The true face of the multi-exceptional student
Removing the Masks of Multi-Exceptionalities
Pushing, fighting, scrabbling, reaching… I can’t breathe… I can’t escape!
That sounds like a scene from the latest thriller to hit movie theaters, but it’s not!
That’s what it’s like inside the mind of a multi-exceptional student.
I have a special treat in today’s review of “Removing the Masks of Multi-Exceptionalities”.
In this course, you’ll benefit from first-hand experiences of a mother/daughter team who remove the mask that often hides the true experience of a 2E or multi-exceptional learner.
Carol Raymond & Hope McKenzie Raymond remove the mask of multi-exceptional students
Carol Raymond has served as a G/T specialist, classroom teacher, elementary music specialist, and private music instructor.
Her degrees in music performance (BM), elementary music education (BME), and gifted education (Med) provide a unique blend of expertise.
Hope MacKenzie Raymond graduated from Richmond High School in 2014. She is passionate about creative problem solving and competed in nine different Destination ImagiNation challenges. Hope is currently studying psychology at Texas State University.
I just wasn’t comprehending them!
That was Hope’s early experience in education. Her teachers would talk, but she just didn’t comprehend what they were saying.
“It’s worse when I’m tired or stressed out, looking at the page and seeing a scrabble board with invisible fingers on the letters shuffling them all around,” says Hope.
She was diagnosed with dyslexia and a processing disorder when she was in the eighth grade. But Hope still struggled to find her place in academics even after her diagnosis.
The mask of multi-exceptionality
“There were just so many misconceptions going on that it was such a blessing to us to find out what was going on in her brain when we did do the testing in eighth grade,” says Hope’s step-mom Carol.
Both G/T students and learning disabled students are often viewed and labeled as “the bad kids”. They are the students who can’t focus and can’t complete their work.
But once they realized Hope had an auditory processing issue, Carol’s first thought was “You mean all those times she got in trouble, she just didn’t really know what to do?”
When you remove the mask, these behavioral issues of multi-exceptional students are just signs of how they are trying desperately to cope with the world around them.
Don’t put me in a box!
Carol is an expert in gifted education.
She recognized the signs of a G/T learner in Hope, but she struggled to navigate a way to support both her gifts and her disabilities in school.
While Hope often felt trapped in the “box” of a student with a learning disability, she and Carol found ways to help cope.
Today, Hope is a straight A student at Texas State University. She hopes to earn doctorate in clinical psychology some day and work with patients suffering from existential depression, a common type of depression in gifted individuals.
Hope learned to cope, but coping isn’t good enough for our students!
Give hope to your 2E students
Hope and Carol believe there’s so much more to offer 2E students than a life of coping. In addition to sharing the experiences of a 2E student, Carol offers tips for effective testing, diagnosis, and learning strategies.
Most importantly, Carol says to view students as a liquid not a solid. Students change from year to year; so don’t put them in a box. Instead, Carol says to:
- Encourage parents to have children tested early
- Don’t let labels limit children
- Give them choices
- Consider their interests
- Remove unnecessary steps
Click here to get the lifechanging 1-hour course, Removing the Masks of Multi-Exceptionalities.
Delivering Quality Training – No Matter Where You Are
Did you know that this course is mobile ready? That means you can complete the course on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop computer, or any other mobile device!
(Photos courtesy of Flickr via DangerRun, ashengrove, & stevendepolo)
