Twice-Exceptional Kids: Overlooked & Misunderstood

I was six years old when the school tested me. The results said I had a receptive vocabulary in the 99th percentile—gifted range. They also said I was slow, disorganized, and needed to be watched. They called me "average" and sent me on my way.What followed was decades of being called a problem, stupid or dumb. Yes by adults...one teacher went as far to call me a freak of nature for not fitting the mold. The life long problems followed me around were created by a system that had the data but not the will to see me clearly. I was placed on ADHD meds, denied GATE services, funneled into SPED for subjects I actually excelled in, not the other way around. And again, I was told my whole life that I wasn't enough.By 23, I was drinking 24 hours a day to hide from the trauma. By 26, I walked into a detox center with a BAC number that should have killed me. It didn't.In this episode, I walk through my own educational and psychological records from the 1990s. Scores that show a classic twice-exceptional (2E). WHICH BY THE WAY... I had no idea what that meant until this week. I had never heard the term. Not one professional person at that time explained to me how my brain ACTUALLY worked. Nor was it properly explained to my parents ( at the time. ) IMO my profile was buried under bureaucratic indifference. I break down what the numbers actually mean, how the system failed me, and how I finally started to understand myself now at 36.This episode is for every parent who has been told their child is "lazy." For every adult who grew up knowing they were smart but feeling broken. And for every kid right now who is slipping through the cracks because they don't fit the box.I am not a doctor or a therapist. I am someone who lived it. And if you are ready to stop being gaslit by your own file, this one is for you.