Bright and Struggling: Understanding the 2e (Twice Exceptional) Neurodivergent Learner

About this course

A Certificate of Completion for 1.5 hours professional development will be available for you to download upon completion of this course. 

Bright and Struggling: Understanding the 2e (Twice Exceptional) Neurodivergent Learner

You know this child.

They can explain complex concepts that leave adults speechless. They ask questions nobody else thought to ask. They're funny, creative, and clearly bright.

And yet they're falling apart at school. Melting down over assignments. Refusing to go. Getting labelled lazy, difficult, or just not trying hard enough.

This is the reality of twice exceptionality. And it is one of the most missed, most misunderstood profiles in education today.

2e children are both gifted and neurodivergent. Their strengths can hide their struggles. Their struggles can hide their strengths. And caught in the middle is a child who often feels like they're failing at everything, even when they're working harder than anyone around them realises.

This webinar is for the parents who have been told their child is "too smart to need support." For the teachers who can see something doesn't add up but aren't sure what they're looking at. For anyone supporting a young person whose profile just doesn't fit the box.

Barb Cook, Registered Developmental Educator, researcher, and neurodivergent person, takes a deep dive into what 2e actually looks like, why it gets missed so often, and what genuinely helps.

What This Webinar Covers

  • What twice exceptionality is and why it is so frequently overlooked or misidentified
  • How ability masks support needs, and how support needs can mask ability
  • What 2e looks like in the classroom and at home, and why the gap between potential and performance is not a motivation problem
  • Why standard approaches so often fail 2e learners and what to do instead
  • The emotional experience of being 2e: anxiety, perfectionism, emotional intensity, and the exhaustion of masking
  • Practical strategies for home and school that work with the 2e profile, not against it
  • How parents and teachers can work together and advocate effectively for 2e learners
  • Real case studies that bring the 2e experience to life

Who This Webinar Is For

  • Parents and caregivers of neurodivergent children and young people
  • Teachers and education support staff
  • Allied health professionals and support workers
  • Developmental educators, psychologists, counsellors, and school-based practitioners
  • Anyone supporting a child or young person who seems bright but is clearly struggling

What Participants Will Gain

  • A clear framework for understanding what 2e actually looks like across home and school settings
  • Language to describe and advocate for 2e learners with confidence
  • Insight into why so many 2e children are missed, misread, or misdiagnosed
  • Practical, neuroaffirming strategies that support both the strengths and the challenges
  • A deeper understanding of the emotional world of 2e children and young people
  • A starting point for building genuine collaboration between home and school


This course may be claimable for Self & Plan Managed NDIS Participants. Please check with your plan manager/LAC.

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Course curriculum

    1. Bright and Struggling: Understanding the 2e (Twice Exceptional) Neurodivergent Learner

    2. Presentation Slides

    3. Recommended Readings (Books)

    4. Website Links

About this course

  • $45.00
  • 1.5 hours of video content
  • Certificate of Completion for 1.5 Hours Professional Development
  • 60 Days to complete course

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About the Presenter

Barb Cook Girl Women Autism Workshop

Barb Cook, M.Aut.(Ed), Dip.HSc.(Nut)

Registered Developmental Educator, NDIS Registered Specialist Level Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner, Integrative Nutritionist & Specialist Neurodiversity Employment Consultant 

Barb Cook is a registered Developmental Educator, past Deputy Chair of the Developmental Educators Australia Incorporated (DEAI), NDIS registered Specialist Level Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner, an Integrative Nutritionist, an Adult ADHD Coach and a Specialist Neurodiversity Employment Consultant for business.

Barb identifies a neurodivergent after being diagnosed mid-life (40) and after significant burnout in 2009 with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia. She is a highly committed autistic and neurodiversity advocate, writer, editor, and highly sought-after international speaker. She has made appearances on Australian radio and television, in newspapers and magazines, and in the SBS television documentary The Chameleons: Women with Autism.

Barb holds a Master of Autism degree (education) from the University of Wollongong where she was also a researcher and co-project lead in the area of self-determination and self-advocacy for autistics adults.

Barb takes a holistic approach in working with autistic/ADHD people and is dedicated to improving the overall well-being and quality of life for neurodivergent people. She is currently engaged in multiple research projects in the USA including a five year study on A Comparison of Two Brief Suicide Prevention Interventions Tailored for Youth on the Autism Spectrum, Comparing Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy versus Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Autistic Adults, and autism and ageing. 

Barb is internationally recognised for her bestselling book on autism in women, Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism with Dr Michelle Garnett, filling the gap in literature between lived experience of autistic women and the clinical knowledge. Barb’s second best-selling book co-authored with Yenn Purkis, The Autism and Neurodiversity Self-Advocacy Handbook: Developing Skills to Determine Your Own Future, is an essential guidebook that gives you the tools and strategies to advocate for yourself in any situation, developing your skills in standing up for yourself, your needs and wishes. Barb's third book, Planning Your Career Through Intense Interests is focused on assisting young autistic adults in navigating careers pathways.

Barb is founder of Spectrum Women Magazine and is a prolific writer on autism, ADHD and neurodivergence.

Barb is a highly sought-after international speaker and presents on a variety of topics related to women, autism, ADHD and Neurodiversity. Barb spoke at the World Autism Organisation Congress 2018 in Houston Texas, in 2019 she was invited by the United States government to keynote a special event “A Woman’s Voice: Understanding Autistic Needs” for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIHM) in Washington DC, USA and 2024 spoke with Dr Temple Grandin, Dr Rebecca Evanko and Taylor Heaton in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA at AutFest on autistic women.

Barb was awarded the “A Different Brilliant” award at the Aspect National Recognition Awards in Sydney and the Leadership Support Award from the Neurodiversity Academy in 2021. In 2017 she received a Special Commendation from Queensland’s Governor, his Excellency, Paul De Jersey for the Autism Queensland Creative Futures Awards.

Barb is a passionate motorcyclist, and enjoys roller skating and roller blading at an outdoor rink near her home that assists her with good self-care and is an effective anxiety reducing and depression busting practice.

Visit www.neurodiversityhub.com/barb-cook/ and www.barbcook.com.au to learn more about Barb Cook.

Published research:

29 August 2024: Brief Report: Under-Identification of Symptomatic Menopause in Public-Insured Autistic People. Teal W. Benevides, Barb Cook, Laura G. Klinger, Kiley J. McLean, Gregory L. Wallace, Meghan E. Carey, Wei-Lin Lee, Jonas Ventimiglia, Lauren D. Schiff and Lindsay Shea. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.  doi.org/10.1007/s10803-024-06516-x  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-024-06516-x

19 May 2020: Listening to the autistic voice: Mental health priorities to guide research and practice in autism from a stakeholder-driven project. Teal W Benevides, Stephen Shore, May-Lynn Andresen, Barb Cook, Steven S. Coughlin, Dena L Gassner, Becca Lory Hector, and Lisa Morgan. Sage Journals: Autism doi.org/10.1177/1362361320908410 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1362361320908410

11 May 2020: Interventions to address health outcomes among autistic adults: A systematic review. Teal W. Benevides, Stephen Shore, May-Lynn Andresen, Reid Caplan, Barb Cook, Dena L Gassner, Jasmine M Erves, Taylor M Hazlewood, M Caroline King, Lisa Morgan, Lauren E Murphy, Yenn Purkis, Brigid Rankowski, Sarah M Rutledge, Savannah P Welch and Karl Wittig. Sage Journals: Autism. doi.org/10.1177/1362361320913664 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1362361320913664

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