Last updated: 04/16/2009

Gifted Conference Planners

presents

Beyond IQ: Greater Boston

"Family Dynamics"

Expected Presenters and Sessions

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Keynotes
Our Parents Get it From Us: Family Dynamics and Exceptionally Gifted Children	Kathi Kearney

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Adult's Program
Gifted with LD: Beyond the Basics This workshop is focused on parents who have already had the equivalent of a basic introduction to the concept of 2E and have identified their children as such. Once a parent has identified their child this way, there is a pull in many directions. How you accommodate a child’s giftedness is complex enough, but then there is the question of how to respond to the areas of difficulty or disability. Even harder is figuring out how to accomplish these in tandem. This workshop will offer a framework for parents to begin to prioritize and organize the many ways to intervene and support their children. It will lay out a series of questions for parents to help them survey the options for addressing these issues and begin to see which directions will be priorities for their child(ren) at this time It is likely that participants will be working in dyads, if they are comfortable, to help each other articulate some answers to these questions. We will talk through some of participants’ responses to these questions to help clarify the issues. Attendees will be strongly encouraged to prepare beforehand and bring to the session very succinct observations of three behaviors, tasks or situations which are problematic for their child, as well as three which manifest strengths	Diana Abramo is an educational therapist. She focuses on helping children (and their parents) identify their neurological preferences, strengths, and weaknesses in learning, then use them to modify and prioritize a learning program. She is the mother of two gifted children, one 2E in a gifted public school program, and another whom she has homeschooled for the last 9 years. She completed all the course work for a Ph.D. in Community Psychology with a research minor; Dr. Mel Levine’s Schools Attuned Training; a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in 2E with Dr. Susan Baum; and has studied at the National Center for the Study of Gifted and Talented Children. She is member of the Learning and the Brain Society. Her prior professional work included counseling, research, and program development. She worked for 11 years each in the fields of AIDS education and rape survivor counseling, and developing nation-wide programs in these areas. She has also been the project coordinator on CDC grants, and taught and designed evaluation. She lives in NYC, consults by phone, and will live in Cambridge, MA from 2009-10 to attend Harvard’s Ed.M. in Mind, Brain and Education.
2E Kids in Public Schools: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (see Carolyn K., below) Knitters Free for All	Liz Cademy is
We need to know we are not alone Psychological visibility is the fundamental need to be seen, understood, and accepted by our fellow humans. When we are seen and accepted, we are not alone. Our witness can allow us to perceive ourselves through the eyes of others. Being accepted by that witness, tells us that the kind of person we are is okay and will have a place in society. Many of our kids aren’t seen and accepted. Some of them aren’t even really seen, because our culture isn’t willing to admit there are relevant differences in intelligence. The very structure of our school system denies the existence, needs, and number of highly and profoundly gifted children. We will discuss ways parents and other caring adults can meet as much of this need as possible for themselves, their spouse, and children.	Anna Caveney is an education consultant. She has designed and implemented individualized curricula for homeschooling teenagers, developed a theory of the emotional foundations of underachievement and led workshops addressing the challenges and joys of being highly gifted. She has created and taught classes in calculus, thinking skills and peer counseling. She runs the Young Adult program at BIQ.
Give Them Wings This presentation focuses on tips for parents to assist their children to become the well-rounded students colleges seek and build a foundation for integrating into the college milieu. If begun early, these will help children develop skills and approaches, many based on parent-modeled attitudes.	Dr. Eichel received her Ph.D. from UCLA, specializing in human development. She possesses an unusual and valuable set of skills derived from an extensive and diverse background in academia in both teaching and student support services. Her teaching background includes such areas as Sensory Motor Education for young children, teacher and tutor training, and creative problem solving. She directed UCLA’s Mentor Program, one of the first such support services in the country, providing her with experience in freshman retention efforts. While Assistant Director of UCLA’s Math and Science Tutorials, she created a program to assist students with graduate and professional school applications. Thus, she has over a 20-year track record of helping students, some of whom are now physicians, lawyers, judges, engineers, professors, teachers, and corporate executives. Today, she teaches English as a Second Language at Framingham State College and her private practice as an educational consultant, Pathways Consulting Services, is located in Framingham. Her web site is www.PathsToCollege.com.
