March 2023
IN THIS ISSUE
●Director's Corner
-By Rianne van de Ven
●Neurodiversity Awareness Week + Free Resources
●SENG Community Spotlight
-2e4me Academy
●Upcoming SENGChat
-Developing False Mastery: The Siren Song of Videogames
●Looking Ahead Upcoming Events
●Feature Article
-By Deborah Ruf, Ph.D.
●SENG Partner Spotlight
-Improv for 2e+ Teens
●2023 SENG Annual Conference
-Registration
-Call for Sponsors & Vendors
●SENG North Dallas Meetup - Free Outreach
●SENG Colorado Meetup - Free Outreach
●University of North Texas Research Study
●SENGJ: Exploring the Psychology of Giftedness
-Issue 2 now available! Free Open Access
Director's Corner
Giftedness in the Spotlights
By Rianne van de Ven
This month I have the honor of filling the director’s corner in this monthly newsletter. The first for me, since I’m a new board member since January 1st. So maybe also a short introduction is appropriate: My name is Rianne van de Ven and I live in the Netherlands. I am a coach for gifted adults and also an author, presenter, teacher and social entrepreneur on this subject. I visited my first SENG conference in 2015 in Denver and immediately felt part of this ‘family’. I have contributed to almost all conferences since then. As a board member I want to bring more knowledge about and more activities for gifted adults. I will also like to contribute to SENG becoming more international. Because there is a big need out there for our approach towards giftedness: to support the social and emotional needs of the gifted.

When this newsletter goes out to our 25K subscribers The Week of Giftedness in The Netherlands and Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium) will just be finished. It is an annual week (well, 9 days actually) that has been organized here for 8 years in a row now. The goal of this Week of Giftedness is to put the subject in the spotlights all over the country. The organizing team offers a website where people can submit events they are organizing in those nine days about giftedness or for gifted people to attend. And when we talk about gifted people, we mean all ages: from toddlers to our senior citizens. 
So over 270 !!! events were organized in this last edition and the subject reached coverage in the national press on TV-stations, radio programs, newspapers and magazines. Why? Because we (yes, I am part of the organizing team) want to inform society that giftedness exists everywhere. So is actually quite normal (one in 50 people is gifted) and we want to provide information to take away any bias, preconceived opinions and misconceptions about this subject. With the purpose to increase the possibilities that gifted people can develop and flourish in our society. To move towards a more inclusive society that embraces differences between people.

I have learned that in the Netherlands our mainstream view on giftedness is quite different than in the US. We see giftedness more in the context of potential that requires special circumstances and support to develop, than in the context of excellent performance, achievements and eminence. In our mainstream view giftedness is about something you are and not so much about something you do. Thankfully I feel this view is shared within SENG as well. 

So, would organizing a National Week on Giftedness in the United States be a good idea as well? I like to think big . . .
About the Author

Rianne van de Ven (1971, the Netherlands) is a social entrepreneur specialized in gifted adults. After a career in Telecom, ICT, and banking she started her own company as a professional coach in 2007. First part time, next to her job at a large Dutch bank, but since 2016 she is fully self-employed and works as an author, speaker, trainer, supervisor, and teacher on the subject of gifted adults. She started a second company where she provides professional services for gifted adults in the workplace together with 20 colleagues.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week
March 13-19, 2023
By Lin Lim
SENG and friends met both in person in Tustin, California and virtually on March 13th in celebration of Neurodiversity Awareness Week. The group convened to share experiences and introduce the work of eight neurodiversity affirming organizations and women that embrace a strength-based approach to education, community building, career and employment. Those in attendance included:


CLICK HERE to view a recording of SENG's Neurodiversity Awareness Week Event.

