Resources: Professionals

Organizations, Websites & Mailing Lists  -  Course Offerings  -  Books & Publications

Organizations, Websites and Mailing Lists

• Gifted Homeschoolers Forum has a list of Gifted and Homeschooling Friendly Professionals recommended by our members. Our Professional Outreach Coordinator is Anne Beneventi.
• GHF Professionals is an email list for professionals in any field who work with -- or would like to work with -- gifted homeschoolers. Sign up for this free yahoogroups list to discuss the special challenges inherent in working with these children and their families, share advice or support, or just to listen and learn.
• There are LOTS of relevant Articles on the GHF site and external links.
• Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG) includes an indispensible list of articles and resources for the professional or for the parent seeking professional services for themself or their child.
• The Davidson Institute's Educators Guild is a free national service for active elementary, secondary and post-secondary educators who are committed to meeting the unique academic needs of gifted (but not necessarily 2e or homeschooled) students.
• If you are interested in real life experience working with twice exceptional (2e) students, keep an eye on Bridges Academy, a college preparatory school dedicated to educating the kids during their later (~grades 6-12) school years. Bridges Academy is working to establish an intensive professional development program by having educators do research, professional development and internships at their facility. They hope to attract professionals who are really drawn to and involved in 2e education -- not just for Bridges but for other programs and fledgling schools in the field.
• Hoagies' Gifted Education Page: Educators has all kinds of resources for understanding and helping gifted children. Hoagies' Gifted Education Page: Counseling has a range of terrific articles, as well. For information on testing and assessment, please see Hoagies' Gifted Education Page: Identification.

Course Offerings

• Certificate in the Education of Twice Exceptional Students
  • USC (Rossier School of Education) and Bridges Academy have joined forces to offer this program designed for the professional who wants to truly understand this unique population of students and learn skills to provide appropriate academic, social and emotional support. Taught by Dr. Susan Baum and Dr. Sandra Kaplan, this is a terrific opportunity to gain expertise in an insufficiently understood but growing field.
• Online Gifted Teacher Training
  • The University of Iowa’'s Belin-Blank Center and Davidson Institute for Talent Development'’s Educators Guild are leading the way in specialty teacher training in gifted education. Taught in part by nationally-renowned professor Dr. Nicholas Colangelo, the Belin-Blank program allows teachers to complete the entire curriculum online without setting foot on campus. Through the DITD Educators Guild program, teachers can take a course at the University of Nevada, Reno campus titled EDS 691: Introduction to Gifted Education – What you must know to affect change, which provides an overview of gifted education and what educators and administrators can do to affect change in their districts. 
• SENG Continuing Education (APA approved)
  • Gifted Children and Gifted Adults: Neglected Areas of Practice for Psychologists (3 CE credits; Introductory level)
  • Common Misdiagnoses and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults (3 CE credits; Intermediate)
  • Designed for psychologists and others with graduate-level training in mental health disciplines, these sessions are intensive workshops focusing on assessment, treatment and intervention issues particular to gifted children and adults.  The instructors are nationally respected psychologists Dr. James T. Webb and Dr. Nadia Webb.

• The Mislabeled Child: How Understanding Your Child's Unique Learning Style Can Open the Door to Success, by Fernette and Brock Eide.  Finally, a book on "brain-based" learning styles -- including the asynchronies many gifted children struggle with. This is a well-written explanation of what labels do and don't tell us and why it matters that we understand the way these children think and learn.
• Mellow Out, They Say. If I Only Could: Intensities and Sensitivities of the Young and Bright is another new book that is will worth a read. The author, Michael Piechowski, has spent years researching Dabrowski's Overexcitabilities. In this book, he shows us how it feels to be young and gifted -- from the childrens' point of view. If you have wondered what all the sensory stuff was about, or what an overexcitability actually is, here are your answers!
• Misdiagnosis And Dual Diagnoses Of Gifted Children And Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, Depression, And Other Disorders, by James T. Webb, et al (highly recommmended! For more about this book, see our Resources: Gifted)
• Counseling the Gifted and Talented, by Linda Kreger Silverman
• 2e Newsletter is a terrific resource for anyone working with or parenting twice exceptional (2e) kids... and GHF members get a discount on subscriptions!
• Guiding the Gifted Child: A Practical Source for Parents and Teachers, by James T. Webb, Elizabeth A. Meckstroth, and Stephanie S. Tolan
• Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers from Pre-School to High School, by Judith Wynn Halstead
• Helping Gifted Children Soar: A Practical Guide for Parents and Teachers, by Carol Ann Strip and Gretchen Hirsch
• The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children: What Do We Know? by Maureen Neihart (ed.)