Mind Matters

When factual, peer-reviewed data is hard to find, or hidden behind paywalls, we often end up relying on pseudo-science or questionable information. In fact, some long-held beliefs in the area of neurodiversity are based on little more than anecdotal evidence. Erin Miller and Hope Wilson will be part of an NAGC conference panel in November examining pseudo-science in the area of neurodiversity. They share some of their findings with Emily Kircher-Morris on episode 66 of the Mind Matters podcast. ABOUT THE GUESTS - Dr. Erin M. Miller is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Bridgewater College. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology-Gifted from the University of Virginia, and teaches in the fields of Cognition Sciences, Measurement and Statistics, Cognitive Neurosciences and Creativity. She’s a member of the National Association for Gifted Children and will present during the 2020 NAGC Virtual Convention in November. Dr. Hope Wilson is an associate professor of education at the University of North F

The history of the term “twice-exceptionality” is not a long one. On episode 65 Emily Kircher-Morris talks with Dr. Susan Baum about her early experience with “green” kids, and how the term twice-exceptional was born. They also discuss ideas for parents and educators that will help them guide 2e kids to success. About the guest - Dr. Susan Baum is co-director of the International Center for Talent Development and Director of the National Institute for 2E Research and Development at Bridges Academy. Professor Emeritus from The College of New Rochelle, and an international consultant, Susan is published in a multitude of books, chapters, and articles in the areas of twice-exceptional students, primary-aged gifted students, social and emotional factors affecting gifted students, and multiple intelligences. She served on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Gifted Children and is past president and co-founder of the Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students. She is recipien

We’re talking about creativity on episode 64. We define it, because there are some misconceptions, and we discuss ways to foster creativity in your kids or students. Are there connections between neurodiversity and creativity? We have Dr. Todd Kettler from Baylor University, author of Developing Creativity in the Classroom, to share what he’s learned. About the guest - Dr. Todd Kettler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology in the School of Education at Baylor University. He teaches courses in gifted education and talent development, creativity, and the history and systems of psychology with educational applications. Dr. Kettler conducts research on access to advanced academic learning opportunities in schools. His book, Modern Curriculum for Gifted and Advanced Academic Students won the Legacy Award for the best scholarly book in the field of gifted education in the United States in 2016. He also wrote Developing Creativity in the Classroom: Learning and Innovation in 21st Cent

Kids who are both twice-exceptional and from culturally diverse populations have been dubbed “3e learners” by Dr. Joy Lawson Davis and others. On episode 63, Emily and Joy talk about identifying these students, and training educators to better help them reach their highest potential. About the guest - Dr. Joy Lawson Davis is a career educator with over 30 years of experience as a practitioner, scholar, author, and consultant. A graduate of the College of William & Mary, Dr. Davis holds both Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Gifted Education. She has conducted workshops, been a long-term program consultant, and served as a keynote speaker and distinguished guest lecturer in the United States, South Africa and the Caribbean. She has published numerous articles, technical reports, and book chapters. She is currently the Special Populations columnist for the NAGC publication Teaching for High Potential, and serves on the Gifted Child Today advisory board. Dr. Davis served a two-year term as chair of the NAGC’

Social norms, diverse personalities, and power dynamics, are some of the most valuable lessons of childhood. When children better understand bullies and how to stand up to them, they also better understand themselves. Amanda Morin joins Emily to talk about diverse personalities and power dynamics, and helping neurodiverse kids understand bullying, on episode 62. About the guest - Amanda Morin worked as a classroom teacher and as an early intervention specialist for 10 years. She has been working as an education writer since 2007 and played an integral role in launching Understood.org in 2014. As an educator and parent of kids with learning issues, she has been an active member of numerous Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams and believes strongly in the importance of educators partnering with families. Morin received a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Maine and special education advocacy training from the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates. She is the author of four books,

College admissions in a post-Covid-19 world have changed, and many universities have stopped requiring SAT and ACT scores, at least for 2020-2021. We discuss testing and test prep with Mike Bergin and Amy Seeley, who help students prepare for testing and understand how it works. They are the hosts of the Tests and the Rest podcast, and are guests on episode 61 of Mind Matters. About the guests - Mike Bergin is an education industry expert who has designed, developed, or delivered instruction to countless students over the last 25 years. Mike started as a test prep teacher for Kaplan Test Prep, and became Center Director overseeing seven New York counties. Since then he’s worked for Huntington Learning Center, revising its test prep curriculum and systems, and in 2009, Mike founded Chariot Learning. Mike is a co-host of the Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry podcast. Amy Seeley is a certified and licensed secondary-education teacher, receiving her degree from John Carroll University.  She began he

Depending on what happens with Covid-19 this summer and fall, it’s likely there will be some influence on plans for the 2020-2021 school year. Whether it’s a delayed start, more online learning from home, or a different classroom setup, it looks like we’ll be writing more new rules for education. On episode 60, Emily Kircher-Morris talks with FlexSchool’s Jacqui Byrne about the future of online learning. About the guest - Jacqui Byrne is the founder of FlexSchool, a learning community for gifted and 2e students. She has a background in education, teaching, counseling, and writing. She is the co-founder of the widely respected Ivy Ed college preparation and counseling firm. Jacqui developed her own verbal test prep curriculum and also wrote a test prep book for McGraw-Hill. She has provided services for school district guidance counselors, spoken at college parent nights, and presented at professional conferences. Prior to founding Ivy Ed, she taught creative writing to gifted students at Milton Academy. Jacqu

