| Full Schedule | ||
| Date/Time | Session | Room |
| 5/1/2020 12:00:01 AM -to- 12:01 AM | Opening Keynote Cycle for Success: Parenting and Teaching 2e Julie Skolnick, M.A., J.D. Julie welcomes you to 2 Days of 2e Virtual Conference! In this session you will learn about her Cycle for Success in Parenting and Teaching 2e kids. Understanding the gifted and 2e experience is the essential first-step to developing durable strategies and advocacy skills. Learn about the Columbus Group definition of giftedness, in particular characteristics of asynchronous development, perfectionism and intensity. After discussing these characteristics, you will study Julie’s trademarked acronym P-R-A-I-S-E™, a concept representing six categories of strategies that are particularly impactful with 2e kids. Julie’s energy, humor and deep passion for the 2e profile come through as she shares anecdotal examples and a glimpse into the 2e child’s and student’s life. |
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| 5/1/2020 12:00:01 AM -to- 12:01 AM | Closing Keynote Normal Sucks Jonathan Mooney Welcome to a new world, where the good kid doesn’t sit still. A world where some of the smartest kids in the class don’t read well or don’t read at all. A world where the popular kids don’t make eye contact, don’t shake hands, and definitely don’t back slap. In this world, these kids enjoy academic success and personal fulfillment at places like the MIT Media Lab and MET High School in Providence, Rhode Island, one of the top charter schools in the country. Then, they go on to run companies in Silicon Valley, New York and Tokyo. Unlike ever before, this century proves their cognitive differences are more than “quirks” – they are the groundwork for innovative ideas and skills to solve problems most of us wouldn’t anticipate. Think Google. Jet Blue. Apple. By embracing the beautiful, bizarre realities of neuro-diversity – the idea that we are all special snowflakes – as essential components of a healthy vibrant culture, we can propel students not only to better participate in, but seize the changing world where the digital brain rivals the text-oriented and a design oriented economy replaces a manufacturing base. Renowned writer, neuro-diversity activist and author Jonathan Mooney vividly, humorously and passionately brings to life this wonderful world of neuro-diversity: the research behind it, the people who live in it, and the lessons it has for all of us who care about the future of education. Explaining the latest theories, Jonathan helps teachers and parents redefine what it is for students in the 21st century to think and to learn and to be successful. He provides concrete examples of how to prepare students and implement frameworks that best support their academic and professional pursuits. In this lecture, Jonathan takes the audience to life in high schools organized around the principles of video gaming and visual culture. He transports the audience to snow-bound strip malls in Sweden where a software design company has decided to only hire people with Asperger’s syndrome—not as charity, but because this company believes programmers with Asperger’s make superior employees. As with Jonathan’s other lectures, the audience will leave this talk fundamentally changed and empowered. “Re-drawing the lines” blends research and human interest stories with concrete tips that parents, students, teachers, and administrators can follow to transform learning environments and create a world that truly celebrates cognitive diversity. |
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| 5/1/2020 12:00:01 AM -to- 12:01 AM | Misdiagnosis and Missed Diagnosis of Gifted Individuals Edward Amend, Psy.D. Misdiagnosis of gifted individuals most frequently occurs when professionals mistakenly view specific social and emotional characteristics of gifted individuals as signs of pathology. Missed diagnosis occurs when factors of giftedness obscure weaknesses, or problematic behaviors are minimized because one is gifted. The presenter will discuss the most common disorders that lead to either misdiagnosis or missed diagnoses, explore the relationship between giftedness and clinical syndromes, and provide information and strategies for social and emotional development. |
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| 5/1/2020 12:00:01 AM -to- 12:01 AM | Identification Stephen Chou, Psy.D. Identification for twice-exceptional (2e) is oftentimes enigmatic. Of those who assess children, few are specifically trained to assess in the area of giftedness and twice-exceptionality/multi-exceptionality. Gifted and 2e children often have complex cognitive, academic, emotional, and behavioral profiles that are often misunderstood and misdiagnosed. Uncovering the gifted/2e child’s unique profile is critical for identification of the child’s strengths as well as areas of challenges such that the child is seen and understood. |
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| 5/1/2020 12:00:01 AM -to- 12:01 AM | Strength-Based and Talent-Focused Approach Susan Baum, Ph.D. Robin Schader, Ph.D. This presentation will provide a solid rationale for the power of learning in an environment in which uniqueness is honored and strengths lead the way. Discover strategies to find, share, leverage, and develop interests, gifts, and talents. With just a shift in focus, you can find practical ideas for being a change agent in your home, classroom, and school. |
