twice exceptional

Feeling misunderstood or out of place can be a common experience for twice-exceptional (2e) individuals. This episode of Gifted Unleashed welcomes Julie Skolnick, author of "Gifted and Distractible," to shed light on the unique challenges faced by this remarkable group. Driven by self-love and understanding, Julie navigates us through the wide spectrum of conditions under the 2e umbrella and the importance of focusing on the strengths of these individuals.

Through an enriching conversation, we delve into the fascinating concept of 'masking', a coping mechanism often adopted by 2e individuals. Julie generously shares her "cycle for success" and provides a checklist that can help you find professionals who truly understand and support 2e individuals. We also discuss her much-anticipated book dedicated to adults in the 2e community, a beacon of hope and understanding for many.

Julie's passion for supporting and advocating for 2e individuals is further reflected in her website, withunderstandingcomescalm.com, offering free resources and a membership program for 2e adults. She also shares her upcoming course for parents, a priceless resource for those seeking guidance. As we round off our discussion, Julie emphasizes the importance of validating effort over outcomes or external motivation, a mantra not only for 2e individuals but applicable to all. So, join us on this journey of understanding and loving the twice exceptional individuals in our lives. Don't forget to follow the podcast, leave a review, and stay connected with our newsletter for all things Gifted Unleashed.

WithUnderstandingComesCalm.com
GiftedandDistractible.com
The Hay Stack A community for 2e adults

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

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Mr. Sam is a neurodivergent educator who has ADHD. He’s also the Director of Young Scholars Academy, a strength-based, talent-focused virtual enrichment school that supports twice-exceptional, differently-wired, and gifted students to feel seen, nurtured, and happy as heck.

Mr. Sam shares his struggles growing up with ADHD and how he turned around his struggles into success and how he now helps neurodivergent students thrive.

Listen to this episode and find out the very best ways to help your autistic child thrive and be happy.

Young Scholars Academy:
https://youngscholarsacademy.org/

Embrace Beauty After Grief 6-Week Group Coaching Program:
https://www.mothersguidethroughautism.com/beauty-after-grief/

Purchase my book A Mother's Guide Through Autism:
https://amothersguidethroughautismbook.com/book

Sign up to get news and updates from me: https://www.mothersguidethroughautism.com

Theme song: Look at the Clouds by Tristan Lohengrin
https://soundcloud.com/tristanlohengrin/look-at-the-clouds

One of the big topics I talk about and something i joke will be written on my tomb stone one day is “Sensory is behavior” i’m always trying to reframe the debate “is it sensory or is it behavior?” because everything that we’re noticing our kids do is a behavior, but what parents/teachers want to get to the root of is “is this kid doing this thing on purpose or is it out of their control?” 

So what I try to reframe for them is is the behavior being driven by a sensory trigger- OR is it being driven by something ELSE. And that something else can be cognitive disabilities, learning differences, need for connection, communication differences etc- and while I always call those reasons out, I rarely get to dive into those and unpack it, because I heavily talk about all the ways sensory can impact learning. So today we get to hear more of the “other” reasons that behavior might be happening.

Caitlin Greer Meister is the Founding Director & CEO of The Greer Meister Group, a New York City-based private tutoring and educational consulting practice that specializes in content mastery, cognitive flexibility, resilience, and academic independence. She is trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach for teaching students with language-based learning differences and has extensive experience working with gifted learners and supporting neurodiverse students. Caitlin has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Parents Magazine, New York Magazine, Real Simple, WWD, and more

Follow Caitlin on Instagram @caitlingreermeister or visit joyfullylearning.com for more information.

In this episode, you’ll learn: 

• What a profoundly gifted student is and some early signs you might notice
• Examples of how you can meet your gifted child’s needs at home and outside the classroom
• When and how you should advocate with your child’s teacher about their different learning needs 
• Why you should be talking to your child about the way their brain works

Episode transcript: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/80

The OT Butterfly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

Work with Laura: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult

Sensory Detectives Bootcamp Waitlist
Episode transcript: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/podcast

The OT Butterfly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

Work with Laura: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult

Buy "A kids book about neurodiversity" : www.theotbutterfly.com/book

How to support twice exceptional children, talking about uncomfortable topics with kids, and why we can't dig up dead bodies. A special reading included about Dr. Franklin Kriewaldt, written by the late Jeff Gretzinger. 

From a very young age, Emily Hamblin’s son would have meltdowns and get intensely angry. He was also really bright. He was ahead of the curve academically and scored in the 99th percentile on standardized testing. His teachers would say he was just “smart and quirky.” That didn’t sit right with Emily, though. She knew something else was going on.  