Making Sense of the Mosaic: Moving Towards an Understanding of Twice-Exceptionality and its Significance to the Family Twice-exceptional and gifted children are different from their neurotypical peers, and the families that raise them need to respond intelligently and compassionately to those differences. This workshop will examine some of the special concerns that face families with twice-exceptional children, including temperament (of both parents and children), educational choices, managing difficult behaviors and interacting with the world outside the family.	Mika Gustavson is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California, and has been working in the field of mental health for over twenty years. She and her writing partner, Corin Barsily Goodwin, have written a couple articles about homeschooling gifted students, and are currently working on a book about homeschooling for gifted children, as well as several other articles of interest to the gifted, twice-exceptional and homeschooling communities.
Saturday Keynote Family Dynamics Panel	Kathi Kearney
1st Time BIQ Attendees This will include a brief presentation on terminology you are likely to hear during the weekend, which presentations are aimed at newcomers, and other introductory material. A good chunk of this period will be spent doing Q&A with the attendees.	Carolyn K. is the winner of the NAGC Community Service award, and PAGE Neuber-Pregler award, for her work on Hoagies' Gifted Education Page (www.hoagiesgifted.org), and she writes for the Gifted Education Communicator.
2E Kids in Public Schools: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Twice-exceptional kids have a hard time in public schools: some schools try to educate them, others refuse to recognize that a child can be both highly gifted and learning disabled. Join us as we talk about our experiences with good and bad schools, and help you learn to get the best from your public school — if possible.
Neuropsychological Testing and Psychotherapy What do IQ scores mean? What can they tell us about the different ways in which children can be gifted and/or talented? What is executive function? How does it relate to the unique challenges facing gifted and talented children and their families? How does a neuropsychologist think? What tools are typically used in the initial determination of giftedness, as well as in the assessment of things like learning styles, disabilities, and ADHD? These and similar questions will be explored in a short presentation that allows for plenty for questions.	Erick Medina, Psy.D. is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he majored in philosophy, and Rutgers University, where he obtained his doctorate in clinical psychology. He did post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School, Harvard Vanguard, and at the Integrated Center for Child Development in Canton, MA, and has taught at the high school as well as college level. He currently does psychotherapeutic as well as neuropsychological work with children, adolescents, and adults, and also works with couples and groups.
Family Dynamics Panel
Early College in Two Perspectives: The Student and the Teacher Having taken my first college class at 14 and having become a full time college student at 15, I found early college to be a critical part of my educational experience. Now, as a teacher, I often find myself encouraging parents and students to consider early college, both part and full time, as an option for their children. This session will discuss the experiences from both perspectives – what I got out of early college as a student and what I feel are key reasons to encourage early college for my own students. If you’ve ever, even briefly, considered early college sometime soon for your child, this session may help you think through the pros and cons. We will intentionally focus on many different types of students who may need early college, and many different situations that lend well to that decision.	Lisa Rainen has taught gifted students for eight years now, and is sometimes surprised to realize it has been that long. Or, alternatively, she’s been doing it much longer, because PG students in gifted classrooms still sometimes end up in a teaching role. She followed a very different path through education and now tries to ensure that students can follow the paths they need as much as she can in the setting of a public school – not always easy. She is shocked to find that she enjoys teaching middle school. She plans to continues studying gifted education through different lenses, and has particular interests in the social and emotional needs of profoundly gifted children, the intersection of homosexuality and giftedness, and the reconception of education to meet the needs of more learners.
