Gifted Unleashed

Sophia Elliott is the founder and podcast host of Our Gifted Kids. She has had a career full of turns and new learnings but found her passion and calling advocation for gifted children and their education. She is a supporter and curator of information for parents of gifted children. She is the mother of three gifted kids and shares her journey and lets other parents of gifted children know that they are not alone. Her podcast and community is just getting started! 

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• There is a need for gifted information and podcasts
• It’s hard to find all the people connected working in the field of giftedness such as teachers, parents, experts, academics, psychologists
• Parenting gifted children is not as easy as the term makes it seem. It’s actually quite challenging.
• Your child is usually all you know so it is sometimes hard to recognise giftedness
• Most parents of gifted children have to advocate and fight for their children to get the educational environment they need
• The higher op on the gifted scale the more specialised education is required because of the asynchronicity
• Gifted people can be amazingly flexible generalists which we don’t seem to  value as much as specialists
• We want to teach our gifted kids to know themselves but how can we do that if we don’t know ourselves?
• We need to give children the vocabulary. They already know that they are different. They need to know why and how and therefore, need the vocabulary
• We need to have a conversation of what it means for kids & adults to be gifted because the experience of the world is different
• Gifted kids are not “easier” or lucky and will not “breeze” through school
• Knowing your giftedness will change the way you see yourself and your experience of the world. It will make sense for the better.
• Gifted children and adults need to learn how to fail at things! If you don’t want to fail as adults it makes it harder to take risks
• You as a parent of a gifted kid has the permission to be THAT parent to have the conversation with schools about your kids need. You have permission to stand up for your child and advocate for it.
• It’s not a reward! It is a gifted child’s right to learn at a pace and stage that they need to learn at!
• Ask the schools if they have gifted students and what they do for them to learn more about the school’s understanding of gifted education
• As a parent you need to be brave and not be afraid to ask the questions and keep looking until you find the right support and school. But it is hard
• Sometimes school miss use the term gifted as high achievers. This is not the same.
• Kids are a gift but not all kids are gifted! 
• Familiarise yourself with the education system for teachers. In Australia only the Master’s program for teachers covers the topic of gifted education. Teachers do not learn about giftedness in undergrad.
• The taboo is so strong and it is NOT ok! This sends the wrong message to the gifted kids telling them THEY are not ok!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Our Gifted Kids website | facebook & facebook group

Listen to the Podcast 

Paula Prober Your Rainforest Mind

Jennifer Harvey Sallin InterGifted

Send us Fan Mail

Would you like to work with me 1:1 as your gifted and 2e coach? Please send me an email at [email protected] or find more information about my coaching offer on my website giftedunleashed.com/coaching

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https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Julie Skolnick is the Founder of With Understanding Comes Calm, LLC, through which she guides parents of gifted and distractible children, mentors 2e adults, trains teachers on how to understand and address 2e strengths and struggles.

Julie serves as Secretary to the Maryland Superintendent’s Gifted and Talented Advisory Council, is an advisor for “The G Word” film. She is the SENG Maryland liaison, a SENG Model Parent Group (SMPG) trained facilitator and on the Simultaneous Supports committee for the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). Julie is also an invited member of the Gifted Homeschoolers Forum Professional Membership Committee.

Julie is also the mother of three twice exceptional children.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Giftedness is much more than the intelligence part, it is essentially heightened awareness
• 2e (Twice Exceptional) means gifted + a learning disability / difference
• 2e kids need to know about their neurology to understand who they are and to thrive in social settings
• Only when you understand yourself, you can understand various situations
• Gifted people do best when they are with gifted people
• 2e does not cancel itself out: The strength may mask the challenge and the challenge might mask the strength
• With understanding comes calm!
• Being 2e is not a shortcoming, look at it as a Superpower
• Executive Functioning difficulties are challenges for example with processing speed, working memory, organisational skills
• ADHD & giftedness can look similar in therms of executive functioning
• Overexcitability can be in one or more of the following areas: intellectual, emotional, imagination, sensual, (sensory) and psychomotor
• Gifted people have bigger antennas so there is more data the gifted brain has to crunch through
• Perfectionism, Imposter Syndrome and Gifted Underachievers are all part of the gifted profile
• Start from your strength! Use a strength based approach. Do what you love, not focusing on what is hard for you. If you don’t start with what you love, you will never get to do it! You got to focus on your strength first!
• You do not have to watch the News! Protect your sensitive self. These are crazy times and you are allowed to protect yourself from the negative News. Instead, do something kind for someone else and do something kind for yourself. 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