Then one day, a friend suggested that Emily look into ADHD. Emily was skeptical at first. But when she learned more, it was clear that this was the missing puzzle piece. Her son was twice exceptional: He’s gifted AND he has ADHD. And this discovery even helped Emily recognize ADHD symptoms in herself. 

Emily co-hosts a podcast called Enlightening Motherhood, which aims to help moms who are overwhelmed by their kids’ big emotions. Listen in to hear how Emily reframes ADHD symptoms in a positive light. 

To find a transcript for this episode and more resources, visit the episode page at Understood. We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at ADHDAha@understood.org. You can also download Wunder by Understood. This free app includes exercises that can help you track your child's behavior, look for patterns, and get personalized tips along the way. 

Understood.org is a resource dedicated to shaping the world so the 70 million people in the U.S. with learning and thinking differences can thrive. Learn more about ADHD Aha! and all our podcasts at u.org/podcasts. Copyright © 2023 Understood for All, Inc. All rights reserved. Understood is not affiliated with any pharmaceutical company.

Join Licensed Educational Psychologist Jessika Shields as she interviews special education educator, advocate, and leader Aimee Rodriguez about how to prepare the twice exceptional child for a future of independence.

Learn more about what parents and educators can do to support to ensure that  children learn the skills needed to be successful over the course of their lifetime.

Also, Aimee shares her personal story about living with a neurodivergent spouse, and how this has made her a stronger advocate for families.

About This Episode's Special Guest:
For consulting, speaking & information on all programs, visit www.aimeecrodriguez.com

To learn more about Aurora Creative Learning Solutions, Inc. and programs including Aurora Scholars and the Family Empowerment Institute, visit www.auroracreativelearning.com

Find Aimee on social!
Facebook: @AimeeRodriguezMusic
Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn: @AimeeCRodriguez

To access more Podcast resources, visit strongermindsstrongeryouth.com

Get Social!!!
Twitter: @Official_SMSY
FB: @StrongerMindsStrongerYouth
Instagram: @StrongerMindsStrongerYouth
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jessikashields

Thank you so much for listening! 

Aileen Kelleher is a licensed clinical social worker and therapist in Chicago. She specializes in working with gifted and twice exceptional children, adults and families.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Being able to have some distance from your thoughts, being able to not over identify yourself, your sense of self with the thoughts that come into your head and knowing not everything you're thinking is a fact or the truth. 
• Mindfulness practice can help you to start to observe your thoughts without judgment.
• Giftedness often comes with one, two or more overexcitabilites (OEs) as defined by Dabrowski as intellectual imagination, sensory, psychomotor, and emotional intensities.
• Children with imagination intensities for example can find an escape in video games where they create whole new worlds.
• Gifted children often times are treated by adults or by parents as if they are on par with adults. They are being treated as if they have the ability to manage their emotions the way adults do. But they really don't. If anything, as we know, through asynchronous development, gifted kids probably have less capacity than other kids at their age to manage their emotions sometimes.
• As a gifted adult you sometimes have to peel back the layers or undo some of the things that you've developed as coping mechanisms that are no longer serving you because you had to get through a world and a system that wasn't built for you.
• Gifted people often set very high standards for how they believe they should perform or how they believe they should act.
• Gifted kids can feel like they're wrong because they're different as opposed to they're just different.
• If you're a parent of a gifted kid, get involved in the gifted community because parents are a wealth of information.
• It is important to get the whole family involved as intensities and sensitivities of all family members should be addressed.
• When the parents start to heal, the kids start to heal and vice versa and everyone kind of relaxes around one another. 
• It is difficult for 2e children to find an educational fit.
• The main issue of why this idea of being different is so hard for kids and adults, because we want to fit in. We're wired to connect and to belong.
• Social perfectionism, means that you feel like you have to look perfect in social situations in order to be accepted. But the way people connect is often through their vulnerabilities.
• Most of the families don't like the term gifted, it causes an insecurity because what if you don't live up to that standard?
• Trauma stores and manifests in the body.
• If you are a gifted adult know that you are worthy of love and belonging the way you are! You don't have to earn it. You don't have to be smart enough. You don't have to be talented enough. You don't have to be creative enough.
• Show your vulnerability! As your vulnerability is an asset and their sensitivity and intensity are assets. There’s not something wrong with you! 💝

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Aileen Kelleher’s website: aileenkelleher.com and Instagram: @aileen.imagines

Overexcitabilities by

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

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Erin Keeley has an inspiring life story of tenacity that began with studying climate change in Antarctica for her Master’s in Engineering and then took a sudden turn when her brother, also an engineer, took his own life in 2002. Instead of going on to complete her PhD, she decided to dedicate her life to understanding how our culture contributes to individual pain and suffering. She has since dedicated her life to human services that make cultural differences and create more life satisfaction for individuals.

