Such a cool project to collaborate with Bridges Graduate School & Bridges 2ecenter to produce this story into a free video resource for all. Enjoy!

Blog By: Cherin Escher

In this Quark Collaboration Human Range interview, Dr. Chris Wells, the president of the Dabrowski Center talks with Lin about her journey & discovery of herself, parenting, peers, relationships, and connection with Dabrowski.

This is the first of a 3-part blog post. We will highlight this interview as it relates to the following themes: Neurodiversity Celebration Week (March), Mental Health Awareness (May), and Resilience & Wellbeing (September). There is a lot to unpack in this Human Range Interview.

Topics related to Neurodiversity Celebration Week:

“Am I Masking? Am I being my authentic self …?

“experience life intensely”

“self-created, self-directed personality”

“experience life in multiple tracks at the same time”

“have a vision of who you want to be”

“whole person versus measurable parts”

In celebration of Neurodiversity Celebration Week, Women’s History Month, and Social Emotional Learning Week in March. Quark Collaboration has teamed up with our partner Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG) to produce a short video on positive psychology with Michelle McQuaid, a neurodiverse female positive psychologist workplace specialist in Australia to share with our readers.

What is your Wellbeing Level? Take the free Youth Wellbeing Survey; Adult Wellbeing Survey.

Here are some of our recommended free podcasts produced by Michelle.

What Good Are Positive Emotions?

Can You Put Your Strengths To Work?

Is This Common Mistake Ruining Your Relationships?

Can You Cultivate Self-Compassion?

Are You Eating, Moving & Sleeping Well?

Do You Need A Resilience Bank Account?

March brings a variety of national events close to our hearts: Neurodiversity Celebration, Social Emotional Learning & Women’s History. We share some of our favorite resources relevant to March events.

Neurodiversity Celebration Week was founded in the UK in 2018 by Sienna Castellon to “create a balanced view which focuses equally on our talents and strengths.” Sienna is a gifted autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, and dyspraxic female and was listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 for social impact in 2022.

Our Neurodiversity celebration week woman author highlight is Michelle McQuaid, who is a positive psychology in the workplace specialist. We often forget that neurodiverse children become neurodiverse adults, parents, spouses, grandparents, and elders. Check out her book co-authored with Erin Lawn: ” Your Strengths Blueprint: How to be engaged, energized and happy at work. Watch our interview with Michelle, introducing positive psychology to the SENG community.

A conversation on Social Emotional Learning is never complete without a conversation on the tight interlinks between our mind, body & brain. When we experience negative feelings, that colors our perceptions, cognition, and body. Quark Recommends Autum Romano’s book “Body Wisdom and the Polyvagal Theory: A Guide to understanding safety and human connection. Listen to a video interview we had with Autum.

C for Curiosity is a photo journey book written as a psychologically safe entry point for families, teachers, and children to discuss variations in our human range. This is also a mirror book for Asian American families with twice-exceptional children.

Lea Water’s “The Strength Switch: How the new science of strength-based parenting can help your child and your teen to flourish.”

James & Suzie Pawelski’s “Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love That Lasts” is our recommendation for couples.

Our last reading recommendation is Ross Greene’s “Raising Human Beings: Creating a Collaborative Partnership with your Child.”

Looking forward to this free in-person & virtual event with SENG & Friends including 2e4me Academy, OC Autism Foundation, The O’Kelley Lab, Bridges Graduate School, Bridges 2eCenter, Blissful Seeds, and more!

Gratitude to teamwork as we wrap up our mentorship panel at the recent 2023 Council for Exceptional Children Annual Conference. The best part of this conference was the opportunity to share C for Curiosity with others. Big shoutout to Harri O’Kelley our team cheerleader!

Join me at William & Mary’s Annual 2e Conference this weekend. Missed it? Post-recordings are available.

#CAGCON2023 is happening this weekend. Looking forward to engaging with everyone this weekend.

Touching review by Megan Swilley as she reflects on her own journey and experience as she reads my photo journey book.

Hope you enjoy this piece which appeared in the December SENGvine and is available for free in the SENG library.

As we approach the end of 2022 and the beginning of a new year: stay and be curious. May the force with you!

Body Wisdom & the Polyvagal Theory: How Nervous System Regulation Fosters Transformative Whole Health.

It has been our honor to talk with Autum Romano, educator, author, bodyworker, and committed health practitioner out of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Autum is a committed massage specialist with a focus on the nervous system & functioning as a foundation for promoting healing & better health for her clients.