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| 5/1/2020 12:00:01 AM -to- 12:01 AM | Make your 2e Worrier a Warrior Dan Peters, Ph.D. Gifted individuals are prone to several types of anxiety, including worrying, obsessing, perfectionism, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety. Anxious children and adolescents often engage in behaviors to minimize the distress of their anxiety, such as avoiding school or not trying if they do not think they can do a task perfectly. Children and adolescents who worry are often preoccupied with their worrisome thoughts, thus inhibiting their ability to maximally learn in the classroom, comfortably connect with peers, and fully engage in life. While the aforementioned is true for gifted children, twice-exceptional (2e) children face additional challenges given their disabilities such as ADHD, Autistic spectrum, and Dyslexia. Being aware of a twice-exceptional individual’s propensity to become anxious, as well as learning and teaching effective interventions for reducing anxiety, increases the likelihood of academic achievement, and positive social-emotional adjustment in life. In this workshop, participants will learn: (1) The components of the brain and body responsible for the fear and relaxation response (2) the characteristics of gifted and twice-exceptional (2e) youth that make them more susceptible to anxiety (3) to identify symptoms and behaviors associated with different types of anxiety (4) the role of thinking in determining emotions and behavior (5) cognitive, behavioral, and mindfulness strategies for managing and overcoming anxiety, and (6) to develop creative anxiety reduction and management plans for children, adolescents, and even adults. We will turn 2e worriers into warriors! |
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| 5/1/2020 12:00:01 AM -to- 12:01 AM | Addressing Perfectionism Lisa Van Gemert, M.Ed.T. Do you have children who struggle with perfectionism? Perhaps you do yourself. Would like practical ideas for helping overcome it? Perfectionism is an occupational hazard of giftedness, and its effects can be truly debilitating. Learn what perfectionism looks like in gifted kids, its potentially damaging effects, and then take a deep dive into the big ideas and strategies for turning this terrible master into a compliant servant. |
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| 5/1/2020 12:00:01 AM -to- 12:01 AM | Understanding, Preventing, and Reversing Underachievement Among 2e Students Donna Y. Ford, Ph.D. The session focuses on factors that contribute to underachievement among gifted students, with some attention to students of color. Strategies, paradigms, and theories regarding preventing and reversing underachievement are shared. |
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| 5/1/2020 12:00:01 AM -to- 12:01 AM | Schoolwide Enrichment & Talent Development Joseph Renzulli, Ed.D. Sally Reis, Ph.D. Strength-based practices can and do enable 2E students to develop their gifts while simultaneously compensating for their deficits. In particular, Renzulli and Reis’ Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM), focusing on talent development, can be used to enhance strengths as well as address academic challenges often experienced by 2E students. Strategies such as developing Talent Profiles, completing Interest Inventories, and implementing a broad array of enrichment and strength-based practices, such as Enrichment Clusters, Renzulli Learning, and Types I, II, and III Enrichment, will be discussed. |
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| 5/1/2020 12:00:01 AM -to- 12:01 AM | Academic Advocacy for 2e Children Bobbie Gilman, M.S. Many states have interpreted current special education law to mean that twice exceptional children performing at grade level do not qualify for services in public schools. Because 2e students may compensate well enough to perform at average levels initially, resourceful advocacy is essential to ensure that subtle, but significant weaknesses are not overlooked. Otherwise, without support, the 2e student may begin to fail as the demands of education increase. Parents are usually the first to observe gifted strengths, suspect co-existing weaknesses, and recognize the need for support of both. Informed parents, educators, and clinicians can build upon this insight to advocate effectively for the 2e child. Please join Bobbie to explore essential steps: 1) ensure that the child’s dual exceptionalities are fully and properly assessed, 2) seek gifted identification and support of strengths at school, 3) request IEP or 504 Plan evaluations to put services and accommodations for weaknesses into place, 4) pursue appropriate private interventions when possible, 5) recognize when schools are not adhering to the law, and 6) guarantee that sufficient support is maintained for the 2e child to develop his or her strengths and be successful in typical schools. |
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