Understanding Asynchronous Development in Gifted Children

Twice-exceptional, or 2e, learners display remarkable strengths alongside significant

challenges at the same time. For example, a student might excel in math yet struggle with writing, or read well above grade level while having difficulty turning in assignments. This uneven profile of being far ahead in some areas and far behind in others is known as asynchronous development.

What does “asynchronous development” mean?

Most children develop new skills within a typical age range. For instance, many learn to read around ages 6–7. Some may pick up a skill a little earlier or later, but most fall reasonably close to these developmental expectations. This applies to a wide range of school-related abilities, including math, writing, reading, social skills, and emotional regulation.

Asynchronous Development in 2e Students

Asynchronous development occurs when a child advances far ahead of age expectations in some areas while developing more slowly in others. A fourth grader, for example, might read at an eighth-grade level yet write at a second-grade level. They may use vocabulary typical of an 18-year-old while demonstrating the emotional regulation of a much younger child.

Uneven Growth Explained – Cognitive vs. emotional vs. social development.

To further illustrate how asynchronous development can affect academic performance, it’s helpful to look at cognitive, emotional, and social development.

Cognitive asynchrony can show up in complex ways for 2e learners. In the example above, this 2e ADHD-autistic learner demonstrates exceptionally high math reasoning skills. They can understand math concepts well beyond their grade level. However, their actual math performance falls within the expected range. Why? Slow processing speed, and potentially other learning differences such as dysgraphia, can make worksheets and tests with many problems exhausting. As a result, their disability can mask their giftedness, and they may not be offered advanced math work they are fully capable of understanding.

The reverse can also occur. A child may appear to be reading fluently because they use strong vocabulary and memory skills to guess or decode words. At some point, however, they can’t keep compensating and are diagnosed with stealth dyslexia—their strengths masked their challenges.

Social and emotional asynchrony can also significantly impact learning. A child with an advanced grasp of class material may struggle to share their knowledge during group work. They might read at a high level but become dysregulated when their ideas are challenged. Or they may blurt out answers impulsively, leading to peer frustration or teasing.

Each of these patterns reflects how uneven development in 2e learners can hide both their strengths and their needs.

Examples in 2e Kids – Advanced math skills but struggles with writing; high vocabulary but difficulty self-regulating

Asynchronous learners can feel puzzling to educators and parents because they may excel in one area, such as writing with remarkable maturity, while struggling significantly in another, like math. Adults may mistakenly assume the child is being lazy or unmotivated, because it seems unlikely that a student could perform so well in one domain and have such difficulty in another. Yet this contrast is the hallmark of asynchronous development.

When a student has an advanced vocabulary and speaks like an adult, it can be easy to forget that their emotional regulation may lag behind their age. A child may be able to describe every major battle of World War II in vivid detail, yet melt down when the daily routine changes unexpectedly.

Impact on School & Family Life – Frustration, mismatch between expectations and abilities

Because of the mismatch between what adults expect, based on a child’s obvious strengths, and what the child is actually able to produce across different subjects, asynchronous learners are often mislabeled as lazy, unmotivated, or oppositional. Adults may think, “They’re so bright, if they just tried, they could do it.” In reality, these students are often working twice as hard as their neurotypical peers just to make it through the day. As Ross Greene reminds us, “Kids do well if they can.”

This gap between expectations and actual abilities can also fuel internal anxiety, perfectionism, and masking. Asynchronous learners may work tirelessly to avoid social criticism or to hide areas where they fear looking “stupid.” Many have complex, highly creative ideas that far exceed what they can currently express in writing or turn into a finished project. That mismatch can spark perfectionistic anxiety, nothing feels good enough because the final product never matches the vision in their head.

Perfectionism can also arise when a child has been told their whole life how smart they are. In elementary school, they may have coasted because their strengths compensated for their challenges. But once they reach middle or high school, the workload increases and their compensatory strategies are no longer enough. When the ease and achievement they once relied on begin to slip, their self-concept may crumble. This can lead to significant anxiety, sometimes even debilitating, because their identity has been built around being “the smart kid” rather than being a learner who grows through challenge.

Supporting Asynchronous Learners – Practical strategies at home and in school

To support asynchronous learners, the first step is recognizing that a child can be years ahead in some areas and years behind in others. It’s essential to understand the specific skill deficits or challenges that may be preventing them from demonstrating their full potential. Some students benefit from executive functioning support to help with organization, deadlines, and project planning. Others may need tutoring or targeted instruction in certain subjects. Students with dyslexia or other learning differences may require structured remediation. Many benefit from reduced homework—such as completing every other problem—especially once mastery is demonstrated. Asynchronous learners also thrive when they can work in their areas of strength and interest and when they have flexibility in how they demonstrate what they know. Our community’s crowd-sourced accommodations list highlights the wide range of supports these learners may need.

Perhaps the most powerful support for asynchronous learners is a strengths-based approach. When the child who knows every battle in WWII gets to enter a history bee, volunteer at a local museum, or attend a summer archaeology program, they build confidence and a healthier self-concept. While it’s important to address challenges, giving students more opportunities to engage deeply in their strengths provides the self-esteem, energy, and resilience they need to work through their weaker areas and show their full potential.