With Understanding Comes Calm | Instagram | facebook

2e resources

Let’s Talk 2e | Conference for Educators | Teachers Lounge on facebook

Newsletter

Schedule a free 20 minute consultation

SENG

Send us Fan Mail

Would you like to work with me 1:1 as your gifted and 2e coach? Please send me an email at [email protected] or find more information about my coaching offer on my website giftedunleashed.com/coaching

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https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Pascal Mäser is an Associate Professor at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and the University of Basel. In addition of being a brilliant scientist and a great guitar player, he is also a very good chess player! With the recent success of the Netflix miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit”, chess sales have skyrocketed in the last few weeks. I used this opportunity to invite Pascal onto the show and ask him all my burning questions I had about chess! 

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• To be a good chess player you do not need patience rather you need to be good at stress and crisis management.
• There are different types of chess games depending on how much time is given to each player in total.
• As a beginner progress can be made easily by learning a few key principals.
• Maybe it does not need a special women’s chess federation but rather more encouragement for girls to start learning to play chess at a young age at the same numbers boys start playing chess.
• There are a few great movies and novels written about chess (see below in the links).
• There are two types of chess players: The ones who play the opponent’s chess pieces and the ones who play the opponent! 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Connect with Pascal on LinkedIn

The Elo rating system

Book by Walter Tevis The Queen’s Gambit

Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit 

The Guardian’s article on the success of the Netflix miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit”

Book by Vladimir Nabokov The Luzhin Defense

Movie The Coldest Game

Play online chess on lichess.org

Online chess and tutorials on chess24.com

Chess players mentioned: Carol Partoş Garry Kasparov Judit Polgár Magnus Carlsen Fabiano Caruana Bobby Fischer

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Would you like to work with me 1:1 as your gifted and 2e coach? Please send me an email at [email protected] or find more information about my coaching offer on my website giftedunleashed.com/coaching

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https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Marc Smolowitz is a multi-award-winning director, producer and executive producer who has been significantly involved in 50+ successful independent films wearing many hats across the film and entertainment business In 2009, Marc founded 13th Gen, a San Francisco based film company that works with a dynamic range of independent film partners globally to oversee the financing, production, post-production, marketing, sales, and distribution efforts of a vibrant portfolio of films and filmmakers. In 2016, he received one of the prestigious IFP Fellowships to attend the Cannes Film Festival’s Producers Network and Marche du Film marking him as one of the USA’s most influential independent film producers. 

Currently, Marc is working on the upcoming documentary THE G WORD. Defying popular myths that assume most gifted people are wealthy, white, and will do fine on their own, THE G WORD reveals the economic, cultural, and gender diversity of our nation’s gifted and talented population at every stage of life, highlighting their educational challenges, social isolation, deep emotional sensitivities, and complex, neurodiverse brains. It puts a face to the physical threats experienced by many in our schools and society-at-large, while also revealing a large and lively community of people working hard to meet their needs while challenging the prejudice and trauma that comes with being labeled “smart” in the 21st century.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• #TheShowMustBePaused in this turbulent year, let’s take time to reflect and take a conscious break and for the global experience of this pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement across the globe.
• Giftedness is also a question about diversity, inclusion and equity
• Who gets to be gifted in America and Why?
• It takes a lot of fearlessness to take on difficult subjects such as poverty, PTSD, LGBTQ+ & civil rights, HIV & AIDS
• THE G WORD movie is the first of its kind
• There is a lot of misunderstanding, stereotypes and trauma associated with the term giftedness
• IQ is measured on a vertical line rather than a horizontal line
• Neurodiversity is the backbone of THE G WORD movie
• Words matter and words mean different things to different people
• Movies are able to change hearts & minds about powerful and important issues
• THE G WORD is intended to create impact through the impact enterprise which takes the movie from the screen into the communities
• You need to have an open mind immersing yourself in the topic of giftedness
• #TheFutureIsGifted join the conversation and use this hashtag on social media

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

THE G WORD: Website |  Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | fundraising campaign | webinar series

The Impact Manifesto 

6 short films around THE G WORD

Connect with Marc on LinkedIn

13th Gen: Website Facebook Instagram Twitter

Marc's IMDB page

SENG

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Would you like to work with me 1:1 as your gifted and 2e coach? Please send me an email at [email protected] or find more information about my coaching offer on my website giftedunleashed.com/coaching

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https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Born in France, Pascale moved to Norway about 25 years ago. After working a long time as a teacher, she decided that she needed a career change. She became a gestalt therapist and established her therapy practice in Arendal, the little town in Southern Norway: Arendal Psykoterapi og Utvikling (which translates as Arendal Psychotherapy and Development).

