To see upcoming gifted support group meeting topics and details, please visit the Upcoming Events page of our website. Questions or would like to suggest a speaker or topic? Email us at ieagifted@educationaladvancement.org.
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As parents and educators, it can be difficult to understand how best to meet the complex needs of gifted children. During the school year, IEA offers complimentary monthly Gifted Support Group meetings featuring professionals who are experts on various aspects of gifted youth. These meetings provide support and community, a venue for shared discovery, and a space to exchange resources and ideas. Sharing experiences with other parents and educators who interact with gifted children has proven to be enormously helpful.
In order to assist the widest range of families, we will be livestreaming the meetings on our Facebook page, unless otherwise noted.
Our bodies, like the natural world, operate on cycles of upstates and downstates. Many gifted children spend their waking hours in hyper-stimulation from the demands of school, extra-curricular activities, and social media. The result of this hyper-stimulation can lead to sleeplessness, anxiety, and depression. In this presentation, Dr. Wilkes will share ways to nourish the parasympathetic nervous system in order to promote the wellness of our body, mind, and spirit.
Dr. Paula Wilkes has been an educator and coach for more than 40 years. She earned her B.A. at UCLA and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. During the first 25 years of her career, Dr. Wilkes was a public school teacher in Eugene, Oregon. During that time, she worked with gifted students both within a heterogeneous classroom and as a gifted specialist. For nearly 10 years, she worked as a professor of education at Pacific University’s Eugene campus where she created and coordinated the Center for Gifted Education. Dr. Wilkes currently works at Summit Center as a coach and consultant for gifted and twice-exceptional kids, teens, and adults, as well as with parents needing support in dealing with the academic, social, and emotional issues of their children.
Helping gifted and twice-exceptional children thrive is more than packing their brains with knowledge! This interactive workshop presents games and tools that were created to explore brilliant and twice-exceptional students’ intersectionality of strengths and challenges; culture and values. Fostering self-awareness begins with an investigation of the language and implicitly biased lenses that are too often used to describe abilities, obstacles, and ways of being. This workshop explores ways to mentor learners to develop positive self-identities and embrace their learning and communication diversities to build self-advocacy, social success, and agency.
Cynthia Z. Hansen, M.Ed(D.Ed), ET/P, an Educational Therapist and Twice-Exceptional Consultant, facilitates the growth of gifted and creative individuals with ADHD, dyslexia, and complex learning profiles. A California credentialed teacher, Cindy is president of the Tri- County GATE Council in Southern California, a facilitator for SENG Parent groups and an advisory board member for The G Word documentary film. For over 30 years, Cindy has led professional development, parent, and conference workshops on issues facing cognitively and neuro-diverse learners. As a doctoral candidate at Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education, Ms. Hansen focused on facilitating the positive identity development of 2e students through interactive games.
Emotional regulation: what is it? And how do we support it? Olivia will help us dig deeper to uncover the complexity of emotional regulation. She will provide information about sensory processing and how it impacts our student’s participation both in home and at school. She will also discuss strategies and “toolbox” ideas to bring regulation into their lives. This presentation is for parents whose child is struggling with dysregulation, meltdowns, decreased frustration tolerance, difficulty making mistakes, or shut downs.
Olivia is a licensed occupational therapist with over 20 years of experience supporting kids and their families in both the private and public-school sector. She is also a licensed marriage and family therapist, supporting clients experiencing anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, sexual identity questions, life/career transitions, and aging. Olivia is also a mother of three, two with neuro-differences, and uniquely integrates her professional expertise and lived experiences with her clients. She is the co-division leader of the OT department at The Center for Connection in Pasadena, CA. She is also the co-director of The Center for Connection and Neurodiversity in Duarte, Ca, which is part of the flagship center in Pasadena. Olivia specializes in providing support to children, adults, and their families through a neurodevelopmental, relational, sensory integrative, anti-behavioral, playful approach. She, along with her colleagues, provides one-to-one therapy, parent consultations, paraprofessional training, in-services, and assessments. She is a regular speaker at professional conferences and universities integrating occupational therapy, marriage and family therapy, and the parent perspective.
Click here to visit our Youtube page to view recordings of past Gifted Support Groups.
Benefits:
Past topics have included:
To see upcoming gifted support group meeting topics and details, please visit the Upcoming Events page of our website. Questions or would like to suggest a speaker or topic? Email us at ieagifted@educationaladvancement.org.
Join the group! For information about our next gifted support group meeting, visit our upcoming events page.
“IEA Provides a Wealth of Information and Is the Best Resource We’ve Found for Support and Guidance in the Gifted Community.”
– IEA Parent