The Road Less Traveled: Kids and Adults Who Must Find Their Own Way to Grow and Prosper Some children don't seem to fit in any school situation, even homeschool. We will explore how a child can grow and learn without classes, without a curriculum, even without a structure at all. For those who have already grown up, or who have children who plan on doing so, we will also discuss how to survive and thrive in the adult world without the 9 to 5.	Jade Piltser does career, life, and sex education counseling sessions for teenagers. She also organizes multi-day camping events for adults that incorporate creative exercises, communication and gender workshops, and other activities to build connection and a sense of community. Michael Rios is the parent of profoundly gifted children, has published on giftedness, and has done extensive counseling work with gifted adults. For nearly 40 years, he has been involved with creating alternatives to conventional schools and workplaces. He regularly organizes personal growth workshops focusing on communication skills, personal empowerment, and effective social engagement. Sarah Taub has a Ph.D in cognitive linguistics and gives workshops and trainings on communication, conflict resolution, and group dynamics. She regularly organizes events aimed at creating a culture based on awareness, compassion and freedom rather than on fear and judgment.
Being Different: How extreme giftedness changes the way we, as adults, perceive, believe, work, play, and love What happens when gifted children grow up? We will use small groups, and open discussion to explore the impact of overexcitabilities, school experiences, and other differences on EG/PG adults' friendships, careers and family relationships. The workshop will also address existing research, resources, and next steps for participants.
Exploring Gender and Giftedness From the moment of birth ("it's a girl!"), children are identified by gender. This shapes almost every aspect of their lives and relationships. It can affect gifted children in surprising ways, and differently from neurotypical children. As we learn more about gender, its significance gets murky. What is it that defines gender? Which of these characteristics are essential, and which are created by the culture we live in? What effect will growing up in a strongly gendered society have on our children? How does giftedness provide both additional challenges and additional resources?
Intro to Dabrowski Delving Deeper into Dabrowski	Josh Shaine is a migrant teacher, working for homeschool families, public and private schools, and whatever else comes down the pike. He works predominantly with gifted children, with a focus on underachievers and hg/pg issues. He is also slowly researching non-linear thinking styles.
Family Dynamics Panel	Melinda Stewart Currently the Director of Counseling at Groton School in Groton, MA, Ms. Stewart has worked with gifted children and adolescents in a variety of settings over the last 28 years. She is the founder and former director of Voyagers, Inc., and has been on the staffs of the Stone Center at Wellesley College and McLean Hospital. She is the mother of two PG children, one currently in college and one currently homeschooled.
Depression and Self-Injury in the Gifted While the psychological literature has found mixed results on the likelihood of depression and self-injury in gifted adolescents, many point to anecdotal evidence that rates are higher amongst this population. In this session, a (labeled) gifted student will discuss her experiences with giftedness, depression, and self-injury. There will be some focus on how parents can deal with this possibility, as well as recognize it happening. The session will be predominantly Q&A and discussion based, so please come prepared to contribute!	Zoë Thorkildsen's primary interest in giftedness springs from her own experiences in the standard, and the not-so-standard, educational system as a student labeled "gifted". She moved through the public school system's gifted program, and also involved herself in summer programs geared towards gifted students, and eventually tumbled into college as a formerly-gifted youth (older, but hoping to remain gifted!) She currently studies economics in the Ph.D. program at University of Maryland, but continues to pursue the issues of pedagogy, psychology, and general well-being of gifted students in her (not terribly ample) spare time.
Feelings About Possible Feelings: The Cognitive Structure of Human Motivation Eric's "meta-affective theory" posits that most of what we feel derives from our brains' extraordinary efforts to figure out how we expect to feel in the future. This hypothesis leads to a remarkably detailed taxonomy of emotions. The theory not only answers the thorniest questions about emotions (e.g., why we respond to some events with anger and others with sadness, and how fear and anxiety differ), but usefully subdivides common emotions like anger into very different varieties.	Eric Van entered Harvard in 1972 as one of future Nobel Laureate Sheldon Glashow's particle physics tutees and graduated in 1978 as one of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Elizabeth Bishop's students. He has spent the last six years back at Harvard, as a Special Student affiliated with the Graduate Department of Psychology, taking 20 undergraduate courses in the field in preparation for an eventual Ph.D. He lives in Watertown, Mass.
