How to Manage Expectations of Your Gifted & Talented or Twice Exceptional Child

Parents who have children identified as Gifted and Talented (GT) or Twice Exceptional (2e) can experience confusion about realistic expectations for their child’s behaviors. Though these children have an advanced intellectual maturity, they often exhibit asynchronous development.

Asynchronous development refers to imbalanced intellectual, physical, social and emotional development. This means that your GT or 2e child displays an intellectual ability beyond their chronical age, then shows age-typical functioning in social, emotional, and physical behaviors.

Understanding and checking in with yourself about your child’s asynchronous development is a valuable tool to use to determine reasonable expectations, identify age-appropriate parenting strategies, and to foster your ability to co-regulate with your child when they have intense emotions and difficult behaviors. Before responding to your child’s emotional outbursts or viewing the child as emotionally or socially immature, pause and remember your child’s chronological age.

 Similarly, your child is likely to experience frustration when dealing with the discrepancies in their capabilities caused by asynchronous development. In moments like this, parents can help their gifted or twice exceptional child by normalizing natural limitations posed by the child’s chronological age (i.e., fine motor skills) and by using positive self-talk about what they can achieve.

 If you would like support for yourself or your GT or 2e child, reach out to us today by clicking here or calling us at 720-689-6166!