We Tried Normal – 2e Family Stories: Chapter 12
Benjamin Mcavoy Blog
by Big Minds
3y ago
Raphael Raphael is in high school, despite a rocky educational career that has included escalating behavioral problems and several suspensions. Susan knew he was different from the day he was born. He was very alert, difficult to get to sleep, and always wanted to be around people. As soon as he could walk, he would toddle over to anyone nearby and try to get his or her attention. He was sweet and chatty and people thought he was adorable. As he grew, he began to talk to people about all sorts of topics. Wherever he was, he wanted to tell people about the things he knew. He was an adept conver ..read more
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Welcome to the new world!
Benjamin Mcavoy Blog
by Big Minds
3y ago
Not to minimize how hard the last 6 months have been, but, as an eternal optimist, I am hopeful that the pandemic has helped to expose the systemic inequities in our educational system (in all of our systems for that matter!) And seeing is the beginning of growth. For some of us, who have been fighting these biased structures all our life’s work, it is an opening to build understanding and create change. I have talked to so many parents of 2e children who were astonished to see how much better their child was doing at home. Less anxiety, more opportunities for connection to family, more time t ..read more
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Words Matter
Benjamin Mcavoy Blog
by Big Minds
3y ago
Disabled…disengaged…oppositional…hyperactive…disturbed… We often put labels on our children without too much thought to how it impacts their self-image, their learning, and their future. I have read so many IEPs that paint a dreadful image of the real person behind the words. I often wonder, “What were the writers of this document thinking!?!” Did they forget that their words can damage a child, dash hopes, and cause parental distress? Some of these documents seem to be completely out of touch with reality. Many of the goals are downright ridiculous. The one thing that is often missing is how ..read more
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The Death of Empathy
Benjamin Mcavoy Blog
by Big Minds
3y ago
James Danmore, who was fired from Google for perpetuating gender stereotypes. Lauri Love, the British hacker who stole millions of intel files from the US government. Erik Finman, “millionaire bitcoin brat” who doesn’t get why we all aren’t rich. Students who shoot their classmates and teachers. While these examples span a spectrum of behaviors, from oblivious to heinous, the common thread is lack of empathy. A recent study by the Max Planck Institute for Human and Cognitive Brain Sciences found that there are neurobiological roots to empathy. The right supramarginal gyrus is the brain’s cente ..read more
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Cats and Dogs
Benjamin Mcavoy Blog
by Big Minds
3y ago
When I was a child I had a beloved cat. One afternoon I was in my yard, holding my cat, when a large neighborhood dog barreled around the corner and attacked the cat. My cat climbed my face and leapt away with the dog in hot pursuit. Both my cat and I have scars from that experience. Mine are visible on my face, my cat’s were hidden in her psyche. From that day onward, if I picked up my cat while we were in the yard, she would stiffen and begin to look wildly around for the dog. I meet with parents of 2e children every day who are like my cat. They are living with trauma around their parenting ..read more
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Teaching What Matters
Benjamin Mcavoy Blog
by Big Minds
3y ago
Cognitive ability can be measured in how we process information, analyze patterns, and demonstrate manual dexterity. Yet that doesn’t begin to cover the immense capacity of the human brain. Where do wisdom, compassion, and intuition fall on these measurement scales? Our workplace gurus and think tank predictors all say that the human capacity for wisdom, intuition, creativity, and compassion will be the “human currency” of the future. If that is the case, why aren’t these skills on the forefront of what we teach our children? I believe schools should be teaching our children to uncover de ..read more
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Forced to be a School Boy
Benjamin Mcavoy Blog
by Big Minds
3y ago
Recently, a parent of one of my newly enrolled students told me his son had been intellectually starved at a past school. He told me that one school day morning, his 8-year-old son woke up and through tears proclaimed, “Born to be a scientist, forced to be a school boy.” That statement so powerfully captures the struggle that most 2e children go through every day they are in school. They have exquisitely complex brains that rarely get the opportunity to think deeply and creatively. According to Dr. Miracia Gross, an eminent researcher on exceptionally gifted persons, children with profound gif ..read more
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Visiting Dreams
Benjamin Mcavoy Blog
by Big Minds
3y ago
This is the season for resolutions, we are seeking to fix flaws and change our lives. It is our human qualities that make us want to compare, judge, control, and aspire. We can be hard on ourselves, and on our children. We tell them from an early age what is expected of them, what we fear for them, and how we want them to comply. We are trying to help them become successful, functional, and fulfilled. They are swamped by our own fears and desires. We mean well, but considering that our children are becoming ever more stressed, anxious, depressed, and suicidal; shouldn’t we to take a real look ..read more
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We Tried Normal – 2e Family Stories: Chapter 14
Benjamin Mcavoy Blog
by Big Minds
3y ago
What Now? What you have read is a glimpse into the daily lives of families with 2e children. It is just the tip of the iceberg. You may be a parent with a young 2e child, you may be his or her grandparent, or you may be a professional trying to understand twice exceptionality. Whatever your interest, we are grateful you are educating yourself about the challenges faced by 2e children. Over the course of our PAR groups’ research, we compiled collective experiences from many families and drew some conclusions that may help you and others to understand and embrace 2e children and their families ..read more
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We Tried Normal – 2e Family Stories: Chapter 13
Benjamin Mcavoy Blog
by Big Minds
3y ago
Lauren and Jenny Lauren has rarely left her room for the last few months. Despite medication and therapy, her anxiety has reached a level where it is crippling her daily activities. Her parents think that her withdrawal from the world may be the result of her lofty goals running headlong into her anxiety and perfectionism. She had an accelerated learning path, she is not yet sixteen and has been attending college classes for two years. But Lauren is terrified of what the world holds for her as an adult, even though legal adulthood is still several years away. Her mother, Dannie, mused that whe ..read more
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