The School and Home as Extended Family Over the course of childhood and adolescence, many of the psychological functions of the family become shared with the school; teachers, administrators, and classmates begin to function as an extended family. When a child is gifted, many of the usual functions of this extended family are not performed well; for example, children are often placed into “parentified” roles within the classroom environment, and teachers often have difficulty in serving the developmentally-appropriate needs of the child for empathic adult figures. Additionally, both educators and families carry their own histories of difficult experiences around the idea of giftedness. Arguments often erupt over the best ways to support the child’s development, with the child often caught in the middle of these “family feuds.” By considering the ways in which family dysfunction can affect a child’s developing personality, we can gain insight into the ways in which the problems and conflicts within this “extended family” can affect the psychological development of gifted children. We can then consider how to realistically address these problems. No background in psychology is necessary -- relevant terms and concepts will be explained during the presentation.	Aimee Yermish (aimee@davincilearning.org) is an educational therapist specializing in work with children who are gifted, learning-disabled, or twice-exceptional, providing assessment, enrichment, remediation, mentoring, individualized program development, and parent and teacher guidance. She draws upon her analytical background as a research scientist and her practical background as a classroom teacher in order to create individualized strategies for each child. In addition, she is in progress towards a doctorate in clinical psychology; this presentation is drawn from her dissertation research.
Family Dynamics Panel

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Children's Program
Origami Transformers (9-12) Calling all paper-folding fans! We're going to be doing some origami, but you purists out there need to know ahead-of-time that we're going to be using tape! And scissors! But if you can handle that, come make a cool paper transformer. We'll show you what you're making on YouTube, then settle down to work.	Janet and Eric Breslau
Improvisation Games (6-9) Play some games that are guaranteed to make you think fast and crack up! Improvisation is the art of acting without a script, and the only limit is your own imagination. The improv games we’ll be playing are designed to make you (and your audience) laugh out loud. We’ll also prove that necessity really is the mother of invention; you’ll be amazed by what you can come up with.	Arika Cohen is delighted to be teaching and learning for the third time at Beyond I.Q.! Arika teaches middle school drama at the Cambridge Friends School by day and designs costumes for the Watertown Children’s Theatre by evening. Arika recently designed and constructed two hundred and thirty-eight costumes for a production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” including a sphinx, a baseball team, mobsters, cowboy-angels, several Egyptian goddesses, a mummy, five dancing palm trees, and two amazing, Technicolor dreamcoats. She now needs a nap.
Spellbinding Public Speaking, Scary Storytelling (6-9) Learn some techniques that will increase your effectiveness as a public speaker and help you feel more confident in front of an audience. We’ll be telling scary stories and figuring out what makes these stories so scary. We’ll also explore how a storyteller can use public speaking techniques to enthrall (and scare the socks off of) his or her audience.
Without Conflict, There Can Be No Drama (9-12) Would there be theatre in a perfect world? Probably not. Without conflict, there can be no resolution, and drama would cease to exist. If you like a little drama in your life, give this class a try! We’ll create scenes that exemplify different types of conflict and play acting games that delight in friction, discord, contention, and strife.
Boolean Logic (9-12) "This title is false" and other ways to turn your head inside out with boolean logic.	Pete Gast has been involved in gifted education since he attended the Illinois Math and Science Academy for high school. He is a math geek, a computer programmer, an avid fan of role-playing games, a tutor, and a consultant, all of which makes him about half a Josh, which is about of a third of Josh past his wildest expectations.
Presence and Musical Exploration (9-12) Wish you felt more comfortable speaking, performing, or simply being in front of an audience? Then this workshop is for you! Come to this safe, supportive, and fun exploration of being in the spotlight and learn to shine!	Denise Gendron has been inspiring young musicians since 1976, by teaching, writing instruction books, and singing original songs. She is the founder and owner of Destiny Press and received the Massachusetts and National Director of the Year Awards from the National School Orchestra Association in 1994.