Erin is a certified Authentic Relationship Coach and is trained in multiple methods of Executive Coaching and Organizational Health Consulting. 

She is a public speaker for women’s leadership, yoga and interpersonal growth. Erin’s superpower is her keen ability to see blind-spots in organizations, teams and individuals. Once a blind-spot (an unconscious pattern that is sabotaging a goal) is identified, she creates the psychological safety for teams to fearlessly face their problems head-on and make powerful changes that stick. When Erin is on your team, look out! She doesn’t settle: She will make sure you meet your goals. 

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• There is a genetic component in neurodivergence
• Some gifted facebook groups are mostly affluent white Christians
• Unconscious biases and cultural stereotypes feed into who gets identified and accepted gifted and who not
• If students knew about their giftedness, they might pick harder schools and/or a different degree
• Gifted humans care about the planet and climate change issues deeply
• Gifted people like to be (unconsciously) surrounded by other gifted people
• Depressions and mental health issues are important topics in the gifted population as they are typically emotional sensitive
• As a gifted person you usually learn on the job and on the go
• Gifted people can burn out by the bureaucracy
• Gifted people usually need to do multiple things, like intellectual and embodiment
• Gifted stay at home mums need intellectual stimulation
• People stay at a job when they feel close to the people at work!  Relationships are very important and it’s importance is underestimated by companies. 
• Authentic relationships are key
• Overexcitabilities are for example expressed by not liking tags on clothes
• 2e (Twice Exceptional) children and adults need special support
• Parents learn about their own neurodivergence usually through their own kids
• There are a lot of gifted women who literally think there is something wrong with them
• People do not want to say they are gifted in public because it sounds elitist
• Women with high empathy levels project it onto narcissistic people who do not have this heightened sense of empathy. This leaves them vulnerable to psychological abuse such as gaslighting

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Erin Keeley’s webistes: giftedwomensummit.com | interpersonalinstitute.com | erinkeeley.com

Erin Keeley on linkedIn 

Instagram @giftedwomensummit

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

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 |

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

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:

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

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

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

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: zenseidanny@me.com

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

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

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

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

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:

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

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Craig is an amazing person! He spent most of his life in the navy and travelled the world. But only when he retired from the military and worked in corporate America, he realised he was different. It turns out Craig is on the Autism spectrum with Aspergers and this is the reason why reading facial expressions and other communication cues do not come naturally to him. But he realised that communication and interactions between people is so important that he started learning and applying the science of human interactions and communication. Today he is in the process of launching his own business of helping young people and people with Aspergers to learn how to communicate better. In today’s time this is even more important as we start loosing the in person connection due the increasing use of social media and social distancing. We can all learn from Craig and his message of having a face to face conversation with people around you and start to truly listen and engaging.  

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Everyone can learn to communicate better. It is a skill and like any other, can be taught and learned.
• Every person deserves to be able to communicate well.
• Be kind to everyone, especially to the people who are not your favourites!
• When you improve your communication skills, your relationships and hence your quality of life will improve, too.
• Society wants to conform us to a system. If you don’t conform, you are ostracised.
• You can be friends with someone without agreeing on everything.
• The most important thing when communicating is to be able to read the other person’s emotion and being empathic. It is important to understand the meaning and the context something was said in, not just the words.
• Knowledge isn’t the same as understanding.
• The more connected we become, the less personal our interactions become.
• Put your phones down and have a conversation with the people you are with.
• Our mind is set up to keep you safe not to make you happy. We often make decisions based on fear.
• Journaling helps you to communicate with yourself. Listening to yourself is confronting.
• Discovering and overcoming your own limiting believes is key. You are the only one standing in your own way.
• Be careful how you speak to yourself! Speak to yourself only like you speak with other people.
• Everyone wants to be seen, it is our human need.
• Be aware of what you say and how you say it. Make it fun! Smile when you pick up the phone!
• There is only one race: the human race!
• Your ability to do good is greater than you realise. Together we can make a real big impact!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Contact Craig via email at hello@escapingsocialawkwardness.com

Cathy Heller and her Podcast Don't keep your day job

The Science of People

Zig Ziglar

Seth Godin

Mel Robbins

Book: The third door

Book: The big l

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

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

I had the pleasure to speak to Jennifer Harvey Sallin. She is the founding director of InterGifted, an oasis for gifted adults in the neuronorm desert. She shares her incredible story of being an identified gifted child who grew up in an enriched classroom environment but who was never told that giftedness and all its attributes will be part of her identity for the rest of her life. Only once she suffered through gifted related struggles in her mid-twenties, she started exploring what it means to be a gifted adult. She founded InterGifted out of necessity to provide attuned service and support for people like her. She shares with us how InterGifted started out and what it has become over the last five years. This month marks the 5 years anniversary of her amazing platform and community and I am wishing her and her team all the best for what is yet to come!