Her unique methods & body-friendly techniques are geared toward all ages supporting growth and helping individuals to find calm, safety, and overall wellbeing back in their lives.

Some of our favorite quotes from this interview:

“I believe that nervous system health starts with understanding.
When we understand how our nervous system works, we can then understand why regulation is so powerful.”

“The capacity to acknowledge our bodily feelings and to respect our need to connect are the critical resources that enable us to shift from negative feelings to safety, trust, and love.”

“Our ticket back to feeling safe, happy, and curious is always inside a hug, a smile, or the hand of a loved one.”

Dive deeper & learn more: @www.autumromano.com, instagram.com/autumromano

Guest Blogger: Cherin Escher.

Free Event: Looking forward to rich exchanges and learning from diverse community voices: Dec 9 ~11th 2022.

Looking forward to presenting and attending NAGC 2022:

“Evening the math playing field in early public education for gifted low income and ELL Students”

“Social and Emotional Support for Ourselves and Our Gifted Students”

Join me on the next episode of the Crucial Conversations Webcast! Wednesday, November 9, at 1 p.m. PT with host Maria Kennedy from Bridges 2e Center

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Looking forward to presenting on this topic: “What does an Education 4.0 model that meets Industry 4.0 requirements look like?”

So lovely to have an authentic conversation about the importance of curiosity, parenting complex outlier children, and exchanging ideas with Sonu Aziz, host of The Gifted PLaCe podcast.

Looking forward to this upcoming keynote @talent education 2022 conference. The best part will be meeting current and making new international connections!

#sengifted #bridgesgradschoolinaction #positivepsychology #socialemotionalhealth #2enews.com

Join me at the upcoming Schools of the Future Conference 2022. #Bridgesgradschoolinaction

It was lovely to chat with Emma Lin of Mummyfique.com, a virtual hub for modern mothers. I love their mission of supporting “mums-led businesses through collaborations, events, activities, editorials, and campaigns that enable these businesses to thrive”. What a supportive vibrant community! What an honor to share my journey with other mothers.

Tiffany Chaiko is a twice-exceptional doctoral student at Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education. She is a non-practicing accredited public relations professional and a former independent sales representative. Tiffany has more than ten years of volunteer leadership experience in educational settings. She holds an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Hawaii Pacific University and a Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Sociology and Art History from the University of Denver. She is married with children. Her research interests are twice-exceptionality; visual-spatial strengths, talent-focused and strength-based approaches with positive psychology, Self-Determination Theory and supportive environments for twice-exceptional learners, and creativity.

Meet Brandon McDaniels, an adult private driving instructor in Dallas, TX. She shares her authentic story of finding a personally meaningful life, and how COVID pushed her to come to terms with her superpower and secret.

Some of our favorite quotes from this interview:

“Staying in silence to be present”

“It is okay to sacrifice … life is about taking risks, and you have to take risks!”

” Your need to get up and find your happiness!”

“You have to want better for yourself, you have to go and find it!”

Visit Brandon’s Pearl Rose Mobile Academy

Thank you Bridges Graduate School for the “C for Curiosity” write-up in our August Newsletter. Celebrating every one of us as unique individuals, with rights to dignity and belonging has become my personal mission. Join me on this journey seeking sustainable health and wellbeing across our lifespan. This book is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Archway

Our Quark Collaboration “Voices: We Know You For That” podcast guest today is Amelia Thompson, Founder & President of RenewToday – A social impact organization supporting initiatives that foster mercy, justice, and community. RenewToday is a non-profit organization helping to maintain and developed a focus on advancing menstrual health through tackling period poverty.

For more than twelve years, Amelia has provided strategy, fundraising, monitoring and evaluation, program design, project management, and leadership development support to social entrepreneurs, faith-based leaders, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. She completed her studies at Vassar College and graduate studies at ST. John’s University and Harvard University. Her consulting practice at Two Five Consulting offers strategic planning, evaluation support, and fundraising consultation to businesses and nonprofits.

Amelia’s work for gender equality through menstrual dignity is inspiring to us. In what feels like stars aligning, the National Education Association just published an article titled “Educators, Students Rally for Menstrual Equity in Schools” last week.

Wonderful session engaging with Epsilon parents on the NEST! approach to understand and nurture complex outliers for lifelong health and wellbeing.

Film is a powerful educational tool that engages multiple modalities. Join us on July 22nd, 2022 @5pm ET for a session at the 2022 SENG conference to learn how mentorship fits within the NEST! parenting trifecta. What comes to your mind when you think about mentors? Through the use of film clips from the documentary “O’Kelley Legends: 2e Behind the Scenes”, we illustrate different mentor-mentee relationships. The documentary is produced by The O’Kelley Lab.

