Leadership Roles for School Counselors with 2E Students
By Sara J. Renzulli, Ph.D., and Nicholas Gelbar, Ph.D. | March 2023
Students who are twice exceptional (2E) face social and emotional challenges as they are often unidentified in school. This population is generally defined as students who demonstrate both the potential for high aptitude and achievement as well as significant learning disabilities, including physical disabilities, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD). Researchers and scholars who study this population often explain that their abilities mask their disabilities and their disabilities also mask their academic talents. Due to this masking issue, many 2E students fail to be identified as either high potential or academically talented, or are identified much later in their school career, sometimes as late as high school level.
Students who are 2E are often unable to succeed academically in school settings and many feel isolated, lonely, anxious and depressed because they know they have potential but can’t understand why they can’t do work that appears to be fairly easy for most of their peers. Many 2E students appear to be smart but produce low-quality academic work. Accordingly, some of their teachers and parents often consider these students to be lazy or inattentive.
School counselors can offer support and help to 2E students, and to their parents and teachers. They can organize individual and small-group counseling for 2E students, helping them to focus on strengths, with the goal of reducing anxiety and depression. They can develop classroom instruction focusing on improving empathy and creating a better classroom climate for all students with disabilities.
Some 2E students receive interventions that are remedial in nature, especially if their plan is developed by a special education teacher. Recent strengths-based strategies and resources for this population can enable school counselors to support and assist these students and their families by drawing attention to their academic talents. For example, when school counselors help teachers and parents focus some attention on these students’ strengths, interests and talents, 2E students become more successful in both academic and creative work in areas of personal interest. The use of some enrichment strategies can enable 2E students to develop their creativity, problem-solving skills and analytic ability as they benefit from interest-based enrichment.
School counselors can work directly with 2E students and their teachers to suggest that these students learn specific compensation strategies that help them engage with more challenging content. The school counselor may be the first professional to suggest the use of compensation strategies that can lead to higher levels of success in students’ academic and personal lives. For example, some 2E students, depending on the nature of their disability, can learn to access technology that enables them to utilize speech synthesizing technology or speech-to-text tools. Some phonetic spelling software can also be helpful because it enables students to correct multiple spelling errors as they write. Audiobooks can also enable 2E students with dyslexia to read appropriately challenging books that engage them. For 2E students who have auditory challenges, the opportunity to use variable speed recorders is most helpful, allowing students to record lectures, slow them down later as they listen to them and even modify the pitch of a teacher’s voice.
School counselors can also take a leadership role in suggesting the implementation of whole-school enrichment opportunities that are both strengths based and talent focused, which will benefit the entire student population. Enrichment clusters, one component of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model, support a focus on all students’ strengths and interests. Enrichment clusters can serve as opportunities for students to apply their interests, knowledge, creative ideas and task commitment to self-selected areas of study, leading to interest-based projects that engage 2E students. Research has found that 2E students with behavioral problems and ASD can benefit academically and socially when given the opportunity to participate in these types of enrichment experiences.
Another role for school counselors is a liaison with classroom teachers, special education teachers, school psychologists and parents to help address the identification and academic needs of 2E students. They can collaborate and try to change the dialogue with special education, gifted education and classroom teachers, and with school psychologists, explaining why identifying some highly able students as having special education needs is appropriate and the differences between 504 plans and individualized education programs. They can also clarify how, depending on the exceptionality, these students’ academic talents can also be integrated into these plans. Adding a talent development goal that mandates extracurricular activities or interest-based enrichment to each of these plans can change school for students who are both smart and have disabilities.
In summary, school counselors have numerous opportunities for successful interventions with 2E students. The benefits of these types of strengths-based collaborations enhances educational opportunities for teachers, parents and students.
Sara J. Renzulli, Ph.D., is an assistant professor and Nicholas Gelbar, Ph.D., is a practicing psychologist and an associate research professor, both at the University of Connecticut.
This article is based on the practitioner summary of the full journal article in Professional School Counseling.
Students who are 2E are often unable to succeed academically in school settings and many feel isolated, lonely, anxious and depressed because they know they have potential but can’t understand why they can’t do work that appears to be fairly easy for most of their peers. Many 2E students appear to be smart but produce low-quality academic work. Accordingly, some of their teachers and parents often consider these students to be lazy or inattentive.
School counselors can offer support and help to 2E students, and to their parents and teachers. They can organize individual and small-group counseling for 2E students, helping them to focus on strengths, with the goal of reducing anxiety and depression. They can develop classroom instruction focusing on improving empathy and creating a better classroom climate for all students with disabilities.
Some 2E students receive interventions that are remedial in nature, especially if their plan is developed by a special education teacher. Recent strengths-based strategies and resources for this population can enable school counselors to support and assist these students and their families by drawing attention to their academic talents. For example, when school counselors help teachers and parents focus some attention on these students’ strengths, interests and talents, 2E students become more successful in both academic and creative work in areas of personal interest. The use of some enrichment strategies can enable 2E students to develop their creativity, problem-solving skills and analytic ability as they benefit from interest-based enrichment.
School counselors can work directly with 2E students and their teachers to suggest that these students learn specific compensation strategies that help them engage with more challenging content. The school counselor may be the first professional to suggest the use of compensation strategies that can lead to higher levels of success in students’ academic and personal lives. For example, some 2E students, depending on the nature of their disability, can learn to access technology that enables them to utilize speech synthesizing technology or speech-to-text tools. Some phonetic spelling software can also be helpful because it enables students to correct multiple spelling errors as they write. Audiobooks can also enable 2E students with dyslexia to read appropriately challenging books that engage them. For 2E students who have auditory challenges, the opportunity to use variable speed recorders is most helpful, allowing students to record lectures, slow them down later as they listen to them and even modify the pitch of a teacher’s voice.
School counselors can also take a leadership role in suggesting the implementation of whole-school enrichment opportunities that are both strengths based and talent focused, which will benefit the entire student population. Enrichment clusters, one component of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model, support a focus on all students’ strengths and interests. Enrichment clusters can serve as opportunities for students to apply their interests, knowledge, creative ideas and task commitment to self-selected areas of study, leading to interest-based projects that engage 2E students. Research has found that 2E students with behavioral problems and ASD can benefit academically and socially when given the opportunity to participate in these types of enrichment experiences.
Another role for school counselors is a liaison with classroom teachers, special education teachers, school psychologists and parents to help address the identification and academic needs of 2E students. They can collaborate and try to change the dialogue with special education, gifted education and classroom teachers, and with school psychologists, explaining why identifying some highly able students as having special education needs is appropriate and the differences between 504 plans and individualized education programs. They can also clarify how, depending on the exceptionality, these students’ academic talents can also be integrated into these plans. Adding a talent development goal that mandates extracurricular activities or interest-based enrichment to each of these plans can change school for students who are both smart and have disabilities.
In summary, school counselors have numerous opportunities for successful interventions with 2E students. The benefits of these types of strengths-based collaborations enhances educational opportunities for teachers, parents and students.
Sara J. Renzulli, Ph.D., is an assistant professor and Nicholas Gelbar, Ph.D., is a practicing psychologist and an associate research professor, both at the University of Connecticut.
This article is based on the practitioner summary of the full journal article in Professional School Counseling.