Blog Archives
Parent Support Groups – Meeting Needs
It is undeniable that great parent support groups precede quality education and gifted programming is no different. When parents get involved, schools respond. Parenting gifted children is fraught with frustration at trying to get an appropriate education for their atypical child … something that should be available to all children. Professionals to whom parents for turn lack knowledge and information about gifted children which leads to inappropriate directions, misdiagnosis and a general lack of empathy to the situation parents find themselves.
When beginning an affiliate group, welcome parents, teachers and administrators, homeschooling parents into your group. You can achieve things like additional teachers and programs never seen before in your district. Parent Support Groups should think ‘big tent’ … there is strength in numbers. Bring all parties to the table; consider all viewpoints and work for consensus making sure you’re always going forward.
Many state and national gifted organizations can provide info and support to parents on starting a local support group. Working with schools to find other parents is best. If not, talk to your child; they know who’s in the gifted program. Parents can also connect at school events and in online groups. Remember that everything you do is for gifted children; to provide advocacy for appropriate educational programming and to support their parents.
What resources are available to parents to start a group? A simple online search can identify your state’s gifted organization. If you state doesn’t have one, check out websites outside your area for general information. Some great states include TX, CA, CT, IL, CO, GA, OH, MD and FL. Other organizations to check out include: SENG, NAGC, IEA Gifted, Gifted Homeschoolers Forum, World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, Potential Plus UK, and European Council for High Ability.
Gifted parent groups organize first for educational goals, but soon look to meet the social-emotional needs of GT kids through peer networking and providing access to out of school opportunities. They need to keep the needs of their parents in mind by working together toward common goals and supporting the social-emotional needs of parent members as well.
What steps can be taken to ensure the continuation of the group over time? The average time commitment of parents usually only lasts 7 to 8 years – from identification to the early years of high school. No one wants to spend time building a group only to see gifted services fade over time. Parent support group should be constantly looking to recruit new members; those with younger children. Groups should provide leadership mentoring to ensure the continuation of the group. A transcript of this chat may be found at Wakelet.
Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at Noon NZST/10 AM AEST/1 AM UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Wakelet. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.
About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com
Links:
Starting & Supporting a Parent Group to Support Gifted Children (pdf)
Establish a Parent Support Group at TAGT
What Makes a Parent Group Successful (pdf)
Resources from McKinney (TX) Gifted and Talented Alliance
SENG Model Parent Groups (SMPG)
What Can Parents’ Groups Do for Gifted Kids?
Starting a Gifted Parents’ Group
How Parent Advocacy Groups can Make a Difference
Start a Support Group for Parents of Gifted Kids
One Person Can Make a Difference
Power in Numbers: How Gifted Advocacy Parent Groups can Help You and Your Kids
Three Reasons to Join a Parent Support Group
Image courtesy of Pixabay CC0 Creative Commons
Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad
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What to Do When Friends & Family Don’t Get Gifted
Any parent of a gifted child will tell you friends and family can unfortunately make a difficult situation worse with insensitive comments. There are strategies available to mitigate negative comments and actions.
Varying abilities can play a role in family dynamics. When talking about abilities, all family members should be considered; parents as well as siblings. It’s fairly common to have a range of abilities within the same family. Issues may arise between gifted and highly gifted or twice-exceptional siblings. If parents present as 2E or highly gifted, it can also make a difference.
There are times when a child’s giftedness will become more of an issue than normal. These can include the first day of school, school transitions, or graduation when a child has been accelerated and age differences are accentuated. Holidays involving extended family also make for tense situations at a time when sensitivities are already on overload.
Insensitive comments can come from both friends and strangers. Hopefully, very young children do not hear them because most often they will understand the intent. It helps to talk about what it means to be gifted with the child; not ‘better than’, but ‘better at.’ (Delisle)
There are strategies parents can use to respond to envious comments from other adults. They can attempt to educate others about what giftedness is and isn’t. There were many resources shared during this chat and included in the links below. In the end, it may be in everyone’s best interest to ignore comments not made in the presence of the child.