Gestalt therapy is an approach which brings the whole of our being into focus. Her focus as a therapist turned gradually toward giftedness as she realised that many of her clients were, in fact, gifted. 

Her mission as a therapist is to contribute to better mental health and quality of life. Her vision of the world is one where people are more connected to themselves and to the world around them.  

She wishes to give her clients the keys to self-support so that, in time, they can become their own therapist. She loves it when clients spread their wings, make their own choices and experience the freedom of being true to themselves, rather than being who they think others want them to be. 

In Pascale’s view, being a therapist is a bit like being a detective: people who come to her often have lost a sense of happiness and meaning, and a certain inner peace or security, and she accompanies them on their search to find it again. 

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• If you really want something, you can do it, but you need to grow first as a person
• There is a genetic component to giftedness
• When you ask yourself “Am I gifted?” and simultaneously doubt it, chances are high your are indeed gifted. 
• Realising you are gifted helps piece the puzzle together. Your life can seem all over the place where this compoketn is the piece to link all of it together and answers a loft of questions.
• Learning about ones giftedness gives a huge sense of relief and empowerment
• People with high IQ seek out therapy without realising it’s all connected
• Sometimes it’s easier for people to relate to high sensitivity and being highly emotional than the word giftedness
• Knowing your own giftedness takes a bit of tame to make sense of it and to re-evaluate your life
• what you want/need more of and what you want/need less of
• it helps ignite an internal empowerment, a flame and usually gives a new sense of direction
• You get strentghtened in your decisions. You weren’t wrong but you were actually right all along
• Therapy can be used as a tool for self development
• Being gifted doesn’t mean being better than others rather it means approaching life differently
• Gifted people have special needs, for example in the work environment
• Gifted people suffer from imposter syndrome, perfectionism and procrastination

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Pascale’s website arendalpsykoterapi.no

Send her an email at [email protected]

Find Pascale on Instagram @arendalpsykoterapiogutvikling

Send us Fan Mail

Would you like to work with me 1:1 as your gifted and 2e coach? Please send me an email at [email protected] or find more information about my coaching offer on my website giftedunleashed.com/coaching

Support the show

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Two weeks ago Laurence learned about the English term “giftedness” by listening to this podcast. After hearing a few of the guests describe their experiences she stared doing her own google research about this topic. She could relate to the stories and the checklists. A week ago she reached out to a gifted specialist in Munich for her own evaluation. Four days ago she had her appointment and the confirmation that she is indeed an intellectually gifted adult. She is currently processing this information and reflecting on the past as well as planning for her future. Her story is a beautiful and typical example of how someone learns about their own giftedness in their adult life. During these first few days she experienced the typical emotional rollercoaster. It is amazing that Laurence is willing to share and allow us a glimpse into these few vulnerable days.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• You can have a high IQ and be lazy student
• Despite the stereotype, you can be a gifted blond woman
• Some people are made to feel guilty for what others don’t have. For example being a fast learner can evoke jealousy in others.
• What you decide to do with your giftedness is your own personal choice.
• Not knowing about your own giftedness while growing up and being a young adult might be a good thing, as it takes away the pressure and the expectations (from other but also yourself)

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Andrea Schwiebert’s website and book

Praxis für Hochbegabte München website

Send us Fan Mail

Would you like to work with me 1:1 as your gifted and 2e coach? Please send me an email at [email protected] or find more information about my coaching offer on my website giftedunleashed.com/coaching

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https://www.giftedunleashed.com

After years of feeling “too much,” Aurora Remember Holtzmann finally realised that intensity, is the source of her greatest power. Now instead of beating herself up about not measuring up to her own self-imposed standards, she is on a mission to help gifted and outside-the-box thinkers befriend their brains and use their fire without getting burned through her Embracing Intensity Podcast and community, coaching, and strengths-based educational assessment. 