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• If there are gifted children, there are also gifted adults.
• There are 6 basic areas of intelligence: intellectual, emotional, creative, sensual, physical and existential. (www.intergifted.com/what-is-giftedness)
• Giftedness is a spectrum from mildly to profoundly gifted: (intergifted.com/high-exceptional-profound)
• You don’t need to do an IQ test to know if you are gifted. The evaluation is done in a verbal assessment based on your experiences. No need to be scared of the “test”!
• If you find out you are gifted, please learn and understand what this means for you. Otherwise you bring gifted baggage into your relationships with friends and family but also with co-workers and other social interactions. 
• We live in a complex world and we need all hands on deck! Do your research about giftedness now so that you can show up as your authentic self and with all your potential!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

www.InterGifted.com

Jennifer’s Gifted Trauma Podcast: www.intergifted.com/conversations-gifted-trauma

Jennifer on the Embracing Intensity Podcast: https://www.auroraremember.com/episode-00/10-the-experience-of-giftedness-with-jennifer-harvey-sallin

Jennifer shares her story why she started InterGifted: www.intergifted.com/growing-gifted-community 

www.rediscovering-yourself.com

Dabrowski's overexcitabilities: www.intergifted.com/living-with-intensity

Difference between overexcitabilites and giftedness (also linked in the above article): (drdevon.com/giftedness-and-overexcitabilities-part-8-of-myth-busters-alternative-therapies-for-2e-learners)

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

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

In this episode I had the pleasure to talk to Dr. Marie-Lise Schläppy. She is a Marine Biologist and also an expert in gifted education. She shares with us her story and her hypothesis that we better not call it what it is: gifted! A lot of unidentified gifted adults are put off by the term “gifted” due to stigma. In order to capture their attention and to start a conversation it might be better we use synonyms to describe giftedness such as “intensity” “complexity” and “sensitivity”. We also talked about the need for gifted adults to be identified as this information is important for increase in well-being. Giftedness affects all aspects of someone’s life. Knowing you are gifted helps manage expectations and will help you see yourself in a more positive light.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• If there are gifted children, there are also gifted adults.
• A lot of gifted adults did not get identified in childhood. 
• The older you are when you find out you are gifted, the harder it is to accept it.
• Finding out one is gifted can be a very emotional process.
• Being identified as gifted has the potential to change someone’s life! 
• Knowing one is gifted helps heal the past and increases well-being.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Dr Marie-Lise Schläppy on LinkedIn

Dr Marie-Lise Schläppy on Youtube - Theory of positive disintegration

The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine N. Aron

Être Adulte À Haut Potentiel: Paroles Et Témoignages by Stéphanie Bénard    

Enjoying the Gift of Being Uncommon: Extra Intelligent, Intense, and Effective by Willem Kuipers

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

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Lauren Buongiovanni and Dr. Elisabeth Sheff discuss the myths and facts about polyamorous families and their children.

Do you suffer from imposter syndrome? Have you been called „too much“, „too intense“ „too sensitive“? Do you just hate inequality? Do you have difficulties finding your career path because you are a multi potential person who has a 1000 ideas and 500 projects... all at the same time? Do you have a weird evolved sense of humour? Do you suffer from dyslexia but are fast at grasping new concepts? Do you have a hard time fitting in and sometime feel like a minority of one? 

Well you are not alone! This is why I am here. I felt the urge and need to have a place to collect all the interesting stories, concepts and ideas which inspired me over the last couple of years. But more importantly, I stumbled across a very interesting and surprising finding! It’s not a secret. But I can‘t name it, because THAT word might scare you off! 

If you relate remotely to anything I just mentioned then this show is for you! I would love for you to give it a listen. It might help you realise that what you‘ve always thought what is „wrong“ with you, is actually what is right with you! 

So together we will make your Mondays awesome and help you tackle the week, the month, the year and your life!

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

https://www.giftedunleashed.com