Dyslexia is often misunderstood, and educators and parents sometimes mistake it for a simple reading deficit. Dr. Dan Peters joins Emily Kircher-Morris to talk about dyslexia, as well as dysgraphia, and dyscalculia; their indications, where to go for diagnosis, and ways to help your child adapt. The basics of, and the often stealth nature of, dyslexia, on episode 59. About the guest - Dr. Dan Peters is a psychologist, author, co-founder and Executive Director of the Summit Center. Dr. Peters has devoted his career to the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and families, specializing in overcoming worry and fear, learning differences such as dyslexia, and issues related to giftedness and twice-exceptionality.  Dr. Dan is also co-founder of Parent Footprint, an interactive parenting education community and website. He is host of the Parent Footprint Podcast with Dr. Dan and is a contributor to The Huffington Post and Psychology Today. Dan is the author of Make Your Worrier a Warrior: A Guide to C

As part of our series on the coronavirus pandemic, on episode 58 we’re delving into the trauma aspect. How will we respond to the pressure to venture out? How will the human species be affected, changed, challenged? What will we tell our grandchildren about the experience? We’ll use Christine Fonseca and her new book, Healing the heart: Helping Your Child Thrive After Trauma, as a template for this compelling conversation. About the guest - Christine Fonseca is a licensed educational psychologist, critically acclaimed author, and a nationally recognized speaker on topics related to educational psychology, mental health, giftedness, and using storytelling to heal past wounds. Christine has written for Psychology Today, the parenting blog Parenting for A New Generation, Parents.com, Johnson & Johnson, and Justine Magazine. Her critically acclaimed books include her newest, Healing the Heart: Helping Your Child Thrive After Trauma. Other works include The Caring Child: Raising Empathetic and Emotionally Inte

It’s no secret that gifted kids often see the world differently than neurotypical peers. They also see the coronavirus pandemic differently, and experience stress and anxiety in different ways. We talk with Dr. Edward Amend about life in a pandemic, how to talk with kids about this event, things we can do to minimize anxiety, and how counseling and therapy sessions are adapting to meet the requirements of quarantine. It’s all on episode 57 of Mind Matters. About the guest - Edward R. Amend, Psy.D., is a Clinical Psychologist at The Amend Group in Lexington, KY. He has worked in both private practice and community mental health settings, as well as in consulting positions with clinics, hospitals, schools, and other organizations. Dr. Amend is co-author of A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children, and Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, Depression, and Other Disorders. Dr. Amend has held various positions, including on the Board of Directors of Supporting Em

The world is at the same time both together and necessarily apart. We’re all going through the same pandemic, and most of us are practicing “social distancing.” How does that affect us? Some believe it can be a time for growth, and that’s the subject of episode 56. Our guest is author and family therapist Chris Crutcher, and this is a conversation you and your family won’t want to miss. About the guest - Chris Crutcher is a native of Cascade, Idaho. He spent the 1970s as a teacher, then as director of a K-12 alternative school in Oakland, California. The following 20+ years he was a therapist specializing in child abuse and neglect. Those years largely inform his thirteen novels and two collections of short stories. He has also written what he calls an ill-advised autobiography titled King of the Mild Frontier, which was designated by Publisher’s Weekly as “the YA book most adults would have read if they knew it existed.” Chris was awarded the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achiev

There are social, academic, and personal obstacles inherent to boys, and when you add other features like giftedness, things can get complicated. How can we help boys understand social expectations, and learn to be themselves, often in spite of those expectations? Dr. Tom Hébert talks with us about the things he’s learned as an educator, and as a trainer of educators working in gifted education. About the guest - Thomas Hébert, Ph.D., is a Professor of Gifted and Talented Education in the College of Education at the University of South Carolina. He has more than a decade of K-12 classroom experience working with gifted students and over 20 years in higher education training graduate students and educators in gifted education. He has also conducted research for the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) and the Association for the Gifted of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and has been a consultan

What is Pathological Demand Avoidance and how does it manifest among the neurodiverse? What can we do to educate parents, teachers, and counselors about how to approach it? Understanding demand avoidance can completely transform the way you look at a child. Harry J. Thompson joins Emily Kircher-Morris for this important discussion about PDA, on episode 54. About the guest - Harry J. Thompson was born in Edgware, and grew up in Barnet in north London. He is currently based in London, UK. An avid reader & researcher, Harry speaks publicly and is heavily involved in projects & research on all topics around neurodiversity and autism; namely, Pathological Demand Avoidance. Harry began to write the first draft of his book in 2015. After connecting with many autistic & PDA families, he pivoted his direction and completed his book in about 6 weeks, a memoir entitled the PDA Paradox: The Highs and Lows of My Life on a Little-Known Part of the Autism Spectrum, published in February 2019. He launched his You

