Does it feel like the usual parenting advice was written for somebody else's child?
You are in uncharted territory. You cannot parent your gifted and distractible child the way you were parented, or the way your friends parent theirs. Your child is ten years old, fifteen in the thing they love, and five in the thing that just fell apart, all on the same morning.
You get conflicting advice from everyone, and almost all of it focuses on what your child cannot do. You feel powerless during meltdowns, anxiety, and perfectionism spirals. And it is exhausting to keep searching for answers inside a system that does not understand twice-exceptional kids.
If you find yourself bribing, giving consequences, or punishing, that is not evidence that you are failing. Likely you just don't know what else to do, because nobody taught you this.
In this eight-week course, led by Julie Skolnick, M.A., J.D., parents learn a structured approach built specifically for twice-exceptional children: first a deep understanding of what is actually going on, then practical strategies you can use this week, then a way to advocate that gets your child what they need without burning the relationship with the school.
Gifted and Distractible holds more than 200 pages of strategies. This course is where we put them to work. The book is organised in three parts, and so is the course, and so is the workbook, so every module lines up with what you are already reading.
Each cycle, you try something with your own child and report back. Then we get on a call and work through what actually happened, in your house, with your kid. By the end you will have a written story of your child, a one-page summary teachers will actually read, and specific goals with named action items.
"Prior to joining the course, I felt like I was on an island raising kids nobody else really gets and clueless as to how to best support and advocate for them. Connecting with other parents gave me assurance and tons of hope that we are not alone in this."
Erika Thomas, past participant
What we'll cover:
Part I: Understanding
- What giftedness actually means, and what it does not.
- Why your child can be years ahead in one area and years behind in another.
- The learning differences that most often travel with giftedness, and how to tell them apart.
- Your own parenting style, and what to do when your patience runs out.
Part II: Strategies, part one
- A method for solving problems with your child instead of at them.
- Julie's P-R-A-I-S-E framework, applied to your child's specific profile.
- How to reframe the assumptions you have been making about behaviour.
- Setting expectations your child can actually meet, and anticipating triggers.
Part III: Strategies, part two
- What to say and do in the moment, when things are already escalating.
- How to hold a boundary without losing the relationship.
- Rebuilding the two hardest parts of the day, mornings and bedtime.
- A screen time agreement your whole family actually signs up to.
Part IV: Advocacy
- The A-R-T of Advocacy, and why collaboration beats confrontation.
- Crafting your child's story, in your words and theirs.
- Building a one-page summary that teachers will read and use.
- Setting goals with named action items, and finding your child's advocate inside the school.
"The focus on connection and seeing the relationship as THE most important thing in all of this was probably the most important takeaway for me. I have started to find small moments of joy here and there with my kids that I was starving for."
Marie H., past participant
