I recently got this email from a mom about how to get her 2e son to double-check his work before he turns it in.

A quick definition, for those who don’t know: “2e” is a shortened form for the phrase “twice exceptional.” This is a descriptor often used for intellectually advanced students, otherwise known as “gifted,” who also have a learning disability such as, but not limited to, dyslexia, ADHD, or autism.

When we hear the phrase 2e, we don’t know exactly what this student’s combination of strengths and challenges is, but we do know that he is both extremely gifted in some cognitive domains and extremely challenged in others.

So what’s the exact question? Let’s hear it in the mom’s own words:

“Hi Gretchen, I am a mother of two neurodivergent children, age 11 & 12, and have truly appreciated your Study Cycle to share with my kids. My daughter has inattentive ADHD and these tools will really help her. 

However, my son is twice exceptional.  He definitely doesn’t need repetition most of the time to retain material and until this year almost received 100% on all of his assignments and tests and scores 99% on standardized tests. 

This year though he is starting to make mistakes.  He will get back his work and be so mad at himself b/c there are “silly mistakes.” We have told him many times to double-check his work, and he says he is.  I’m sure this story doesn’t surprise you in describing a neurodivergent kid. 

Do you have “tools” for teaching students how to best double-check their work so they don’t make mistakes on material they actually know well?”

Oooh. Such a great question that I bet a lot of parents, coaches, tutors, and educators of neurospicy students have. In this article we dig into several action steps to take including: digging deeper into the student’s experience, making a checklist, conducting a mistake analysis, creating a homework and test-taking routine, and, maybe most important, unpacking internalized ableism.

Recently I received this email from a school-based teacher who is helping her students prepare for final exams:

“I recently switched jobs, and I teach high school (I used to teach early childhood). I am teaching in small groups and supporting students who have learning disabilities and/or ADD/ADHD etc. 

In your videos, you’ve mentioned the importance of their working memory, and I understand the value of it. However, when I Google to find some activities to practice working memory with high school students, the ideas are too elementary and wouldn’t work in my small group setting. 

Do you have any good ideas/games/activities to help me practice working memory with high school students?”

What a great question!! At first glance, it seems pretty straightforward. There must be fun games to help students practice working memory, right?!

Well… sort of. The answer is more complicated than you think, though. And the best way to reveal this complexity is to narrate blow-by-blow what happened next…

Whether you are a classroom teacher or academic coach, it can be incredibly frustrating when students don’t follow through on their responsibilities.

Recently, a coach who has been trained in the Anti-Boring Toolkit wrote into our community listserv with a frustration:

I have a client who is super keen when we are working together. She agrees to commitments and assures me that it is not overwhelming, and that everything is clear and doable. She then does not follow through at all—no matter the reminders I send her. Do you all have any other suggestions on how I can have an impact in a way that she begins to see success and wants to do it on her own?

Today I’d like to highlight the excellent responses from the Anti-Boring Certified Coaches on the listserv. As I read through their reflections, I couldn’t help but notice that each one highlighted a different academic coaching skill that we teach inside the Anti-Boring Learning Lab, where we teach the tools and the brain science students need to shift from unmotivated, bored, and struggling students into independent, motivated, self-starting learners.

Which of the following three coaching skills do you need to work on?

Can a single study strategy seriously make such a difference? I say YES! In fact, I’d say that if you only share one of my anti-boring tips with students in your classrooms and academic coaching or tutoring sessions this year, this is the one to share!