Join us virtually for a dialogue on wellbeing and resilience with our panel at July 21st 202, 7pm ET. What is wellbeing? What is resilience? Are they related? Nicole Mattingly, a gifted adult parenting her gifted teens, shares her journey and 4 tips. Mahala Bruns a gifted adult shares her journey and tips for “people who love gifted folks”. Jordan shares his current journey as a twice-exceptional teen navigating the college experience.

Can’t attend live? SENG conference is available to access offline for 3 months.

Attending the 15th Dabrowski Congress on July 18 and 19th, 2022. Looking forward to connecting with familiar faces and making new connections.

#BetterTogether, an initiative by the People’s Action Party (PAP) to raise awareness and drive collective action for mental health in Singapore was launched on April 30th, 2022.

It was important for all stakeholders to participate in the June 24th, 2022 follow-up public engagement session. Attendees included various Singapore governmental agencies, parents, academics, clinicians, school counselors, and community mental health providers. We had a rich and open 2.5-hour-long discussion.

Looking forward to presenting and attending the 15th International Dabrowski Congress on July 18-19, 2022 with my fellow Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted Board members Karen Arnstein and Carrie Pokrefke. I will be presenting “1st Generation South East Asian American Self and Parental Reflections on Positive Disintegration.”

It was such a pleasure to be in Episode#111 on the movement to align k-12 and beyond educational pedagogies with Silver Lining for Learning June 25th 2022, 530pm ET.

The hosts at Silver Lining for Learning include

Chris Dede -Timothy E. Wirth Professor

Learning Technologies
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Curt Bonk – Professor

curtbonk.com

Instructional Systems Technology
Indiana University

Punya Mishra – Associate Dean & Professor

punyamishra.com

Scholarship & Innovation
Arizona State University

Yong Zhao – Foundation Distinguished Professor

 zhaolearning.com

School of Education
University of Kansas
and Melbourne Graduate School of Education

I am so excited to host the opening panel session for the SENG 2022 Annual Conference: “Wellbeing and resilience for the gifted: Narratives from multiple perspectives.” Join us, on July 21st, 2022 online from 7-830pm EST.

Panelists: Malaha Burns, Ph.D., Nicole Mattingly, M.A., Jordan O’Kelley, & Lin Lim, Ph.D.

Life is unpredictable and it is difficult to know what to expect for the future with high certainty. Wellbeing and resilience play critical roles in the gifted journey to prepare us for uncertainty across our lifespan. Join us on a journey through personal narratives with our panelists. Our panelists include a twice-exceptional neurodiverse teenager, a radically accelerated gifted adult, a radically accelerated gifted academic and parent of two profoundly gifted boys with diverse needs, and a first-generation immigrant parent and researcher of two profoundly gifted children – daughter and son with diverse needs. Engage in authentic conversations around wellbeing and resilience with our panel.

Conversations beyond Math & Education with Dr. Po Shen Loh

It was such a pleasure for Quark Collaboration to interview Dr. Po Shen Loh on our episode for “Human Range: My Life, My Journey” We had a great dialogue around human development throughout our conversation about math and education.

Here are some of our favorite Dr. Loh quotes from this episode:

“Have a comfortable chair, where you would like to sit and think… a lot!”

” I want to do something that does not exist, yet”

“Creative math IS out of the box thinking”

“Math is one of the most misunderstood concepts”

Read my latest article in the National Association for Gifted Children’s (NAGC)Parenting for High Potential Magazine – June 2022 Issue. It discusses the impacts of negative life experiences of twice-exceptional children and provides tips and strategies for parents to address 2e trauma.

Note that this article requires a subscription or membership to NAGC

Join us on June 5th, 2022 for Day 3 of the GHF Conference.

Join us on Day 2 and Day 3 of the GHF annual virtual conference on June 4th 2022.

I am looking forward to this day-long Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education Regulations and Policies for the Gifted Initiative workshop. Gratitude for the collaborative systems-level goals success approach with the team and support staff. Personal learning and growth with this more than a year-long international, cultural, linguistic, time, conceptual, technological, and logistical coordination and collaboration to bring this critical topic of caring to fruition. I applaud their partnership with UNESCO to create “learning cities” working towards inclusive lifelong education for all including within communities, families, and the workplace.