Emily Kircher-Morris and Dr. Ellen Braaten discuss processing speed and why it’s important. They also talk about when it’s not so important, and why it varies so much from child to child. They discuss the impact it has on intelligence testing scores, and ways to help kids increase their processing speed. Dr. Braaten is coauthor of the book Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up. About the guest -  Dr. Ellen Braaten is the Director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP) at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Track Director of the Child Psychology Training Program at MGH/Harvard Medical School. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Braaten received her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Colorado, her PhD in Psychology at Colorado State University, and completed her internship training at Massachusetts General Hospital. She has been affiliated with Mass. General Hospital since 1998. Dr. Braaten is widely recognized as an expert in the field of pedia

When a child asks a question, do you just give them the answer? If so, you’re missing an opportunity to help them develop critical thinking skills. On episode 52 we are joined by Colin Seale, founder of ThinkLaw, an organization committed to helping educators teach critical thinking. We talk about how kids learn the skill, and how teachers can better teach critical thinking. About the guest - Colin Seale is a critical thinking expert, achievement-gap educator, child welfare reformer, education-for-all advocate, and former attorney who founded ThinkLaw—an award-winning program that helps educators teach critical thinking to all students using real-life legal cases and other Socratic and powerful inquiry strategies. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com Thank you for caring about k

Why is there a bright line between academia and the arts? Between cognition and creativity? Where should that line break down? Or should it? And, why do educators and others think of creativity only in terms of art or music, when it also applies to problem solving and cognition? We talk with Dr. Jennifer Fisher, who is both a university assistant teaching professor and an art education coordinator. We talk about how to bridge that gap, and hear from a gifted student’s struggle to be academic and artistic. About the guest - Jennifer Fisher, PhD, is an Assistant Teaching Professor and Coordinator of Art Education in the Department of Educator Preparation, Innovation and Research in the College of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She is a joint faculty member in the Department of Art & Design within the College of Arts and Sciences.  She holds a teaching certificate in the state of Missouri, where she is certified to teach Art K-12, Gifted K-12, and English Language Arts 5-12. She received

On episode 50 we talk with Haley Taylor Schlitz, a 17-year-old first-year law student who began college at age 13. We discuss her education experience, some of the benefits and barriers of homeschooling, and we imagine what the perfect public school system would be like. About the guest - At age 17, Haley Taylor Schlitz has graduated from Texas Woman's University with a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies, and has chosen to attend SMU Dedman School of Law, after being accepted to many prestigious law schools. Homeschooling allowed her to advance through high-school at her own pace, graduating at age 13, ready for college. Haley excelled as an honors student while representing the College of Professional Education as a Student Senator. Additionally, Haley has been actively involved in meaningful extracurricular activities such as The Representation Project, where she works to eliminate limiting stereotypes in the media, and serve as a catalyst for cultural transformation. Haley lives with her family in Fort Worth,

As we move into the 2020s, we look back at some of the conversations we had in the two years of our podcast’s history. While we covered a variety of subjects, one seemed to pop up just above the fray. We’re revisiting some of our best conversations about twice-exceptionality, on this special 49th episode of Mind Matters. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com Thank you for caring about kids. Copyright © 2019 Morris Creative Services LLC. All rights reserved.

Shopping for the holidays can be a headache, but choosing the right gifts for high-ability kids is extra-challenging. Between meal planning and decorating, Jen Merrill found time to pop in with holiday stories and gift ideas, and Emily divulges her darker history as a “peeker.” Shopping for the hard-to-buy-for kids in your life, on this special holiday edition of Mind Matters. About our guest - Jen Torbeck Merrill is an Illinois-based writer and gifted family advocate. The mom of two teen sons, she homeschooled one and is happily watching her public schooler thrive. She is a music educator by trade, with degrees in Music Education and Flute Performance. Still, long before she picked up a flute as a child, Jen wanted to be a writer. She began that career in 2006, focusing on gifted families and advocacy. Her book, If This is a Gift, Can I Send It Back?: Surviving in the Land of the Gifted and Twice-Exceptional, struck a nerve with families who suspected Jen was living in their closet. Her second book, on the n

Often, gifted kids feel isolated and unable to find like-minded peers, so they end up lacking opportunities to socialize and communicate. Dr. Jean Peterson joins us to talk about ways to bring gifted kids into the conversation, including tips on conducting gifted discussion circles and group counseling. Getting kids talking - on episode 47 of Mind Matters. About the guest - Jean Sunde Peterson, Ph.D., Professor Emerita and former Director of School Counselor Preparation at Purdue University, was a classroom and gifted-education teacher for many years and was involved in teacher education prior to graduate work in counseling at The University of Iowa. She is author of Get Gifted Students Talking, Gifted at Risk: Poetic Profiles, and The Essential Guide to Talking with Gifted Teens, as well as over 100 journal articles, books, and invited chapters. She is a former chair of the Counseling and Guidance Network and also served two terms on the NAGC Board of Directors. You can support the podcast and receive subscr