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"Grades aren't bad, but somehow school seems painful." "One subject is off the charts, while another is almost shockingly low." "Clearly smart, but fitting in with the group is very difficult." Parents and teachers often encounter these patterns without a name to put to them.
The concept of 2e — twice-exceptional: a profile in which a child has both gifted-level abilities and a learning disability, ADHD, autism, or other developmental condition that affects functioning — applies here. It refers to children who show gifted-level abilities while simultaneously experiencing the challenges of a learning disability, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, or another developmental condition. The combination looks paradoxical on the surface: gifted and disabled? But research increasingly understands it not as a contradiction but as a natural outcome of certain cognitive profiles.