Attend the GHF annual conference June 3-5, 2022 live for free. Access to information and education is a systemic barrier to equity and quality of life. Join me for a presentation and conversation on June 4th, 2022, at 1:45 pm EST and two other sessions during this conference.

Building positive relationships across different key lifespan transition stakeholders form an important component for complex outlier family health and wellbeing. As a parent of two complex outliers, it gives me great joy and comfort to know that we are making a difference through our openness and willingness to share and engage in dialogue around multiple perspectives (experiential to research) to build common language and understanding.

Big shout out and thank you to Cal State LA’s Office for Students with Disabilities for hosting our presentation on the importance of mentors. Also a big shout out to SENG outreach (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted) and the O’Kelley Lab. Looking forward to sharing our presentations with other school districts, communities, higher education, and workplace stakeholders.

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” -Maya Angelou

Amy Clark is a doctoral student at Bridges Graduate School studying Cognitive Diversity in Education with a focus on Innovative Leadership. She has a Certificate in Twice-Exceptional Education, a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and a Master of Computer Science with a focus on Human Factors. 

Her decades-long career in innovation, research, and design at some of the world’s most creative companies has helped millions of people to feel empowered with tools that become part of their everyday lives. She has led initiatives spanning multi-disciplinary worldwide teams to launch new products while championing the needs of individual users due to her passion for understanding human behavior. When it became clear that the learning environments available to her son could not meet his needs, she shifted her focus to innovating within education. 

Amy found her love of twice-exceptional education through the creation of Chestnut Ridge Academy, which she founded to serve her son by creating highly customized experiences for gifted and exceptional minds. In addition to her daily role as a tiny-school leader, she supports families on their own unique journeys. She guides parents to better understand their exceptional children and to uncover strategies for both educating and parenting differently through her company, Exceptionally Engaged. 

In addition to her work with individual families, Amy supports educators in their approaches to engaging unique learners by recommending technology, customizing curriculum, and advocating for the learner’s specific needs. She also collaborates with students to identify and provide opportunities for exploring their areas of deep interest through mentor relationships. Amy is an active SENG member, conference attendee, and trained SMPG in-person and online facilitator. 

Join me at the 2022 National Summit for Educational Equity Conference organized by the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE). The theme is “Pathways to an Equitable Workforce”.

Join us, twice-exceptional advocates from The O’Kelley Lab: Harri James, Jordan O’Kelley, and I to dialogue the importance of mentors from different perspectives at Cal State LA, on April 21st 2022, at 330 pm.

Our guest today is Jordan O’Kelley, author, inclusivity, and strength-based mentor teen advocate, part of The O’Kelley Lab, and an aspiring astrophysicist who entered college at 14 years old.

“Be passionate about your education! It is up to YOU!” ~ Jordan O’Kelley

Jordan O’Kelley is a teen advocate for inclusivity and strength-based mentorship approaches. We asked Jordan to share with our readers, his 2021 NASA N3 Neurodiversity Network program experience. In the words of Jordan:

“The NASA N3 program is a Summer internship program created by Physics professor and STEM educator Dr. Lynn Cominsky at Sonoma State University. Her program was funded with a $5 million grant from NASA last year to give Neurodiverse High School students interested in STEM careers opportunities to work with NASA Subject Matter Experts in a mentor capacity. Dr. Cominsky believes that success for ASD students going into STEM careers will depend on them having opportunities to develop relationships with mentors in their chosen fields of interest, which she refers to as long-term mentors. 

Last year’s pilot program consisted of 16 interns, completing 160 hours of remote research each spread out over the summer. Upon completing the program’s presentation, the interns received a stipend of $1000.  I was fortunate enough to work with Dr. David J. Thompson the head researcher of the FERMI Gamma-Ray Telescope, out of NASA Goddard. It was a life-changing experience. I always thought I wanted to do physics but had no idea what that would really be like until after I experienced working with Dr. Thompson. My internship experience was invaluable as I can now say with confidence that I want a career in Astrophysics.  

Dr. Cominsky and her team carefully pair each intern candidate in the program with a NASA subject matter expert in their field of interest. For my project, I researched pulsars and black holes in-depth with Dr. Thompson with the goal of putting together the information in an educational video for my end project. Besides staying connected to this program I also continue to promote the great work that the NASA N3 program is doing.” ~ Jordan O’ Kelley.

Stay tuned for our upcoming episode of Voices: “We Know You For That” podcast with Jordan O’ Kelley.

