COACHING FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS
In addition to learning how to navigate a variety of new experiences and dealing with new social pressures, very bright young adults who participate in advanced-level classes or who enter college can have trouble navigating this rigorous academic world.
Coaching can guide 2e young adults on how to best approach various social and academic experiences with success.
While not every twice-exceptional young adult will exhibit these behaviors, the most common areas of difficulty for twice-exceptional individuals at this age are:
Emotional Regulation Challenges
Gifted and twice-exceptional adolescents and young adults who have not developed strong emotional awareness, may exhibit difficulty understanding, expressing, and managing feelings and emotions
Can have a strong sense of fairness and may struggle understanding someone else’s perspective and become argumentative
Can show perfectionistic tendencies and have unrealistic self-expectations as well as expectations of others
May be preoccupied and overwhelmed by complex global issues and existential concerns. It is believed that the higher the intelligence, the higher the existential concerns
Can be temperamental and exhibit rebelliousness and oppositional tendencies
Can have difficulty following rules and conforming to structures at home or school
May struggle with impulse control and risky behaviors, which can sometimes lead to drug or alcohol problems
May have difficulty coping with strong emotions and have issues with anger management and frustration tolerance
Because they excel at many things, twice-exceptional adolescents may become easily frustrated and impatient with areas of deficit and have little tolerance for their own errors
Entering college for the first time can be an extremely overwhelming experience for 2e young adults. Without the emotional skills to manage new social and academic experiences, their social-emotional landscape can be impacted significantly
Social Difficulties
Difficulties interacting with peers and adults. Can come across as “know-it-alls” and have difficulty expressing strong feelings and opinions appropriately
Can become overly engrossed in a particular topic and not be aware that others may not share those interests
Because they crave intellectual stimulation, they may have great difficulty finding peers with similar interests and developing and maintaining friendships
May have difficulty finding time to schedule or plan social activities and balancing social life and academic workload
May be easily distracted by social media and technology, neglecting academic obligations or struggling with face-to-face interactions
Internalizing Behaviors
Because they may feel under pressure to achieve and perform at high levels, the may be reluctant to ask for help and develop negative mindsets and insecurities around their abilities
Tend to struggle with low-academic self-concept, low self-esteem, or low self-confidence
May exhibit fearfulness, distress, and somatic complaints as a result of repeated academic failures
May become socially withdrawn as a result of their difficulty interacting with same-age peers
May become easily overwhelmed with school workload and struggle with test anxiety and managing stress
Because of the combination of their exceptionalities and the complexity of their needs, some twice-exceptional children may exhibit debilitating anxiety or depression
Executive Function Deficits
Difficulty planning or tackling big and large-scale projects and estimating the amount of time and effort a project or activity will require
May struggle switching gears, shifting between activities, and starting tasks or using a different method or approach from the one they are comfortable using
Difficulty with multi-step directions or instructions and organizing, adjusting, or shifting the steps needed to carry out a task
May have difficulty memorizing words, facts, formulas, or foreign languages
Difficulty organizing thoughts and writing with structure
Can make careless errors and mistakes and their work can be illegible
May struggle breaking down and finishing a task despite having the knowledge or skills to do so
May have difficulty with self-management and controlling impulses
Tend to lose homework and study materials and mix up assignments or directions
May have difficulty taking notes and studying for tests
May struggle with deadlines and completing or submitting college applications or focusing on long-term goals
May get easily overwhelmed by academic workload, procrastinate, or wait until the last minute to complete school work or projects
Many 2e young adults are at an increased risk of dropping out of college during the first year because of their challenges with time management and organization, in addition to other specific 2e challenges. The first years of college are critical for 2e/gifted and neurodivergent students
HOW COACHING CAN HELP
Coaching during high school and college years focuses on building strong executive function skills and promoting a solid self-awareness and social-emotional intelligence foundation. I collaborate with 2e adolescents and young adults to help them:
Develop a set of study skills and systems to manage academic workload and long-term projects
Learn, practice, and hone skills to manage assignments and study effectively, such as organizing school papers and materials, writing and breaking down assignments, taking notes, keeping track of deadlines, and prioritizing tasks and activities
Identify and reframe behaviors and attitudes that are negatively affecting learning or social-emotional progress
Establish and maintain strong organizational and time management skills and use technology tools and mindfulness-based strategies to support these skills
Understand their learning and processing styles and strengths and use methods that fit their preferences
Learn to advocate for themselves and communicate with teachers/professors and other adults about how to work together to address unique needs
Engage in a self-reflective process to identify strengths and interests and explore possible areas to focus their mental and creative energy, contribute their gifts to society, or find meaning and purpose in what they do
Develop effective communication and interpersonal skills to help them form strong social relationships