Where can parents find support in resolving issues with friends and family? Initially, parents should look for support locally; either in the form of existing groups of gifted parents or by forming such a group. Most kids know who is in the gifted program at their school. Also, state and national gifted organizations have parent divisions. Well known groups supporting parents include SENG and Gifted Homeschoolers Forum. A transcript of this chat may be found at Storify.
Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at 2 PM NZST/Noon AEST/1 AM UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Storify. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.
About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com
Links:
My Child is Gifted and I Can’t Talk about Him
The Truth about ‘Gifted’ Versus High-Achieving Students
Why You Still Don’t Believe That You’re Gifted
What Does Gifted Look Like? Clearing Up Your Confusion
Family Life with Gifted Children
Tips for Parents: How Gifted Children Impact the Family
Life in the Asynchronous Family
Off the Charts: Asynchrony and the Gifted Child (Amazon)
What I Want You to Know about my Gifted Son
10 Facts You May Not Know About Gifted Children But Should
What to Say (and What Not to Say) When You Meet the Parents of a Gifted Child
I’m Not Bragging When I Say My Child is Gifted
If This is a Gift, Can I Send it Back?: Surviving in the Land of the Gifted and Twice Exceptional (Amazon)
Envy and Giftedness: Are We Underestimating the Effects of Envy?
My Child is Gifted: Do You Think I’m Bragging Now?
Sprite’s Site: Surviving the Holidays
Sprite’s Site: Surviving the Christmas Season
Sprite’s Site: I Love Christmas But …
Sprite’s Site: When Extended Family Don’t Get Giftedness
Photo courtesy of Pixabay and Pixabay CC0 Creative Commons
Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad
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The Power of Self-Advocacy for Gifted Learners
The Power of Self-Advocacy for Gifted Learners was recently released by Free Spirit Publishing and we were excited to have the author, Deb Douglas, as our guest this week on #gtchat. It proved to be a much needed topic and drew many new participants to the chat.
One of the greatest impediments to self-advocacy for gifted learners are the adults who become over-involved. Far too often, parents and teachers are so used to advocating when kids are young; they don’t know when to stop.
Self-advocacy is a part of growing up. A key benefit of teaching gifted learners to self-advocate is that it has a profound effect on a student’s later success. Gifted people in general use self-advocacy techniques throughout their lives; but they must learn them first.
Like all students, gifted learners’ educational experiences should ensure continual growth in academics and socially. They should be taught to advocate for experiences they truly want and will use.
What should students consider when self-assessing their own needs prior to self-advocacy? Self-assessment needs to start early and develop into a continual process throughout their time in school. It should be combined with determining personal goals and how to meet them.
Parents play an important role in helping students become successful self-advocates. Parents are their child’s first role model. They should be consistent, positive, and empathetic to child’s needs. Students will find success as self-advocates when parents learn to allow their child to take the lead when ready.
Students should first create an Action Plan. They go hand in hand with setting goals and deciding how they will be reached. Action plans should list necessary steps and a realistic timeline to reach goals. A transcript of this chat may be found at our Storify page.
Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Tuesdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Wednesdays at Noon NZST/10 AM AEST/1 AM UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Storify. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news & information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.
About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com
Links:
Power of Self-Advocacy for Gifted Learners: Teaching the 4 Essential Steps to Success (Amazon)
Empower Gifted Learners to Advocate for Themselves
About GT Carpe Diem Consultant, Deb Douglas
Deb Douglas’ Speaker/Author Brochure (pdf)
GT Carpe Diem Workshop Brochure (pdf)
About Deb Douglas (Free Spirit Publishing)
GT Carpe Diem (Facebook)
Four Simple Steps to Self-Advocacy
Pre-Conference: Empowering Gifted Students’ Self-Advocacy at WATG 2017
What Makes You Unique – Fostering an Ongoing, Honest, Factual Dialogue (pdf p.23)
Living with Intensity Understanding Sensitivity, Excitability & Emotional Development of Gifted (Amazon)
When Gifted Kids Don’t Have All the Answers: How to Meet Their Social & Emotional Needs (Amazon)
Smart Teens’ Guide to Living with Intensity: How to Get More Out of Life and Learning (Amazon)
More Than a Test Score: Teens Talk About Being Gifted, Talented, or Otherwise Extra-Ordinary (Amazon)
Letting Go While Holding On and Changing BLAH to AHHHHH! (pdf) Courtesy of NAGC
Re-Forming Gifted Education: How Parents and Teachers Can Match the Program to the Child (Amazon)
Stepping Back from Overparenting: A Stanford Dean’s Perspective (Podcast 21:46)
Title graphic courtesy of Lisa Conard.