Check out our previous guests below:

Welcome to another episode of “Voices – We Know You For That”. Our guest is Liana Yarckin, a watercolor fine artist and youth art mentor located in Dallas, TX. Please visit her website, Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.

We are pleased to share our hour-long presentation: ” Differentiation Squared: Strategies for Struggling Gifted Students.” Published in TEMPO+, an on-demand publication by Texas Association for the Gifted & Talented (TAGT).

TAGT has generously offered a 2-weeks free subscription to our readers. Sign up at https://tempo.txgifted.org/trial-registration/, then read our article here: https://tempo.txgifted.org/differentiation-squared-strategies-for-struggling-gifted-students/

We are available for professional development and outreach activities. Looking forward to connecting with you.

Cheers,

Lin & Rashmii

Participated in a great invited panel on “Diversity in Gifted Education Research” this afternoon. This session was hosted by Dr. Dina Brulles with five different focus areas in gifted education research presented by five presenters including Dr. Terry Friedrichs, Dr. Ann Robinson, Dr. Gilman Whiting, Dr. Dina Bruilles, and myself.

I presented a segment on ” Diversity in Gifted Education Research: Asian American, Pacific Islander & AAPI Communities”

Lim, L. (2021). Understanding Twice-exceptionality (2e): A Multi-systems Perspective. International Journal of Childhood Education, 2(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.33422/ijce.v2i1.34

Limited time Free Access:

TAGT is offering my colleagues and followers a free temporary subscription to TEMPO+: Sign up at https://tempo.txgifted.org/trial-registration/, then read my article at http://bit.ly/TEMPOTestOptional

WHO

Harri James O’Kelley is an actress, a script supervisor, a storyteller, and a writer-director.  She has written and directed a feature film, four award-winning shorts, and now her first documentary, “O’Kelley Legends:  2e Behind the Scenes.”  Out of her passion for gifted and special needs education, Harri has also created The O’Kelley Lab with her family— a grassroots effort to lend support and create new therapies for 2e and gifted individuals.  Through storytelling and humor, she shares her journey as a parent advocating for her three neurodiverse children

WHO

Magalie A. Pinney is a Financial Services professional from the USA who is certified in the field of gifted and talented education by the University of Connecticut, Neag School of Education. She received a Communication baccalaureate, cum laude, and is pursuing a Masters’ degree. She is an advocate, chairperson, and board member for Massachusetts Association for Gifted Education (MAGE). She serves on the GTAC Gifted Talented Advisory Council to her state’s board of education and department of education.

Who

Joi Lin is a PhD student of curriculum and instruction, specializing in gifted education leadership at the Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver. She currently works as a graduate research assistant and as Director of Professional Education at the Gifted Development Center. She chairs the Education and Gifted Youth Committee at the Mensa Foundation, serves on the board of SoulSpark Learning, and is a co-founding member of Gifted and Talented Leaders of Color and Allies. She identifies as a profoundly gifted millennial who is a multiracial, multicultural, multipotentialite woman of color. Joi has worked as a secondary math teacher and has educational experiences in charter, public, private, parochial, and international schools.

Alignment with Quark Collaboration

Joi’s Voice:

“I earned my M.S. degree in industrial and organizational psychology, and my research interest is supporting the career development and wellbeing of the gifted and the professionals who support us. My expertise aligns with Quark Collaboration’s mission to support the holistic development and dignity of adults, particularly neurodiverse adults, across their lifespans. While I could list aspects of my identity that are often deemed deficit (non-male, non-white, etc.), I have received so much social and economic privilege throughout my life. Adopted and naturalized American citizen; only child of a military officer’s family; both parents with college degrees, both had MAs before I graduated high school; private school from preschool through some college; a bounty of clubs, music and dance lessons, lessons, and camps; comprehensive travel to nearly every state and a dozen countries; employment as a graduate research assistant which is paying my PhD tuition… I know more than anyone the value of socio-economic resources when nurturing ever-more-equitable human development.”

Quark is grateful to be a part of this wonderful interactive session with parents, educators, and supporters of gifted education on a Presidents’ Day weekend.

Baylor GT Parent Conference has just concluded last Saturday. Grateful for the opportunity and patience while navigating virtual presentation technology whilst traveling. A great internet connection is not to be taken for granted. Thankful to my QuarkCollaboration team member Cherin Escher for being a great spot and double-checking to make sure our presentation goes smoothly.

Join me for 2 Parents & Educators Sessions at the William & Mary Twice-exceptional Annual Conference, February 25-26, 2022. I love that affordable parent conference rates are available. Hope you can join live or watch the recordings at a later date.

