Joyfully Exceptional

 

 Twice Exceptional. 

This is the label he carries in his 504 file at school. He has areas in which he has demonstrated abilities far beyond what is average, while also having difficulty to a much greater degree than is average in other areas. And as much as I dislike the word "label", I do like the term: Twice Exceptional. 

I first heard this when expressing my frustration and helplessness at helping him learn self-awareness, and how to function in a school classroom, and how to respond to the everyday ups and downs of life to my very wise and very smart and very grounded and very real cousin-more-like-a-sister. 

It means that he is:

exceptionally smart

exceptionally creative

exceptionally sensitive

exceptionally nostalgic

exceptionally gifted 

exceptionally impressionable

exceptionally unaware

exceptionally exceptional.

It means that many times any action or emotion or decision or strength or weakness does not fit within what many would consider average. All of those things, for him, happen at the extreme ends of the spectrum. when he is happy, he is bouncing-off-the-walls, dancing-in-the-rain, yelling-with-abandon happy. And when he is sad, he is despondent, often quite vocally so.

Being a parent to this is--exceptional. 

He is our first, so we didn't know any better until second came along, though in hindsight there were signs we should've seen. Like speaking his own language by the time he was 8 months old, complete with hand gestures, facial expressions, intonation and laughter. Like recognizing routes and locations as a two-year-old that we'd only visited a few times. Like being able to sing almost any tune after hearing it only once. Like being completely unaware of time, or able to follow multi-step instructions, or being able to objectively process a story. Like being able to pick up on the moral of the story, but unable to pick out the plot. Like saying things that make people stop and think, "oh, I never thought of it like that before."

This child sees the world differently.

When I think about the most amazing people I have ever met, the ones who make their mark on the world, I try to imagine what they were like as children. Think about it. The people who make big discoveries and big inventions and big changes and big impressions were probably odd kids.

I bet none of them were "average". I bet none of them helped their district's state standardized test scores. Don't get me started. 

I bet they were exceptional, because that's why they have the ability to stand out and make a difference. 

It's not easy. It's not the average parenting experience. It's not predictable or comfortable or boring--oh, so not boring. Scroll though my facebook posts for a glimpse into daily life.

Joyfully

    Exceptional.