Gifted Matters staff are available for presentations and workshops for groups of 5-500. We can create a topic for your group that specifically addresses your concerns. Previous training sessions have included:

An Island of Calm in a Turbulent Sea: Caring for Yourself While Raising Your Intense Child

Special Needs, Twice-Exceptional, Gifted, Sensitive, Spectrum Issues, Sensory Issues, ADD — what do all of these labels have in common? They are all traits which require specialized parenting, and frequently result in a highly intense experience for the parent. This workshop will explore how we can care for ourselves while we raise our intense children, and why that is vital for their well-being (not to mention ours…). Topics covered include creating a support system, dealing with isolation, learning how to manage our own intensities, and how to set realistic expectations (of ourselves as well as our children).

Metacognition and Mindfulness for Moms and Dads – Expanding the Toolkit for Family Well-Being

More and more research is showing how important it can be to slow down, become more mindful of our bodies and present experiences. More and more people are learning about mindfulness meditation — but there is more to metacognition (thinking about thinking) and mindfulness than seated, quiet contemplation. This workshop explores how metacognition, including mindfulness practices, can be useful in practical, daily ways to manage stress, handle unexpected events, and help guide our children towards better self-knowledge and self-regulation.

Dancing With Perfectionism: Learning Flexibility in an Increasingly Rigid World

Why does my child: obsess about a final percentage point on a test? take much longer on assignments than they need to? refuse to try new things for fear they won’t do it perfectly? I don’t judge them at all — how can my kids judge themselves so harshly? Perfectionism is a common problem for gifted and twice-exceptional children, and complex to figure out. This session explores where perfectionism comes from, why it is a particular problem for gifted and twice-exceptional children, and what parents and teachers can do about it.

Of Course My Kid is Smart – What’s the Big Deal? Using the Term “Gifted” in Homeschooling

Many of us love to hate on the “g” word — gifted. But knowing who your child is, and what their needs are is intrinsic to the homeschooling experience. Regardless of your stance on testing, IQ, or comparisons with other children, if you homeschool, you are uniquely free to create an educational experience that is tailored to your child. This workshop explores how asynchronous development in gifted and twice – exceptional (gifted plus challenged) children impacts them academically, socially, emotionally and behaviorally — and how to use homeschooling to create the environment they need in order to thrive.

Helping the Cheetahs: Developing a Specialty with Gifted and Twice-Exceptional Clients

Clinicians are trained to recognize and treat a wide variety of difficulties, and a wide variety of populations. One population not covered, however, is that of gifted and twice-exceptional individuals. This workshop focuses on how to develop an expertise with this population, including an exploration of how giftedness impacts the therapeutic relationship, common questions and issues from clients, and how to market a practice focusing on gifted clients.

Beyond the “Socialization Question” – A Parent’s Guide

Parents of asynchronous, intense, gifted and otherwise “outside the box” children are often criticized as “helicopter parents” for being overly involved in their child’s social development; others take a hands-off approach out of fear or self-doubt. Questions abound: Does my child have enough friends? What qualifies as “enough”? Whom should they be friends with and how can they keep those friends? Does age matter? We want our children to have fulfilling social lives, but many of our kids already struggle to find people with the same esoteric interests. How are they to cultivate deep, meaningful friendships? What role should parents and other caring adults play in these social interactions?

Based on the book Writing Your Own Script: A Parent’s Role in the Gifted Child’s Social Development, this workshop explores the social needs of gifted and 2e kids, and the particular challenges facing parents in providing support for that face of their development.