What happens when “brilliance” and “struggle” live in the same brain?
You might be the child who reads years ahead of your peers but can’t remember what the teacher just said. Or the adult who can solve complex problems at work—but breaks down over a misplaced key or missed appointment. You may have been told you were “wasting your potential,” or that you’re “so smart—why can’t you just…?”
For those who are twice-exceptional (2e) — gifted in one or more domains and also living with ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, or another learning difference — life can feel like a paradox. Capable yet inconsistent. Insightful yet overwhelmed. Gifted yet misunderstood.
And too often, therapy or school systems don’t know what to do with the contradiction. That’s where a neurodiversity-affirming, holistic therapeutic approach can help.
What Does It Mean to Be Twice-Exceptional (2e)?
“Twice-exceptional” is a term used to describe people who are both:
- Gifted — possessing above-average cognitive, creative, or emotional capacity
- Neurodivergent — with a diagnosis such as ADHD, dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), auditory processing disorder, or executive functioning challenges
But being 2e is not just a diagnostic label. It’s a lived experience — of contradiction, confusion, and often, isolation.
Many 2e individuals:
- Excel in abstract thinking but struggle with concrete tasks
- Are emotionally intense but easily dysregulated
- Have a deep inner world but find social communication challenging
- Feel like they don’t “fit” anywhere—not with gifted peers, not with learning support groups
The Emotional Cost of Being Misunderstood
The 2e profile often leads to missed or delayed diagnoses. Teachers may focus on the child’s gifted strengths, overlooking executive functioning issues or learning delays. Parents may see the
intelligence and assume “they’re just not trying hard enough.” Adults may internalize their inconsistency as laziness, failure, or impostor syndrome.
Over time, this leads to:
- Chronic shame and self-doubt
- Anxiety from unpredictable performance
- Emotional overwhelm from sensory sensitivity or perfectionism
- School or workplace burnout from overcompensating
- Depression, especially when identity and value are tied to performance
What’s needed is not just remediation — but recognition. Understanding. And support that honors both sides of the equation.
Therapy for 2e Individuals: A Different Kind of Space
In our work together, therapy becomes a place where the whole self is welcome — the brilliance and the blocks, the clarity and the chaos.
Here’s how we approach it:
1. Reframing the 2e Identity
We begin by naming the contradiction. You are not inconsistent because you’re flawed — you’re managing multiple operating systems at once. Therapy helps:
- Rebuild self-trust by exploring your unique cognitive profile
- Challenge internalized messages like “lazy” or “too sensitive”
- Reclaim strengths that may have been overshadowed by school struggles
The 2e experience is not “either/or”—it’s “both/and.” Therapy helps you live into that reality.
2. Mindfulness, Meditation, and Regulation Skills
Many 2e clients are emotionally intense — feeling deeply, reacting quickly, and absorbing everything. Mindfulness and meditation offer tools to:
- Slow the internal experience
- Build awareness of triggers and responses
- Reconnect with the body when overloaded
- Create inner spaciousness between thought and reaction
We tailor practices to match your style — using visual, sensory, movement-based, or environmental approaches for those who struggle with stillness or focus.
3. Lifestyle Strategies: Sleep, Diet, and Environment
The gifted brain is often overactive, and the neurodivergent brain is easily dysregulated. Together, they require extra care:
- Sleep routines to prevent burnout or emotional dysregulation
- Nutrition that supports focus and emotional steadiness
- Movement (e.g., walking, stretching, yoga) to discharge excess stimulation
- Creating environments with low overwhelm and high inspiration — spaces that nourish without flooding
For 2e individuals, even changing the lighting or noise level in a workspace can transform focus and mood.
4. Supporting Executive Functioning with Compassion
Forgetfulness, time-blindness, and task initiation are often misread as laziness. But these are executive function challenges, not moral failings.
In therapy, we work on:
- Systems of support that externalize memory and structure (whiteboards, visual calendars, time-blocking)
- Accepting the need for supports without shame
- Strategic use of tools and technology (timers, checklists, visual routines)
- Building momentum over perfection
We replace pressure with process — and offer frameworks that actually work for neurodivergent, gifted brains.
5. Relational Coaching for 2e Individuals
Because many 2e individuals feel out of step with peers or partners, therapy also offers relational support:
- Social scripts and boundary-setting for sensitive or literal thinkers
- Understanding neurotypical norms while honoring your own needs
- Support for navigating romantic relationships where emotional reactivity, sensory overload, or “masking” might arise
- For parents of 2e children: building attuned, flexible, and validating parenting practices
A Message to 2e Adults and Parents of 2e Kids
You are not alone. You are not failing. You are adapting to a system that rarely knows how to hold both ends of your brilliance and your challenge. Therapy offers a place where you don’t have to “pick a side.” You get to be fully seen and supported. For your creativity and your struggle. For your spark and your sensitivity. I work with both adults and families navigating the 2e experience —offering video-based sessions across Queensland and Australia, and occasional in-person sessions by arrangement.
Whether you’re a twice-exceptional adult searching for understanding, or the parent of a gifted child who’s struggling in silence — help is available. When we embrace both exceptionality and challenge, transformation begins.
*Please note that Dr. Scott Terry only does Telehealth and Telephone consults – with occasional in-person sessions.
To make an appointment with Dr. Scott Terry, please Book Online or call Vision Psychology Brisbane on 07 3088 5422.