Our May 2025 support group for parenting 2e kids, Tarra Knotts discusses the traits and experiences of students with PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance). Read the transcript here I think I ran into real to eat before I ran into parents helping parents. But anyway, I've been running the PDA, pathological demand avoidance or pervasive drive for autonomy parent group with parents helping parents. Originally it started in real 2 and then we moved it over to parent helping parents

At the July 2025 PHP REEL Support Group, Leisa, a 2e/neurodivergent parent and professional from Calm in Chaos Co who specializes in organizing spaces for neurodivergent brains and lifestyles, spoke about organizing for back to school. She follows a “strengths-based” philosophy. "What strengths do I have and how can I use my strengths and awareness of struggles to organize our spaces to work for us?" She offered great tips like, “take sensory sensitivity into consideration w

In this video, we explore the concept of scaffolding through the worksheet Can We Figure Out a Different Way?—a tool designed to support neurodivergent learners by focusing on accessibility, not ability. Learn how to scaffold tasks in a way that aligns with your child’s strengths and unique neurodivergent profile.

This worksheet helps you reframe a challenging task and identify a strength-based way your child might approach it differently. Use it to...

Strengths & Struggles Map Instructions:  Draw two overlapping circles, similar to a Venn diagram. One circle is labeled "Strengths"  and...

This cheat sheet is designed to help you better understand the executive functioning (EF) skills your twice-exceptional (2e) child may be...

The Hard Things Are Easy and the Easy Things Are Hard Many 2e children experience a mismatch between what the world expects them to be...

Do you have a question you’d like the column to answer? You can email asklucy@reel2e.org . My autistic 2e teenager is highly resistant to...

As the school year winds down and summer begins, it’s natural to reflect on the past year—its challenges, milestones, and surprises. For families raising neurodivergent children, that reflection can often feel weighted toward what was hard. But here’s a powerful shift: What if we used this transition to focus on strengths instead? At REEL2e and Young Scholars Academy, we believe a strength-based, talent-focused approach isn’t just feel-good language—it’s a foundation for help

One evening, I was sitting at home, in a rare moment of quiet before bed, and realized I'd been spending almost all my time, energy, and...

REEL is frequently asked by educators how to approach conversations with parents about academic, behavioral, or social-emotional concerns regarding a student. What is appropriate to say? How should they handle situations where parents are resistant or do not understand the concerns? To provide guidance, we spoke with several experts including an educator-turned-special education advocate with experience across multiple districts, a Santa Clara County Office of Education leade

Our DEAR REEL model is based on academic research and best practices from experienced educators about what works for these learners. The DEAR REEL model consists of four lenses: Develop Connection, Embrace Flexibility, Attend to Strengths and Reframe Behaviors. This video discusses the portion regarding developing connections.

Humans aren’t great at being objective. We underestimate  the effects of the environment on people’s behavior, and we overestimate  the...

Twice exceptionality, and autism specifically, presents unique challenges when it comes to writing. Autistic and 2e students may struggle...

In Action: Examples and Scenarios (Part 4 of 4) The first article in this series provides an Introduction and Overview to Emotional...

Important to Know: The Role of Co-Regulation (Part 3 of 4) The first article in this series provided an Introduction and Overview to...

A 3-Step Pathway to Better Regulation Management (Part 2 of 4) The first article in this series provided an Introduction and Overview to...

Understanding 2e and Self-Regulation (Part 1 of 4) As part of REEL’s mission is to ensure Silicon Valley twice-exceptional students...

Lily's writing struggles reveal hidden executive function (EF) challenges. Discover 6 strategies to boost EF, transforming writing from drea

My 2e kid is a full body laugh-er. But, up until a few months ago, I had forgotten. My daughter hasn’t always struggled. There was a time...