I will be presenting the following sessions:

“Differentiation squared: Moving towards holistic embodied education of 2e learners“

“NEST! guiding framework: Visualizing the 2e learner-educator success.“

Looking forward to presenting these two sessions at the Arizona Association for Gifted and Talented (AAGT) 48th Annual Conference, Feb 10-11, 2022.

Madeline Chun is a High School Junior from Texas. She is the Co-founder of KAYAT, and our guest on the Voices: “We Know You For That” Podcast.

Key points of interest

What does brain development involve?

Brain network formation is reflective of a person’s experiences over time, through the reorganization, pruning, and generation of neural connections. Brain development is dependent on interactions between evolutionary paths determined by biology, genes, age, environment, and past experiences.

Can brain science be translated directly into educational policy or practice?

Authors argue that in the majority of the cases, knowledge of brain science does not translate directly. However, they propose that educational policies and practices that take into consideration knowledge on how the brain develops are more likely to promote learning and development. The authors conclude by supporting an integrated whole-child approach to education as the only option that will foster brain development and learning for children.

Although I agree that the authors’ proposal makes logical sense in theory, the challenges will in the careful considerations and selections of WHICH brain science knowledge should be considered in educational policies and practice, WHO should be making the decisions and recommendations, can decisions service ALL students, and HOW do we adjust individual variability? Studies often report averages between groups, however, within-group variability exists. I propose that the goals of educational policy and practice should be to address individual variabilities versus incorporating findings from brain studies that address the average. The goals of educational policy have to be clear as that guides implementation and practice.

Genes and Epigenetics (Environment) interact together contributing to brain development.

While genes provide the limits and constraints (potential) of our development, epigenetic (environmental) conditions affect the process. Both interact dynamically over time. The authors wrote that all children, except in cases of rare severe life-threatening genetic orders, ALL children have the genes essential for brain development and the ability to learn. Under optimal conditions, our development is constrained by genes, while sub-optimal conditions hinder potential to be expressed.

Relationships and social interactions shape the health of the body and the brain.

Our physiology are co-regulated within relationships, which impact our brain functioning.

Most active brain changes occur in the prenatal period through childhood, adolescence, and transition to parenthood, and old age.

The authors highlight opportunities for learning and supports during each of the periods below:

1. Early childhood – sensory and motor regions become more efficient and interconnected
2. Middle to late childhood – brain developing networks across regions
3. Early to middle adolescence – emotional reward, sensitivity to social reputation and higher-order thinking circuits become more developed
4. Late adolescence to early adulthood – brain circuits in 2. and 3. continue to mature.

Current brain scientists focus on connectivity networks between regions that facilitate different activity modes important for thinking and learning.

The basic structure of such networks seems to be present at birth, over time the networks change according to how the brain is used, in response to environments, opportunities, and relationships.

Three major networks that support mental capacities: executive control network (ECN) (attention- external signals), default mode network (DMN) (internal directed, interpretive and reflective signals), and the salience network (SN) (emotion and facilitate switching between ECN and DMN).

Educational Implications

Authors propose that optimal learning environments should attend to age-appropriate ways to develop each of the three major networks.

Physiological preconditions that must be met for optional brain development and learning.

Authors include sleep, physical activities, nutrition, emotional well-being, social relationships, cultural well-being, and safety/belonging.

Conclusion:

This article makes the case that physiological, academic, social, and emotional development are interlaced, therefore the call for collaborative educator-community partnerships is essential to support families and children’s health and well-being. Supportive parenting, relationships, community, and school programs can help foster resilience against stress.

“Access to Gifted Programming for 2e Students” was chosen as the article that generated the most interest in the month of Feburary.

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”   (The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost, 1915)

Rashmii Mahendra, MBA, has had an amazing journey that spans across three continents. She completed her degree in Social Sciences from a Russell Group university – University of Manchester, now known as UMIST, in the U.K. She then completed her MBA  from the U.K. and began her corporate career of 12 years  in India within Fortune 500 Multinational companies within the Human Resources, Learning & Development and Project Management departments. She is a Master Diversity facilitator and has trained in various Fortune 500 companies as a Freelancer for 5 years before embarking on her interest in the field of cognitive diversity. Diversity and Inclusion are of paramount importance to Rashmii.

Her inspiration for research into the field of neurodiversity was her son, who is Autistic and profoundly gifted. He never quite fit into the “norm” and his gifts sparked a question of are we truly servicing children who are gifted outliers, those that have acute challenges as well as huge potential. How can we redefine, reimagine and reservice those that are hidden for who they truly are? The educational system has to be transformed to make learning fun for all the students and not just some students. 

