Education Leaders Honored at SENG

HOUSTON — The Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG) conference in Houston this weekend honored three professionals who have devoted their careers to improving the lives of gifted students. Dr. Joy Davis, recently retired as an associate professor of education at Virginia Union University, received SENG’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her 30 years in gifted education as a teacher, professor, administrator, and consultant. SENG Board of Directors president-elect Dr. Kristina Collins lauded Davis for her work “advocating for increased attention on the needs of gifted, especially African-American students and their families.” Davis, who was unable to attend the ceremony, thanked SENG in a recorded message. “I will continue my work and be committed as we work together for the common goal of equity and excellence,” she said. “The work is tough, but together we can do it.” The award recipient for Educator of the Year, Dr. Melanie Hayes, founded a school for twice-exceptional students called Big Minds, which is featured in the upcoming documentary The G Word. SENG board member and past president Dr. Kate Bachtel presented Hayes with the award. “It is her life’s work to provide 2e individuals with the support to grow into thoughtful and articulate citizens,” she said. In accepting the award, Hayes expressed appreciation to all those working with 2e and gifted children. “Our kids are finally realizing that they are not broken,” she said, “and that we can change the world to fit them, rather than changing them to fit the world.” Therapist, author, and speaker Heather Boorman received Mental Health Professional of the Year honors for her work supporting families with children with atypical developmental needs. Outgoing SENG board president Evelyn Metcalf credited Boorman’s ability to be a beacon for families seeking to make sense of the challenges that 2e and gifted children face. “When people say to you, ‘I don’t know what to do,’ or ‘I have never seen a kid like this,’ someone who can write that book and put tools in the tool box for families of gifted children — that can make all the difference,” Metcalf said. The conference, entitled “Exploring New Frontiers,” featured a keynote Friday by Dr. Joy Esquidero addressing advocacy for underserved gifted students. Keynotes from Jen Merrill on self-care for parents and Dr. Todd Kettler on developing the talents of 2e learners were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, respectively. More than 300 attendees took in about 35 sessions on Friday, with a full slate of offerings on tap for Saturday. Friday’s schedule featured multiple sessions that focused on or highlighted aspects of twice-exceptionality, including presentations by Debbie Reber, Kate Arms, Ken Dickson, Ley-Anne Folks, and Heather Lai. Reber, founder of TiLT parenting and author of Differently Wired, described what it is like to raise neurodiverse kids and the impact that journey can have on parents of 2e learners. She cautioned against parents getting caught up in what she describes as fear of future unknowns. “We can get really spun out over these,” she said “They can make our world so small.” Some of these fears are born of parents’ propensities to compare the progress of their kids against those of their friends — a phenomenon often exacerbated by social media. “[Their] kid got this award,” Reber said, echoing what a parent might say. “Well, my kid barely didn’t get kicked out of school.” The key is to allow the child to be on their own timeline — and to challenge the expectations those timelines reinforce. “Why does my child need to know how to do this now?” she said. “What ‘negative thing’ would happen if he learned this later?”

In a presentation about taking a coaching approach to supporting gifted and 2e kids, leadership and personal development coach Kate Arms acknowledged that while kids don’t always see the big picture, we still can understand the context in which kids reach incorrect conclusions. “We can validate the truth of their experience,” Arms said. “We don’t have to agree with them in order to validate them. “It’s easy to say, ‘No, you’re wrong,’” she said. “How much more powerful is it to say that ‘based on what happened last week or yesterday, I see how you see it that way?’” Arms also emphasized the need to not always focus on bigger goals, but instead celebrate the smaller milestones along the way. Dickson, last year’s recipient of SENG’s Lifetime Achievement Award, facilitated lively discussions with session participants around the importance of teachers and parents working together in advocating for and supporting 2e students. He suggested that parents seek out existing gifted program advocacy groups run by fellow parents. The session also discussed the importance of student self-advocacy, and the dangers that can occur when gifted students sometime become “negative advocates.” He emphasized the value of “interact groups” — counselors who meet with kids once every few weeks and ask, “What’s working well? If you had all the resources, how would you change last week? Or this week?” This level of discussion can help students better articulate and advocate for themselves, he said. Celi Trepanier presented an advocacy toolbox for parents; Folks and Lai spoke about executive functioning deficits; and SENG Executive Director Mike Postma and his wife Julie Postma talked about living with Asperger’s. Mike Postma offered advice to parents encountering the challenges of raising twice-exceptional students. He stressed the importance of listening to your child when your instinct is to provide direction and advice. The conference runs through Sunday.