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• If you really want something, you can do it, but you need to grow first as a person
• Gifted children and adults can fall into the category of “underachievers” 
• Gifted children with ADHD are sometimes able to compensate their ADHD with their giftedness, which can lead to chronic pain, exhaustion or burnout
• Children and adults who have two challenges, for example gifted and autism or ADHD are called “2e” or “twice exceptional”
• ADHD is not a lack of attention it is rather a lack of attention regulation
• People with executive functioning challenges have difficulties finishing tasks which might seem very easy and basic to others
• Giftedness does not make you automatically intense and intensity does not make you automatically gifted but if you combine the two, it has its unique issues
• Usually people are not over-diagnosed but rather: people who have ADHD and giftedness might be under-diagnosed due to their ability to compensate for their ADHD
• Gifted people do not seem to have more mental issues over time. Therefore, people seeking for answers and help who are gifted might be the ones who do have twice or tripple exceptionalities. 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Her podcast, blog and so much more can be found on her website: auroraremember.com

You can find a free copy of her workbook, Harnessing the Power of Your Intensity! A Self-Regulation Workbook For Gifted, Creative And Twice-Exceptional thinkers at www.auroraremember.com/harness-your-power

Embracing Intensity Community: embracingintensity.com

Her YouTube Channel

René Brooks black girl lost keys

Aurora’s Youtube video on René Brooks: Thrice-Exceptional: Gifted, ADHD and Black

Jade Ribera blog on overexcitabilities

James Webb’s book Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, Depression, and Other Disorders

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Would you like to work with me 1:1 as your gifted and 2e coach? Please send me an email at [email protected] or find more information about my coaching offer on my website giftedunleashed.com/coaching

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https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Daniel Bruce Levin tested in the genius level in first grade which makes him an intellectually gifted adult. His biography reads like he lived five lives instead of only one. Here is a short bio of what he did so far:

He walked away from an opportunity to run a billion dollar business, to hitchhike around the world to find happiness and inner peace. He studied in a seminary five years and left one day before becoming a Rabbi and he has lived as a Monk in a monastery for 10 years. As Director of Business Development, he grew Hay House from $3,000,000 a year in sales to $100,000,000 a year in revenue.

He is rare blend of businessman and mystic who sees what others do not see. It has been this one quality more than any other that has thrown him into some of the most exclusive boardrooms to help companies innovate new ways of finding solutions when the old ways stop working.

He is the author of The Mosaic, a life changing fable that invites people to listen to those others do not hear and to see the situations in their life differently. 

We talked about his experience in school and how his giftedness has had an influence on his life and the decisions he made and how he sees the world from different angles.

Through out his life he strived for simplicity, a way to describe the complex world in more simple ways. “Simple” is not to be mistaken with “easy” but in a more condensed and pure form with the messy information in a neat format.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• If you really want something, you can do it. But you need to grow first as a person.
• There are different sides to how you can experience the world. Change your perspective and you see a whole new version of the world.
• Everything has a beginning, a middle and an end. Enjoy the middle part! This is where the magic lies.
• Start listening. Not just with your ears but with your mind.
• Listen not only to to what humans say, listen to what your business is telling you, listen to your body, listen nature and your whole environment.
• Simplicity is not the same as easy. Only when you say something in a simple way you have truly understood a complex subject.
• Having a brain which is different from the norm can make you feel isolated and lonely. Keep searching and connecting to people who understand you.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

DanielBruceLevin.com

TheMosaicOnline.Com

TheMosaicPodcast.com

The Mosaic Online Conversations

Where to buy his book: The Mosaic Online Shop or on Amazon

Want to join the Club: The Mosaicbook Club

His YouTube Channel

His email: [email protected]

See the picture of the socialite / old hag in this article on Thrive Global

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Would you like to work with me 1:1 as your gifted and 2e coach? Please send me an email at [email protected] or find more information about my coaching offer on my website giftedunleashed.com/coaching

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https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Saskia De Feijter is a conscious knitter, entrepreneur, podcaster and mom of two. Yes, she is definitely a multipotentialite and maybe also a gifted adult? She is currently on her journey of discovering giftedness as a topic and as an explanation for herself. I invited her onto this show to share with us her story and her struggles to accept the fact that she might be indeed an unidentified adult. She shares her story of how she grew up not fitting in but always knowing exactly who she was and where she wanted to go next. She is only 45 years old but has already had multiple careers in various different industries. But what all her endeavours had in common was her enormous creativity and drive and her passion for the arts.

