Neuro-Affirming Blog
Do you have/work with bright, differently wired students? Looking for guidance, expert tips, thought-provoking content, tools, or answers to your burning questions?
Whether you're a parent, educator, or simply passionate about supporting bright, neurodivergent learners, this blog is your go-to resource for all things neuro-affirming, and strength-based!
Scroll down to explore supportive content that is sure to help! Ready? Set? GROW!
Most Popular Blogs
-
![]()
Being Twice-Exceptional Killed My Dad
-
![]()
What Does ‘Twice-Exceptional (2e)’ and ‘Gifted’ Mean? Definitions, Challenges, and How to Help Your Child Thrive
-
![]()
How A Strength-Based School Year Will Change Your Child’s Life!
-
![]()
Creating Learning Plans That Work! The 3 KEY Ingredients
-
![]()
Alternative Education Paths: Removing Barriers to Learning
-
![]()
The Most Overlooked Support for 2e Students: Acceleration
Find The Content You’re Looking For
Filter by Category Below or Search For Key Words
Categories
- #2eCommunity
- #2eKids
- #GiftedChildren
- #NeuroAffirming
- #Neurodiversity
- #TwiceExceptional
- #YSAExperience
- #alphaparenting
- #college admission
- #college-prep
- #gifted learners
- #giftedparenting
- #learning differences
- #naturalchildsmanship
- #neurodivergent
- #pdastrategies
- 2e
- 2e Parenting
- 2e education
- 2e resources
- 2echildren
- 3e
- 504
- ADHD and Autism
- BackToSchool
- City Specific Resource Guides: 2e/Gifted
- Connection Over Compliance
- EmotionalRegulation
- ExecutiveFunction
- GiftedEducation
- IEP
- Integrative Mental Health
- Neurodivergent Nutrition
- PDA
- Parent Resource Guide
- Parenting
- ParentingSupport
- Seattle parenting
- Twice-Exceptional
- TwiceExceptional
- adhd
- adulting
- advocacy
- alternative learning
- anxiety
- art
- assessments
- asynchrony
- autism
- back to school
Unlock Benefits: Get 20% OFF These Courses
-
![]()
Philosophy & Big Ideas
-
![]()
Mock Trial
-
![]()
Python Programming
-
![]()
Esports Tournament
-
![]()
Art Club
-
![]()
Robotics NEW ROBOT!
-
![]()
Cryptography & Hacking
-
![]()
Ches
-
![]()
Minecraft All Editions
Every Hero Story Has This…
In every Hero Story there is always a guide. There is always a mentor who helps the hero come into themselves and do what they could not do themselves. Our hero is already extraordinary, but they often don't see their own powers...
More often than not, it's not even clear that our hero is a true hero until the mentor sets them on their journey of rebirth and growth.
Heroes become heroes because…
Alternative Education Paths: Removing Barriers to Learning for 2e children
I invite you to see a different way to approach education – one that is passion-driven rather than proscriptive, one that is interest-led rather than top-down, one that caters to the unique learning strengths and challenges of EVERY SINGLE CHILD rather than a cookie cutter education that eschews anyone who doesn’t fit the mold.
I know. I am asking you to depart from culturally entrenched ideas of what school has been for a century. Instead, I want you to embrace what learning CAN be.
The Twice-exceptional Elephant: What 2e Is, and Most Importantly, What It Isn’t.
What exactly does 2e mean? How do you know your child is 2e? Who gets to define what 2e is, and maybe more importantly, what it isn’t? The Twice-exceptional Elephant analogy can help define what 2e is, and maybe more Importantly, what it isn’t.
I often joke that I will retire the day that when I tell people my purpose in this world is serving “twice-exceptional students,” they will say “nice!” instead of “what’s that mean?” While the term 2e, or twice-exceptional, has been around for a while as a concept, the terms are fairly new in the fields of psychology and education. If you haven’t heard it, don’t worry, you're not alone. It just means there’s still lots of work to do!
Put On Your Mask: Recovering From The Dysregulation of Vacation
Phew. You made it. Winter break is over. I hope you are nice and relaxed and ready for the year ahead.
But… maybe you aren’t. That’s ok too. Here’s the thing though: You and your family don’t have to stay feeling stuck and overwhelmed after a holiday or vacation. To get your family back on track, you need to focus on yourself first. Think of it like an airplane…
Kicking-Off 2023 With Strengths: Week-1 In Our Virtual Village
By today, Friday, I have received 76 emails from families just like yours, who all had a story to tell about the magic of this week.
Each email detailed a special moment, or two, that really made this week special. Just like each student who is a member of our Virtual Village, each story was so different. What made classes special for one child was worlds apart from another. Across most of the messages, 2 clear trends emerged…
A Strength-Based New Year!
As 2022 closes out and 2023 begins, it can be tempting to look back at the past year and only focus on the trials, tribulations, and turmoil.
Real life can be really hard and raising a neurodivergent child certainly presents no shortage of challenges.
While our minds can often shift to the negative, it's important that we make a conscious effort to look for the positive. This doesn't always come easy and might take real work for you to get the hang of it, but it's worth it!
Illuminating Interview- Dr. Joseph Renzulli Pt 2
“‘they find out what I can’t do, don’t want to do, and don’t like to do, and they spend the rest of the year beating me to death with it’” - former twice-exceptional student of Dr. Joseph Renzulli.
This was a moment in which Dr. Renzulli made a decision that would define his career: he committed his life’s work to find out what students:
✅ can do
✅ want to do
✅ like to do
and build authentic, interest-based learning experiences around the students, rather than the other way around.
