Supporting a gifted child is often challenging.
As parents and educators, it can be difficult to understand how best to meet the complex needs of gifted children. IEA offers complimentary 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.
Upcoming Meetings
Preparing Your Gifted or 2e Child for Summer Camp: Independence, Flexibility, and Social-Emotional Growth
This presentation focuses on preparing gifted and twice-exceptional (2e) children for a successful sleepaway camp experience. We will discuss how to foster independence, build the mental flexibility needed for summer camp’s unexpected moments, and normalize common experiences like homesickness. Learn crucial strategies, from practicing fundamental skills to proactively partnering with camp staff, that ensure your child is ready for this transformative opportunity. Camp has the potential to help your child build confidence, practice essential social skills, and return home more independent and resilient!
Speaker: Samantha Outcalt, PhD, HSPP, ABPP
Tuesday, March 10
6:00pm ET
on Zoom
RSVP at bit.ly/4tDMjsM
About the Speaker:
Samantha Outcalt, PhD, is a licensed Clinical Psychologist on staff at Sycamore School, an independent school in Indianapolis dedicated to gifted learners. In this role, she directs the social-emotional wellness program, provides individual and group counseling, and consults with teachers and parents. A board-certified health psychologist, Dr. Outcalt emphasizes the physiology of emotion and mind-body interventions, using a prevention-oriented approach to build emotional and interpersonal intelligence. Dr. Outcalt is also a familiar face at IEA’s Yunasa sleepaway camps, where she loves supporting campers across their Colorado and Michigan locations.
Recent Meetings
- Practical Interventions for the Practically Perfect (October 8, 2025)
- Speaker: Lisa Van Gemert
- Secrets to Finding the Best-Fit High School (September 10, 2025)
- Speakers: Deborah Monroe, Mallory Aldrich, and Stephen Milich
- Motivation, Perfectionism & Underachievement
- Speaker: Judy Wiener, LCSW, LMFT
- Supporting Children’s Emotional Well-Being in the Face of Adversity (April 16, 2025)
- Speakers: Elizabeth D. Jones and Annalise Kordell, LCSW
- Executive (Dys)Function: Making Things Better (March 6, 2025)
- Speaker: Lisa Van Gemert
- Homeschooling Considerations for Gifted and Twice-Exceptional Families
- Speaker: Kasi Peters, MT-BC
- Sensory Integration: What is it and How Does it Impact Behavior, Emotional Regulation and Development in Gifted Learners
- Speaker: Dr. Jamie Chaves, OTD, OTR/L, SWC
- Homeschooling Considerations for Gifted and Twice-Exceptional Families
- Speaker: Kasi Peters, MT-BC
- Opportunities to Activate Talents and Passions at Home
- Speaker: Dr. Jessica Manzone
- Gifted Identification & Programming
- Speaker: Dr. Dave Palmer
- Emotional Regulation
- Speaker: Olivia Hauge
- Tools to Explore the Complex Identities of Gifted and 2E Learners
- Speaker: Cynthia Z. Hansen, Ed.D., ET/P
- Getting to the Root of 2E: Beyond The Usual Suspects
- Speaker: Austina De Bonte
- Beyond Mindfulness: Nourishing Body, Mind, and Spiritual Wellness
- Speaker: Dr. Paula Wilkes
- Encouraging Balance to Serve the Varied Needs of the Gifted Child: Fostering Intrinsic Motivation (November 16, 2021)
- Speaker: Karen Anderson
- How to Communicate Effectively with My Child’s Teacher (November 9, 2021)
- Speaker: Jere Chang
- Helping Your Gifted Child Transition Back to the Classroom (October 14, 2021)
- Speaker: Sharon Duncan
- Inner Crucible – Truth Telling and the Gifted Child (September 7, 2021)
- Speaker: Catherine Zakoian
Click here to visit our Youtube page to view recordings of past Gifted Support Groups.
Consulting with Youth & Families
IEA also consults with gifted youth and their families. Please reach out regarding your needs at ieagifted@educationaladvancement.org.
“IEA provides a wealth of information and is the best resource we’ve found for support and guidance in the gifted community.”
– IEA Parent