Twice exceptional: Raising a gifted son with ADHD (Emily’s story)

From a very young age, Emily Hamblin’s son would have meltdowns and get intensely angry. He was also really bright. He was ahead of the curve academically and scored in the 99th percentile on standardized testing. His teachers would say he was just “smart and quirky.” That didn’t sit right with Emily, though. She knew something else was going on.  

Then one day, a friend suggested that Emily look into ADHD. Emily was skeptical at first. But when she learned more, it was clear that this was the missing puzzle piece. Her son was twice exceptional: He’s gifted AND he has ADHD. And this discovery even helped Emily recognize ADHD symptoms in herself. 

Emily co-hosts a podcast called Enlightening Motherhood, which aims to help moms who are overwhelmed by their kids’ big emotions. Listen in to hear how Emily reframes ADHD symptoms in a positive light. 

To find a transcript for this episode and more resources, visit the episode page at Understood. We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected]. 

Related resources

• The challenges of twice-exceptional kids
• 7 myths about twice-exceptional (2e) students
• Twice-exceptional Black and brown kids (The Opportunity Gap podcast episode)

As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

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