocacy through thingslike role play.
That's my go-to technique in mycounseling office.
It helps in so many situationsand this is a prime example.
Or we can teach students how torespectfully facilitate

(13:08):
discussions on expressing thosedual needs, how to be assertive
about those and be able toexplain them in a way that their
teachers can understand.
We can also help students buildresilience and a growth mindset
, for them to understand thatsuccess is about persisting, not

(13:28):
about being perfect all thetime.
And we can help studentsreflect on the challenges
they're working to overcomeusing things like journaling or
group discussions, where theycan talk about times that they
overcame struggles and reallyidentify their own resilience.
All right, so we've talkedabout strategies for supporting

(13:51):
the social-emotional needs ofour gifted students and also
about helping them to developbalanced, resilient identities.
I'm going to stop for just aminute and introduce something
else I want to try in thepodcast, which is the technique
of the week.
I think we could all stand tohave some great new tools in our

(14:18):
toolbox for those on-the-flymoments in our counseling
offices, and so I want to bringyou a different approach each
week that you can turn aroundand use instantly in your
counseling office, instead offeeling like you have to search
Teachers, pay Teachers to selectsome print and pray lesson that
you hope is going to make adifference.
These techniques are going tobe turnkey, so to speak.
You can just take them and runwith them and instantly see

(14:41):
impacts.
This week, we're going to lookat a really versatile approach
for school counselors.
That we've already talked aboutin this episode, and that's
role play.
We've already talked about inthis episode, and that's role
play.
Now, role play may sound simple,but it is powerful for helping
students build social skills,develop confidence and work

(15:01):
through difficult situations.
You could use it to work with astudent on assertiveness, you
could practice how to manageanxiety in social settings, or
you could even help studentsprepare for a challenging
conversation.
Role play is one of thosemagical techniques that can be

(15:22):
adapted to pretty much anythingthat's sitting in front of you,
and so I want to talk a littlebit about role play and how it
can help you in your schoolcounseling practice.
At the heart of it, role playis a simulated practice, right,

(15:42):
it allows students to act outscenarios that they find
challenging or anxiety-inducing,but it's controlled.
It's a low-stakes, safeenvironment, and when students
can step into these scenarios,they get a chance to rehearse
what they will say, maybe howthey'll feel or how they want to
behave.
This is going to help buildtheir confidence and reduce

(16:04):
their anxiety, because they'rechallenging head-on all of those
what-if questions we alwayshave going on in our heads.
Right, sports athletes visualizesuccessful games all the time.
That is a form of role play.
Musicians do the same thing tomentally rehearse a performance,
and so students who are usingrole play and counseling are

(16:28):
essentially doing the same thing.
They're rehearsing for theirown performance.
They can help themselves feelmore prepared for the real thing
, but it also gives them achance to try different
approaches and different optionsto see what's going to feel
best to them in the moment.
Role play is awesome for thingslike social skills,

(16:51):
assertiveness, conflictresolution, peer interactions,
even emotional regulation andstress management.
Now there are some key thingsyou can do to ensure that your
role play initiative with thestudent is successful, and I've
created something for you tohelp you along that path, and

(17:12):
I've created something for youto help you along that path.
It's called 10-Point Techniques, and our role-play edition is
available now on our website.
Go to our homepageschoolforschoolcounselorscom and
you can print out your 10-Pointrole-play technique.
Don't worry, it's not ascomplicated as it sounds, but it
will walk you through role playwith students step by step.

(17:36):
I hope that approach is helpfulto you.
Like I said, I'm going to tryto bring you one new approach or
technique each and every week,just to expand your toolbox or
maybe getting you to think aboutsome of the things you already
know and unique in differentways.

(17:56):
So in closing this episode,remember that it is so important
for us to validate giftedstudents' experiences on campus
and that we need to be ready tosupport gifted students'
challenges as well as the uniqueneeds of twice exceptional
students.
We need to be helping thembuild connections.
We need to be helping themcreate well-rounded identities

(18:20):
and be able to feel like theycan meet their challenges head
on.
This week I would love for youto try one strategy with the
gifted or 2E student.
It could be something as simpleas just validating that dual
experience or helping themexplore self-advocacy skills.
What can you do to support yourgifted students?

(18:44):
And remember to go downloadthat 10-point role-play
technique printable.
It's going to be gold for you.
You can print it out and haveit at your desk for those
on-the-fly moments where youthink, man, we really need to
practice this before they go outand perform it in the wild, and
you'll have everything you needright there at your fingertips.
It's a gift from me to youbecause I believe passionately

(19:07):
about supporting and empoweringmy school counseling colleagues.
All right, I hope you enjoyedthis episode.
Gifted students requireunderstanding.
They require some flexiblesupports and sometimes some more
intensive supports than wewould initially imagine, but you

(19:29):
are uniquely equipped to helpthese students and everyone at
your campus grow academically,grow socially and grow
emotionally.
I think that you are amazingfor what you do each and every
day.
I know I tell you that on thepodcast all the time, but that
feeling never changes.

(19:51):
In the middle of the crazinessof this time of year, the
uncertainty on school campusesin general and the escalation in
student needs that we've seensince 2020, you continue to
raise your hand, you continue tovolunteer, to walk through
those doors each and every dayand say what's the worst you got

(20:14):
, let me help, and I thinkthat's amazing.
I think that speaks to yourheart.
I think it speaks to the kindof person that you are, and I
count myself so very, very luckyto be working beside you.
I'll be back soon with anotherepisode of the School for School
Counselors podcast.
In the meantime, I hope youhave the best week.

(20:37):
Take care.
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