Illuminating Interviews- Dr. Joseph Renzulli
After the launch of Sputnik in 1957, a young Dr. Renzulli, a then middle school science teacher, was put in charge of the gifted science program at his school. He was given students with 130+ IQs. The plot thickened when he snuck some quirky students in who he knew were just as bright, but were not on that list.
This led Dr. Renzulli to a major aha moment!
He realized that there were these 3 Key Factors that contributed to the students who were not on the original list of highly gifted students to do as well, if not better, than the students with the 130+ IQs!
Thankfulness = More Happiness ⬆️
Societal pressures often have us focusing on what we don’t have… Whether it be social media, advertisements, catching up around the watering hole, keeping up with the Joneses, etc.
Focusing on what we don’t have naturally causes us to feel down and out.
Did you know one of the best ways to combat this?
Regularly inventorying your thankfulness/gratitude can lead to more happiness and confidence!
Want to give it a try? 😄
Go ahead! Grab a piece of paper/open a doc and write down one/all of the following:
Illuminating Interviews- Dr. Lamb
I always say Siobhan may be the important person that you don’t yet know.
Dr. Siobhan Lamb is hands-down one of the most thought-provoking individuals that I have the pleasure of knowing in the fields of cognitive diversity and education.
Go grab your notebook and be prepared to be inspired as we explore:
-Recommendations for supporting neurodiverse kiddos
-Perspectives that expand our collective understanding of neurodiversity
-Support from someone who knows what it is to live with a dual diagnosis
Developing Super Strengths, Not Super Deficits!
All too often our brilliant students are defined by what they don't do well... This continues to baffle me.
Imagine judging a dolphin for its inability to walk on land or a giraffe for not being able to dive deep into the water. It seems so blatantly obvious here, but we do this to our students all the time. We set expectations and don’t take time to evaluate their strengths, interests, or talents.
We know darn well that when our students are immersed in their interest areas and their strengths are supported and developed, there is truly no limit to what they can accomplish.
Look no further than this website that our eight-year-old students made.
Is Your Neuodivergent Student College Ready? Featuring: Dr. Eric Endlich
Wondering if your neurodivergent/twice-exceptional kiddo is ready for college? You’re not alone! There is a lot of confusing information out there and it can make supporting our already complex kiddos an even more difficult task…
While all of our students are so unique, there are general guidelines that can be really helpful to understand.
Don't miss this value-packed highlight from our amazing webinar with special guest Dr. Eric Endlich.
Illuminating Interviews- Coleman Sokol
Do you grant your child enough room to make mistakes?
This is an important question posed by my most recent guest on the Illuminating Interviews series, Coleman Sokol.
Coleman is a twice-exceptional senior in college who once wondered if he would make it through high school. He's now preparing to graduate from college with a PERFECT 4.0 GPA! Talk about a success story!
3 Proven Strategies To Help Your 2e Kiddo Make Friends, NOW!
It's not easy having a bright kiddo who you know is so special, but who struggles to make friends. You know they have so much to offer others, if they could only break through.
Breaking The Burial Cycle
Does it feel like your 2e learner starts out each year with big dreams of being organized and successful, only to have it all fall apart?
Join me as we explore the 3 KEY ELEMENTS of an Effective Task Management System to help get your twice-exceptional learner get out from under a pile of late work and into the driver's seat!
A Sit Down With Seth Perler
It’s not every day you get to sit down with the one and only Seth Perler— a globally recognized executive function skill expert!
Last night, we had an amazing sit-down meeting in which we explored a wide array of topics, perhaps most timely of which was Seth sharing back-to-school executive function skill support.
Illuminating Interviews- Elinor Shapiro
In this Illuminating Interview, Elinor consoles parents who might be worried about their child’s ability to venture out and succeed beyond school by offering some unconventional wisdom.
Check out this short clip of the hour-long interview in which Elinor paints a vivid picture for us of how she’s found success because of her asynchronies.
The Salt and Pepper of Supporting 2e Kiddos
Whenever I think of mentoring twice-exceptional students, cooking comes to mind. Admittedly, I’m not much of a cook, but I do like to eat! Cooking is a true art form because it’s always fluctuating. A recipe may be consistent, but the process is never constant. Many factors shape the experience: the cook, the kitchen, preparation, presentation, ingredients, and the emotional and physical state of the consumer, among others.
Supporting 2e students is similar. Though professionals and parents may be consistent, things never stay constant, the menu changes, and appetites differ. There are core ingredients, however. Mentoring is like salt that helps bring out the natural flavor.
Illuminating Interviews- Kim Southerland
Do you often wonder how to get your twice-exceptional child ready for the “real world”?
Don't miss Ed Specialist Kim Southerland's Illuminating Interview where she tackles that complicated question.
In this interview, Kim challenges us to reexamine our own understanding of our reality and that of our children.
The Women Who Do It All!
Moms, never underestimate your power! As far as I can tell, there is no one more powerful in this world than you!
You are the courageous few who:
go up against the system and fight for accommodations
see strengths in your child when the rest of the world seems to see shortcomings
entrench yourselves in learning about neurodiversity and taking creative approaches with your kiddo
invest in programs that offer your child what you know is right
give so much by being a working professional and supporting your child full-time OR putting your career on pause to support your child full time
Get Instant Access to 12+ FREE Classes Your Child Will LOVE❤️
Classes Like “Minecraft Engineering, Intro To Acting, Executive Function 101, Debate, & More!
Just Enter Your Email Below & Tell Us Where To Send Them