Confronted with the question if she ever considered being a gifted adult, she is now on her very personal, but also very typical, journey of discovery. She shares her most vulnerable thoughts around this topic and what it would mean for her and hear life looking back but also going forward. 

I am so happy she trusted me to share her story and thoughts and giving us a glimpse in how it feels to be in the middle of a giftedness-discovery journey.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• If you really want something, you can do it. But you need to grow first as a person.
• Trust your heart and brain.
• Knitting is really good for your brain! It is almost therapeutic, especially when your brain is always on overdrive.
• Sometimes we need to go smaller and slower in order to grow bigger in business but also in life!
• The journey of discovering your own giftedness is emotional. It might also be scary and you could experience shame. You are not alone.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Visit Saskia’s website: ja-wol.com

Follow her on Instagram: @jawolrotterdam

Listen to her podcast: A Smaller Life with Saskia De Feijter

Send us Fan Mail

Would you like to work with me 1:1 as your gifted and 2e coach? Please send me an email at [email protected] or find more information about my coaching offer on my website giftedunleashed.com/coaching

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https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Paula Prober is a psychotherapist, consultant, blogger, and author in private practice in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Over the 35+ years she has worked with the gifted, Paula has been a teacher and presenter at universities, webinars, and conferences. She consults internationally with gifted adults and parents of gifted children. Her first book, Your Rainforest Mind: A Guide to the Well-Being of Gifted Adults and Youth, is an in-depth look at giftedness including case studies, strategies for greater self-understanding and growth, and numerous resources. Her new book, Journey Into Your Rainforest Mind: A Guide For Gifted Adults And Teens, Book Lovers, Overthinkers, Geeks, Sensitives, Brainiacs, Intuitives, Procrastinators, and Perfectionists is a compilation of her most popular blog posts and includes specific strategies to guide readers back to authenticity, purpose, love, and to finally deciding what colour to paint the living room.

In this episode I talk with Paula about the Rainforest Mind, what it means to be gifted and how hard it is for people to accept that they are indeed gifted. She also answered all my questions.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Gifted people not necessarily do well in school. School does not necessarily meet the needs of the gifted children.
• Even if you are smart, you might need guidance and you can be depressed and suffer from anxiety.
• If you don’t fit in anywhere, are sensitive and creative you might have a Rainforest Mind
• If you have a hard time believing you are gifted, you probably are.
• You don’t need to have a college degree or high achievements to be a gifted person.
• People are like ecosystems. The rainforest is the most complex of them all. Often misunderstood and being cut down!
• If you answer many of the quiz questions on Paula’s website with yes, you have a Rainforest Mind!
• You don’t need an evaluation, you don’t necessarily need therapy or coaching (unless you want to), read the books and embrace your new found explanation.
• Even if you have an official evaluation, gifted adults have a difficult time accepting that they are gifted. Giftedness is a spectrum. If you need to tell yourself you are BG (barely gifted) in order to accept it, this is fine.
• Some gifted people are mulitpotentials and they don’t want to focus on one thing, one field or one profession.
• Gifted people love to learn but want to learn at their own speed and their interest of the moment.
• Having a non linear learning and working style is gifted trait. Working simultaneously on 10 projects, reading 10 books at the same time without finishing some or all is a gifted trait, not an ADHD trait.
• Gifted people don’t need to finish everything. It could look flaky from the outside but the gifted person already got everything out of it and is ready to move on.
• It can be very lonely to be a gifted person. Once you accept you are gifted and understand yourself, look for other people who share the same interests and values. Don’t give up finding other people like you!
• Gifted people have the urge to do good in the world. To help fight climate change or injustice. Sign up to volunteer and find likeminded people. Find your authentic voice, because the planet needs you!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Visit Paula’s blog and website: rainforestmind.com

Quiz questions: Rainforest Mind Quiz

Send us Fan Mail

Would you like to work with me 1:1 as your gifted and 2e coach? Please send me an email at [email protected] or find more information about my coaching offer on my website giftedunleashed.com/coaching

Support the show

https://www.giftedunleashed.com