Adjusting Environments for School Success

Pegs – we hear about them all the time; our 2e children’s school experience is often described as “trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.” I have to be honest; I can’t stand that expression. Why does square have to be negative? Why do we want everyone or anyone to fit into […]

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

2e kids don’t get a whole lot of patience and understanding. But that’s what they sorely need. They need the adult in charge to understand them so they feel safe sharing their complicated feelings and can honestly explain the events, from his point of view, that precipitated the behavior.

School Success

Last June, on my Facebook Live Broadcast “Let’s Talk 2e!” I spoke about getting ready for this school year. People probably wondered “Why is she talking about that now?!” But the truth is, advocating for our 2e kids never stops and planning ahead with a global goal in mind is the best way to help […]

Running to Stand Still

The lyrics illustrate the lonely and often frustrating journey of parenting a 2e child or being a 2e adult; awakening to the realization of necessary and sometimes onerous advocacy and the final appreciation that even after a journey of learning and promoting best practices, we may find ourselves standing in the same place as when we started.

How Incentive Systems Can Backfire with Gifted and 2e Kids

My client’s second grade son came home in tears the other day.  Usually a happy child, on this particular day he communicated his feelings in response to a teacher’s strategy for “good behavior.” Apparently the teacher issues stickers to children who can “behave,” who can “stand still,” who “listen,” and who “do what they’re supposed […]

Avoiding Failure – Building Self Esteem and Resilience in Twice-Exceptional Kids

Recently I articulated a theory – something I’ve thought for a long time – but now formulated into a hypothesis and conclusion of why smart kids, with learning disabilities or differences often exhibit challenging behavior and fail to reach their potential. The Theory: Self esteem is imperative for success and reaching potential. Adults around gifted […]

Making an Investment in the Parent-Child-Teacher Triangle

I feel it. Looking around the pool where friends and neighbors were lounging and carefree all summer, there’s a certain change, a bit of electricity in the air. It’s the homestretch of summer break and parents and kids alike are getting that antsy feeling. In some cases it’s anticipation. In others it’s trepidation. For the […]

Hyper Attention Activity Deficit

I just renamed ADHD. I now think of this existence (note, I avoided the dreaded word, disorder) as HYPER ATTENTION ACTIVITY DEFICIT. I’ve been thinking about the term ADHD for a long time. It implies that the affected person cannot pay attention. But for a long time I’ve known that it means the person can […]