Self-Esteem, Self-Confidence, Self-Love

I often say self-esteem is the key to success. That feeling that you can do anything. The ability to enter a room and walk directly up to someone, stick out your paw and shake their hand – knowing they’ll shake your hand right back. Taking a risk, trying something new, relying on yourself because you […]

Honoring Overexcitabilities Allows Us to Soar Safely

Overexcitabilities to gifted and twice exceptional people are like wind to a kite.  They allow us to fly high but can also cause us to perilously fall toward earth, often in a dizzying and uncontrollable descent.   Overexcitabilities are those intensities that come forth in the intellectual, emotional, imaginational, sensual (sensory) and psychomotor domains as identified […]

Avoiding Failure – Building Self Esteem and Resilience in Twice-Exceptional Kids

Recently I articulated a theory – something I’ve thought for a long time – but now formulated into a hypothesis and conclusion of why smart kids, with learning disabilities or differences often exhibit challenging behavior and fail to reach their potential. The Theory: Self esteem is imperative for success and reaching potential. Adults around gifted […]

Leggo My Ego

Leggo my Ego There is no room for ego in parenting or teaching. Remember the breakfast waffle commercial where an Eggo waffle pops out of the toaster and siblings simultaneously grab for it and shout “Leggo my Eggo?” I imagine this going on inside a parent or teacher’s mind. As a challenging situation crops up, […]

Be a Super Model … a Super ROLE Model

Ever heard your child say something in an all too familiar sarcastic or snarky tone? It’s even worse when you’re in public or at a work function and they let loose one of those zingers. Ugh. We all know kids are the best at holding up a mirror to their parents. We also know that […]

Smart Dog

“Poodles are difficult to train as guide dogs, they’re too smart.” So said the elderly blind gentleman who was holding the leash of a black standard poodle guide dog named Espresso. I had just crossed the street to meet Espresso – that’s what poodle people do – we cross streets to meet poodles. But I […]