Shame and the Gifted: The Squandering of Potential from Crushing Tall Poppies

Within our population of gifted children, there are twice-exceptional (2e) gifted children. These children are both gifted and also have one or more learning differences known as exceptionalities such as dyslexia, autism, ADHD, anxiety, visually- or hearing-impaired, and other conditions which can hinder learning in a standardized learning environment. These exceptionalities, these learning differences can mask identifying gifted traits and can result in the inability of the twice-exceptional student to perform as expected in school. Quite often the scenario is such that a 2e gifted child goes unidentified because, although his high-level intelligence is recognized, his performance and achievement do not meet stereotypical educational expectations. And our traditional educational system will focus on addressing the student’s disability while neglecting his intellectual strengths. Most often, this creates a painful inner conflict within the child–“if I’m so smart, why am I not making good grades?”

This is the point at which the shame spiral begins.