Sessions 1A-1F

9:30AM-9:50AM
Session 1A: Matthew Fugate
Lifting the Cloak of Invisibility: A Collective Case Study of Gifted Girls with ADHD
(Research)

The manifestation of ADHD characteristics in girls can result in emotional and behavioral issues, placing stress on peer and family relationships. As they enter their middle-school years, these characteristics can place additional strains on both academic and personal performance. Girls who are gifted and ADHD display characteristics of both, resulting in unique benefits and challenges. It is important that educators develop an understanding of the experiences, perceptions, and needs of this population. This collective case study examined the lived experiences of girls with characteristics of both giftedness and ADHD in order to gain understanding of the array of coping mechanisms used by this population as they navigate the academic and social pressures of their secondary school years. It is my hope that this research will serve as a base line for future study of these ADHD (Attention Divergent Hyperactive Gifted) girls.

10:40AM-11:00AM
Session 1B: Heather Lai & Ley-Anne Folks
Teaching Executive Function Skills: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice with 2e Learners
(Research)

This presentation focuses on the results of a three-year action research project based on supporting executive function skill development in a congregated gifted setting. This research is particularly important given the asynchronous nature of development in gifted and twice exceptional learners. The areas of executive functioning on which we will focus are organization, working memory, behavior management, planning, prioritization, task initiation, sustained attention, metacognition, and corresponding supportive academic strategies.

11:10AM-11:30AM
Session 1C: Dr. Nicole A. Tetreault
The Neuroscience of Guiding Twice Exceptional Students to Thrive
(Research)

Dr. Nicole Tetreault addresses the dangers of over identifying with diagnoses, and calls out Neurodiversity as the “new normal.” Twice exceptionality (2e) goes beyond learning in the classroom it is a way of experiencing and navigating in the world. 2e children express extraordinary gifts and challenges, where their efforts do not match their imagination and original ideas. Often these children appear as asynchronous and test all over the map leaving them deflated, anxious, drained, and demotivated. Understanding brain processing and nontraditional learning styles of 2e students provides opportunity for creative teaching strategies and solutions. With the advancements in neuroscience, physiology, and psychology research, we can design education specific to the individual while meeting the needs of the whole person. Join this session to understand ways to activate and encourage positive neural pathways and mindful techniques to nurture a divergent thinker and mind. Guide your 2e student to thrive.

11:40AM-12:00PM
Session 1D: Sara Renzulli, Ph.D. & Nick Gelbar, Ph.D.
2E Goes to College:  Supporting 2E Students as They Prepare to Graduate High School
(Research)

This presentation will provide an overview of the best practices for supporting 2E students during the college admissions and matriculation process. The scientific literature concerning adolescents who are 2E and the special education secondary transition literature will be synthesized to provide suggestions for how to best support these students. This presentation will also provide an overview of the legal differences between the secondary and college systems for supporting individuals with disabilities and use this difference as a lens for framing how to best support this population. Specific considerations for high school curricula, choosing potential colleges, and disclosing to colleges will be addressed. The importance of a strength-based approach in concert with developing self-determination and self-advocacy skills will be highlighted.

12:10PM-12:30PM
Session 1E: Dr. Dan Greenwood
Using Data to Identify Appropriate Careers for 2e Students and Young Adults
(Project)

Data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Department of Labor can be used to identify careers that leverage a 2e student’s strengths and minimizes their deficits. By manipulating 136 variables in categories like cognitive, physical, and psychomotor abilities, as well as social skills, learning differences, knowledge areas, work style preferences, and much more, one is able to isolate the best matching careers for students with exceptional strengths and deficits. See how this ocean of data can be mined to find the best careers for our students.

12:40PM-1:00PM
Session 1F: Niki Saccareccia, ERYT
A Protocol for Creating Sustained Wellness in High-Performing Communities
(Research)

Stress is becoming an increasingly cited factor in all areas of human performance, spanning the scope of interpersonal relationships to self-regulation and self-care. Despite more prevalent access to mental health professionals and a high-volume of empirical research supporting meditation as a valuable resource in combating chronic stress and fatigue, individuals continue to remain thwarted by their own best intentions. As teachers, caregivers and adults, we understand the benefits of relaxation and sleep, but fail to construct a lifestyle and mindset that prioritizes it. Like our high-performing students, we fail to follow through on our own self-care ambitions and suffer the consequences of poor diet, sleeplessness, chronic stress and physical inflexibility. This ultimately affects the education and administration of our professional responsibility, while maintaining an obsolete model for coping with a high volume of demands or how to balance work and personal life.

Relaxation Residency is an evidence-backed curriculum that provides a protocol to establish long-term, sustained habits that promote overall well-being, increased mental focus, and physical relaxation while fostering social-emotional learning. 

This presentation will offer a brief review of the most current research to support mindfulness, meditation and yoga in the academic and corporate environment. It will also review the data from a pilot study conducted at Van Nuys Medical Magnet High School as an in-vivo case study on Relaxation Residency, in the field. It will conclude with an overview of the curriculum and handbook, and a short experiential component of some content provided during the course, itself.