Rashmii is an advocate for twice-exceptional students and is a SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) facilitator where she co-facilitates for the community providing support groups for parents. She has completed a Graduate Academic Certificate in Twice Exceptional Education from Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education. Rashmii is currently developing educational tools for her doctoral project, to engage students through game playing and positive identity formation. She is also a student in UCLA pursuing a certificate in Business Studies with Leadership.

Rashmii is committed to providing resources and tools to help families and educators understand and serve their neurodiverse students better. Her interests are in the field of arts and sciences and she enjoys writing.

After a year of collaboration with uncountable hours of joy, tears, and personal fulfillment working with a group of dedicated volunteers of multicultural women dedicated to bettering the lives of complex outliers, happy to announce that the Quark Collaboration Website is finally up in time to celebrate 2022.

Looking forward to furthering interdiscplinary translational dialog with all complex outlier stakeholders across the lifespan promoting equity through Neuro-socio-economic-cultural dignity.

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Join me during the following conference sessions in February 2022:

“NEST! guiding framework: Visualizing 2e learner-teacher success.”

“Differentiation Squared: Moving towards holistic embodied education of 2e learners.”

Looking forward to engaging during this virtual conference.

YSA Enrolled-Parent-Only Family Discussion

Supporting twice-exceptional: Thurs, Dec 9 @ 11 AM PT/ 2 PM ET, 2021

Looking forward to the upcoming live session with Young Scholars Academy families.

Thanksgiving is a time for family, reflection, and gratitude. This year takes on important significance as we look back at the past, full of unplanned adjustments and experiences. It is easy to focus on what we have lost – we already know that was before. It is much harder to look through the eyes of opportunities, wonder and growth.

For 2021, during thanksgiving let us scale our perspectives wider and further than we have ever done. This image of orange crystals was taken during my recent visit to the Perot Museum, Gems & Minerals exhibit. When I took this photo, I wondered about the subjective experiences of this same piece of crystal as I imagined looking from different scale perspectives.

A little child may be too short to see past the base rock and can only see the bottom brown rocks, without seeing any crystals. This child may think, what can be so interesting about this piece of rock, looks like many rocks I see?

Another who happens to be walking right by the display at eye level may stop to marvel at this piece, perhaps thinking – looks like venom’s teeth ….

Yet another walking from the other side of the gallery past this display may be drawn to other crystals within this orange crystal display and not even notice the crystal in this post.

Same crystal, many different subjective authentic experiences by different individuals. Who is to say that one perception is more “right” or more “true”? It is only through communication with the intent to understand the other’s perspectives that the wonders of human diversity truly jumps out. Let this thanksgiving be the start of our wonderous journey through the perspective of opportunties, wonder, and growth.

Wonderful quarterly SMPG facilitator support group hosted together with Joan Larson (SMPG trainer) and Caroline Lubbe (SENG board member). We had facilitators across the US and Europe join us to share experiences, resources and to find better ways to support parents we serve.

Thankful to the new opportunities for sharing ideas with colleagues around the world. The Nov 7th, 3am Pacific Standard Time keynote was certainly a challenging yet exhilarating. I am grateful to the questions, excitement and interest generated from this presentation. Technology advancements allowed for this particular opportunity to occur.

Looking back to my primary and secondary education where everything was done with paper and pen/pencil, and computers were for a select few till the present day where I have 2 laptops, an ipad, a smart phone and various other smart internet connected devices inside my home, the pace of change has been fast and furious. Although I started on this technology journey reluctantly, it has opened up new pathways to connect with others that would have been out of reach before.

Looking forward to keynote at ARETL: ” Guiding framework to education children with high potential and disabilities: Integrating brain targeted teaching and strength-based pedagogy.”

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Attended the 12th Annual Awareness Film Festival in Los Angeles held Oct 21-31st this past weekend to support The O’Kelley Lab documentary: ” O’ Kelley Legends: 2e behind the Scenes”.

On behalf of the SENG board of directors, Caroline Lubbe and I attended the event to support the O’Kelley Family and their documentary inspired by our founder James Webb.

I attended 4 films, “O’ Kelley Legends: 2e behind the Scenes”, “So OCD”, “The Weight of Perfection”, “Neurodivergent”. All films around mental health, societal-individual expectations and identity. Purchase virtual tickets by clicking on the Awareness Film Fest image below. Your purchase will allow access to all films throughout the festival period.

