And here we go...
Welcome to Guiding Gifted! Thanks for joining this conversation with us.
Hello!
Welcome to the new Guiding Gifted newsletter from the Davidson Institute. We’re glad you’re here!
If you’re reading this, you’re likely a guide—a parent, guardian, family member, educator, graduate student, or other professional—looking to find resources and support as you support the gifted student(s) in your life. That’s exactly what we’re here to help you do.
Through this newsletter, we will share resources, strategies, and brainstorming prompts to help you support the gifted or twice-exceptional children in your life. For 25 years, the Davidson Institute has worked to support profoundly gifted and twice-exceptional (2e) children and their families as they navigate the unique challenges and joys of the gifted path.
Science has shown us that giftedness is a brain-based difference. This means that a gifted person—regardless of age—likely experiences the world in different ways than their neurotypical peers. With this in mind, Guiding Gifted will focus on exploring ways that you can better understand the experiences and needs of the gifted or 2e child in your life.
The ideas and resources we discuss here can be adapted and modified to fit your needs. That is, what we’ll discuss here can be used at home, school, the mall, the park, on plane, or in a train...with or without green eggs and ham...or your child’s safe food, whatever that may be!
We know showing up for and supporting a neurodivergent child can be just as challenging as it is rewarding. This newsletter and the ideas we discuss here are not meant to be a strict how-to. Instead, we want to support and empower gifted guides—like yourself—to find the strategies and resources that best fit your circumstances.
We often say, “If you’ve met one gifted child, you’ve met one gifted child.” With that in mind, we encourage you to take what you need and leave the rest. Join in conversations in the comments to find your community with others working to guide the gifted children in their lives. Let’s work together to support the gifted children in our lives who are so often misunderstood or under supported.
So, let’s dive in!
What can you expect from us and this newsletter?
First, we think it’s important that you know what we mean when we say “gifted.” There are so many misconceptions and stereotypes that surround giftedness. At the Davidson Institute, we recognize giftedness as a brain-based difference, which impacts the way an individual grows intellectually, academically, socially, and emotionally. Giftedness does not exist only within the walls of a school. Giftedness can and does impact all areas of a child’s life.
“Gifted Traits and Characteristics” and “5 Signs Your Kid is ‘Highly Gifted,' According to Neuroscience Experts—‘they’re not always well-behaved'” are two articles where we’ve discussed what giftedness looks like, based on research and our work with families across the United States.
You can also start to get to know us and our approach to supporting gifted and 2e families through some of our curated resources:
Davidson Resource Library, where you will find thousands of articles and resources for and about the gifted population.
Follow us on Spotify and YouTube to easily access curated playlists of resources on your schedule.
Davidson Institute’s Bookshop.org storefront, where we have curated reading lists on some of the topics most important to families in our Young Scholars program. While these books are available from many retailers, all book links above go to Bookshop.org and are affiliate links which means your purchase also supports the Davidson Institute's mission and continuing work to support profoundly gifted students and their families.
New issues of Guiding Gifted will be released the third week of each month. We look forward to you getting to know us and us getting to know you, so don’t hesitate to share your thoughts or questions in the comment section.
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Stay well. We'll talk to you again soon.