Photo and all other graphics courtesy of Deb Douglas.
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Resources for Parents of Gifted and 2E Kids
Please find resources for parents of gifted and 2E (twice-exceptional) children in the links below. Many thanks to all who contributed links to resources during the chat. A transcript may be found at Storify.
Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT welcomes, Sheri Hicks, CAE, new Executive Director of the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented.
Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Tuesdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Wednesdays at Noon NZST/10 AM AEST/1 AM UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Storify. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news & information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.
About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com
Links:
National Association for Gifted Children: Parent Resources
Texas Association for the Gifted & Talented: Parents
GHF: Gifted Homeschoolers Forum – Parent Resources
World Council for Gifted & Talented Children
SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted)
Council for Exceptional Children – The Association for the Gifted
Institute for Educational Advancement
Texas Parents of the Profoundly Gifted
Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
Duke Talent Identification Program
Northwestern Center for Talent Development
University of Denver: Rick Center for Gifted Children
Acceleration Institute – A Nation Empowered
Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page
Cybraryman’s Gifted & Talented Page
Cybraryman’s Twice-Exceptional Children Page
48 Essential Links for Parents of Gifted Children
Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education and Talent Development: Websites for Parents
Coppell Gifted Association (TX)
Grapeville-Colleyville SAGE (TX)
Frisco Gifted Association (TX)
2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter (website)
Gifts for Learning (blog)
Gifted Challenges (blog)
Sprite’s Site (blog)
Gifted Guru (blog)
Laughing at Chaos (blog)
Gifted Parenting Support (blog)
Crushing Tall Poppies (blog)
Raising Lifelong Learners (blog)
My Little Poppies (blog)
The Fringy Bit (blog)
The High Flyer (blog)
Supporting Gifted Learners (FB)
NAGC (FB)
Dyslexia Group (FB)
Learning Ally Parent Chat (FB – Closed)
AUS: Gifted Education Research Resource & Information Center (GERRIC)
Gifted Development Center (Dr Linda Silverman)
Understood (website)
Dr. Lynne Kenney (website)
Davidson Academy (NV)
WKU: Center for Gifted Studies (KY)
A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children (Great Potential Press)
Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students (Amazon)
#gtchat Blog: Online Programs for Gifted Students
FB: Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT
FB: Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented
FB – GHF: Gifted Homeschoolers Forum
GHF Online (online classes)
Mr. Gelston’s One Room Schoolhouse (online classes)
Online G3 (online classes)
Gifted&Talented.com (online classes)
Shmoop (online classes)
Kahn Academy (online classes)
Background Noise (Amazon)
If This is a Gift, Can I Send it Back? (Amazon)
Smart but Scattered (Amazon)
Giftedness 101 (Amazon)
Parenting Gifted Children (book – NAGC)
Problem Child or Quirky Kid?: A Commonsense Guide for Parents (Amazon)
Your Rainforest Mind (Amazon)
Children with High-Functioning Autism: A Parent’s Guide (Amazon)
Kindling the Spark: Recognizing and Developing Musical Talent (Amazon)
List: Who to Follow on Twitter (Moderator)
Thanks to Leslie Graves, Past President of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, for sharing her extensive links on Livebinders for parents of gifted children.
Art/Art Interactives Livebinder
Codes and Cyphers for Kids Livebinder
Social Sciences and Humanities Livebinder
Gifted and Mental Health Issues Livebinder
Photo courtesy of Pixabay CC0 Public Domain
Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad.