SET: The Math behind the Game (9-12) The theory behind the game SET, including magic squares, “no set” s, variations and solitaire versions - everything you wanted to know, and more... Please bring your own deck if you have one.	Alexa K is a junior at Mount Holyoke College, double majoring in math and physics. She also teaches math at North Star: Self-Directed Learning for Teens in Hadley, Massachusetts and is a TA for her school’s math department.
Crash Course on Creative Writing (9-12)	Brenna Levitin
Art Trading Cards (6-9) Discuss trading cards, make your own out of our wealth of materials	Susan Eiseman Levitin comes to BIQ from a long background of art and education. This is her fourth year attending and presenting. Currently, she homeschools her 9, 11 and 15 year olds, and is an active member of a number of homeschooled communities.
Multimedia Art (9-12) Come see how artists work with a variety of non-traditional ways. Then take a crack at it yourself with a wide variety of materials.
Calligraphy (9-12) Learn some basic calligraphic letter styles and decorative borders.	Talis Thorndike Love has been attending BIQ for the past 6 years, and finally decided she wanted to lead a panel (or two). Talis is home schooled, and enjoys art. theater, music, anime & manga, and attending conventions of all sorts.
Still Life Drawing (6-12) Wield a pencil, or maybe some charcoal! General drawing instruction for students who may or may not have some experience. We will be drawing from still life with a variety of drawing materials.
Hand-on Exploration of Static Electricity & Magentism (9-12) Many things around us use electricity and magnetism, such as light bulbs, kitchen appliances and television. There is also electricity and magnetism in nature, namely lightning, the earth's magnetic poles, and the Northern Lights. Come explore some basics of electricity and magnetism the fun way, via hands-on discovery!	Lawrence E. Pfeffer, Ph.D. is a multi-faceted Engineer, and parent of two gifted children. He has BA (UCSD) and MS, PhD. from Stanford; see <http://arl.stanford.edu/> His professional interests range from particle physics, software, robotics, electronics and aeronautics to biomedical engineering. He has published 18 technical articles. His other interests include building/inventing things, science fiction, cooking, early music and chocolate. He is a serious tool user (his car no longer fits in his garage!) and believes that "specialization is for insects." His current home project is a repRap: an open-source three-dimensional printer that can reproduce its own parts, and make lots of useful things besides. See http://www.reprap.org or his blog at http://repstrap-cerberus.blogspot.com/
Zome Tools (6-9) Hands-on and interactive discovery session utilizing Zome Tools. Zome Tools are plastic spheres and rods of varying lengths which are designed to connect at various angles. Zome is an excellent tool for enhancing learning in mathematics and science. Zome can be used to build hypercubes, buckyballs, towers, and models, snowflakes and more.	Lorel Shea is a Stay-at-Home Mom and homeschool educator. Her four PG kids range in age from toddler to teen. She lives with her family on ten acres of old New England farmland. Lorel is a gifted editor at bellaonline.com and is an active member of various gifted and homeschool communities. Connor Shea is a lifelong homeschooler who is also a part time college student. He is twelve years old and enjoys acting, math, chemistry, and dungeons and dragons. Connor is a Boy Scout and Davidson Young Scholar.
Free Style Costuming (6-12) Use your imagination, create a costume from our vast supply of fabrics, ribbons and trim.	Internationally-known Persis Thorndike has been running Children's programming at science fiction conventions, home schooling, and gifted and talented conferences for the past 7 years, and has assisted in the activities room at the New England Folk Festival for over 11 years. Mother of a home-schooled 13-year-old, Persis draws from a broad range of interests to plan captivating and entertaining children's activities to keep kids in the 6-12 age range happy and occupied at conferences and conventions.
Origami (6-12) Come fold paper in that ancient and not so ancient Japanese tradition.
Beyond Beijing: Indoor Olympic Games (6-9) Come learn games that they don't do at the Olympics. We'll learn and play traditional childhood games (including jacks, hopscotch, jump rope and more) plus newer activities like competitive cup stacking and other games of hand-eye coordination. Maybe we’ll add in some string theory, balloon volley ball, hop scotch, and possibly more games from the past.