A 2e Summit, and Superpowers!

A SUMMIT on the neuroscience of twice-exceptionality — that’s what you can attend on July 20-21 on the University of Iowa Campus in Iowa City. Here’s what the Belin-Blank Center has to say about the event: “Bridging psychology and neuroscience, the Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and the Iowa Neuroscience Institute will collaborate to bring researchers, clinicians, educators, and parents together to address the current state of research on twice-exceptionality. Part of the purpose of this interdisciplinary summit is to form partnerships with other institutions in furthering twice-exceptional research and best practice.” More information.

STRENGTHS, CHALLENGES — superpowers and tragic flaws. A writer/mother starts an article in the Washington Post by describing an incident many of us have seen or experienced — a young, intense child who has trouble with “transitions” — eg, leaving screen time at a smartphone display counter when mom’s business in the store is over. He has a meltdown… and the next hour is unpleasant for both mom and kid. Her discoveries: how intensity can be not only a “tragic flaw” but a superpower, a strength; and advice on how parents can focus on the strengths rather than challenges. Find the article.

MORE ON SUPERPOWERS, this time ADHD superpowers, from ADDitiude. “Your superpower is a natural, ingrained gift. It’s so powerful that you can’t not express it. In some settings, it may help you shine. In others, it may transform into kryptonite.” Read more.

TiLT PARENTING’S most recent podcast is, interestingly, also on superpowers. Here’s Debbie Reber’s intro to the podcast: “My guest this week is Dayna D Abraham, founder of Lemon Lime Adventures and author of The Superkids Activity Guide to Conquering Every Day. Dayna is passionate about helping parents and educators recognize and celebrate the unique superpowers of ‘out of the box’ kids. So much goodness in this episode! Sensory process issues, being a differently wired parent, and a powerful real-life application of how Dayna’s four-step model can help parents go from chaos to calm (and isn’t that what we all want?).” Find the podcast.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, MEDICINE
— LDs, via BBC: “Differences associated with learning difficulties are found less in specific areas of the brain and more in the connections between them, experts say.” Find the study write-up.
— OCD, from Science Daily: “A study reports that the long-term stability of treatment gains for children and adolescents diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), participating in a stepwise manualized treatment, is excellent.” Find the study write-up.
— Motor skills, via Reuters: “A combination of horseback riding and brain-building activities may help improve motor skills in children with neurodevelopmental conditions like autism-spectrum disorders and ADHD, a small study suggests.” Find the study write-up.
— Media use, from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. “Researchers studying the results of questionnaires filled out by thousands of children aged 9 to 11 and their parents has found ‘significant’ and ‘real’ associations between electronic media use and mental health, although they say the magnitude of the impact they measured is statistically small.” Find the study write-up.

Spotlight on 2e Series Booklets

This series consists of 13 booklets in softbound, 8.5×11 inch format, 30-40+ pages in length, addressing various aspects of twice-exceptionality. Three booklets address specific “e’s” — ADHD, Asperger’s, and dyslexia. All are published by Glen Ellyn Media, which also brings you The 2e Resource.

Find out more!