Parent advocacy is a critical component in building positive and strong collaborative relationships in our public schools for gifted students.

Join board members from the Gifted Education Family Network at the upcoming SENGinar, Oct 19, 2021, 7:30-9pm EST. Can’t make it? register to access the recording.

Looking forward to the release of my conversation with Young Scholars Academy on thinking framing around neurodiversity, parenting and education.

Where the Wheels Hit the Road:

Reflections on Strength-based Parenting

Read my article in the September 2021 SENGvine Newsletter.

Gifted Homeschoolers Forum (GHF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to “To empower every gifted family to make strategic, proactive, and intentional educational choices.”

Please join me for a conversation!
You are invited to a Zoom webinar. (Link leads to the event in the GHF Forum)
When: September 10, 2021 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Cultivating Awareness and Acceptance for the Neurodivergent.

Looking forward to giving this presentation and introducing the NEST! framework

It was such a pleasure to speak with my colleague and friend, Dr. Nicole Tetreault on parenting, education and being neuro diverse.

Please read this post completed for Gifted Education Family Network.

Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education (BGS) will always hold a special place in my heart, being their FIRST alumni in 2020. Being a part of an organization/system from the start is a different experience and journey than being part of an organization/system that is already established. People vary in their preferences and feelings on this. I always enjoyed being part of something new that is developing.

I truly enjoy this morning’s session with my BGS community sharing my journey, ideas, current thinking and work in progress applying interdisciplinary ideas, tools and methods to further understand twice-exceptional individuals.

I look forward to working closely with my fellow associate deans Dr. Susan Daniels, Dr. Nicole Tetreault, and Dr. Matt Zakreski.

Honored to participate in the recently concluded inaugural Gifted Homeschoolers Forum (GHF) conference which was held June 4 -6, 2021. It was such a pleasure to listen and interact with the different panelists involved in this moderated session led by Dr. Sarah Mendonca.

GHF’s stated mission is to “empower every gifted family to make strategic, proactive, and intentional educational choices.”

Having tried many educational options from public, private to homeschooling between my two children, the lack of access to information and a framework to guide making suitable intentional educational choices are some of the largest hurdles I faced, and the impetus for my current journey.

Looking forward to presenting in a virtual session: “Fostering 2e student success through a Brain-Targeted Teaching Framework“

Stay Tuned …

International SENG Facilitator Virtual Support Focus Group, May 26th 2021.

Our first #SENGFamChat was a success! Facilitators across the US and globe (UK, S. Africa, Germany, Spain, France, Serbia, Italy, Netherlands, Croatia) participated, or stopped by to say hello during our 90min long focus group.

Many areas of common need and support were voiced direct from facilitators on the ground supporting parents. Magic happens with all stakeholders (SENG board members, SENG trainers and SENG facilitators) engage in collaborative conversations together. Here’s to many more #SENGFamChat regular meetings!

Conversations with Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented May 18th, 2021

As research, clinical and practical knowledge of neurodiverse gifted children increases, what do we know about gifted outliers such as twice-exceptional and highly or profoundly gifted? How do we tie all these into a cohesive guiding framework to foster nuanced understanding and collaborative solutions between educators, parents,  practitioners and gifted outliers themselves. We invite you to journey with Caroline Lubbe and Dr. Lin Lim through their challenges of educating, parenting and understanding gifted outliers and what drives them to seek and propose increased collaborative relationships between educators, parents, practitioners and gifted outliers.

Refreshing to be part of the roundtable discussion in celebration of 2021 International Women’s Day that also include male colleague perspectives. Our conversations were richer as a result of the wide range of participants during our round table session.

Dallas Round Table participants included:

Looking forward to the upcoming live Facebook session hosted by Mark Hess, President Elect of Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented, May 18, 2021. 5pm MDT/ 4pm PDT.

Title: Collaborative Nurturance of Gifted Outliers Through Strong Educator-Parent-Practitioner Relationships.

As research, clinical and practical knowledge of neurodiverse gifted children increases, what do we know about gifted outliers such as twice-exceptional and highly or profoundly gifted? How do we tie all these into a cohesive guiding framework to foster nuanced understanding and collaborative solutions between educators, parents,  practitioners and gifted outliers themselves. We invite you to journey with Caroline Lubbe and Dr. Lin Lim through their challenges of educating, parenting and understanding gifted outliers and what drives them to seek and propose increased collaborative relationships between educators, parents, practitioners and gifted outliers.