More Free Resources:

1)Video Resource - An Animal School: A Tale of Gifts (Addresses Twice-Exceptionality & Neurodiversity)
2) Video Resource: Positive Psychology - Conversation with Michelle McQuaid
3) Podcast with Dr. Lamis Jabri, MD, Founder of 2e4me Academy
4)  Video Resource: Neurodiversity Celebration Week with our friends at The Learning Place
SENG Community Spotlight
2e4Me Academy
People often say, “it takes a village to raise a child." But often, it takes a child to raise a village. For generations now, ever since the formation of the very first schools all around the world, we have seen bright, sensitive, and misunderstood children who do not “fit the mold”, repeatedly demonstrating the need to re-examine our methods, expand our horizons, and create more inclusive, more creative, and more adaptable villages. 
 
2e4Me Academy is one example of such a village, in Orange County California.
It is an innovative center founded and directed by a board-certified psychiatrist, with three interconnected programs:
Dr. Lamis Jabre, founder of 2e4me academy sponsored SENG’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week event in Tustin, CA on March 13th 2023. Here is a podcast conversation our friends at Quarkcollaboration.org produced interviewing Dr. Lamis Jabre for Neurodiversity Celebration Week.
Upcoming SENGChat
Developing False Mastery: The Siren Song of Videogames
Brilliant kids, brimming with  potential, only slightly aware of the power they possess. These are the kids who are quickly  identified as able to do anything they put their mind to. But their minds are occupied by something else. Videogames, YouTube, Twitch,  Streamers, Screens. Sure, they have other activities, they still perform well enough in school, they have a friend or two they see from time to time, but  ultimately it's screens they choose when given free choice.

Helping parents understand the  "why" outside of the psychological reasons games are so alluring is  key to helping parents understand the "how" when it comes to  helping their kids develop skills outside of gaming. There is a neurological  need that gifted children exhibit that is pseudo-satisfied by gaming.

Gaming is a symptom. While it can become the center focus in a  family's dynamic, ultimately, it is not causing the problem of a child who  can't seem to pull away and focus on higher priority tasks. You are working against an underdeveloped  brain and, many times, an underdeveloped body. There are key issues that need to be  addressed to help break the reliance on gaming and it's not all about the  psychological symptoms exhibited by the child.

Neither inherently good nor  evil, videogames are a scapegoat that becomes an alluring villain. If only we  could vanquish the gaming, our child's potential would activate. Come learn why this is a myth and to find a  better way to move forward.
About The Presenter
Mark Talaga has been counseling gifted individuals for over 10 years and is the owner and director of the Center for Identity Potential. Mark's experience with gifted counseling began in 2012 under the mentorship of Andy Mahoney, a pioneer and expert in the field of counseling the gifted
Mark is a former video game professional who utilizes his knowledge of gaming and technology to create a strong relationship with many of the kids with whom he works.
Through his own struggles, Mark has developed an expertise to help gifted children activate their potential and live more authentic, fulfilling lives.
Looking Ahead Upcoming Events
More SENGinar & SENGChat Events Open for Registration
Registration is open for several upcoming SENGinars and SENGChats! CLICK HERE for the SENG Calendar of Events!
Feature Article
Gifted Baby Boomers, How They Were Raised, and How They Raised You
By Deborah Ruf, Ph.D. (Part One in a Series of Three)
… and how it might still be affecting you, your parenting, and your relationships

This article is the first in a series about giftedness through the lifespan and the generations before you. My doctoral dissertation study on which this series of articles is based is specifically about the Baby Boomer Generation, born between 1946 and 1964. Here are the living generations as described by Strauss and Howe:

The Greatest Generation (born 1901–1927)
The Silent Generation (born 1928–1945)
Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964)
Generation X (born 1965–1980)
Millennials (born 1981–1995)
Generation Z (born 1996–2010)
Generation Alpha (born 2011–2025)
Photo by Kampus Production

The study uses case studies of 41 highly gifted adults who were all part of the Baby Boomer generation, the one I am in. There are generational effects related to the zeitgeist — that is, the history going on at the time groups of human beings were living their lives.

What were the pressing circumstances each generation had to deal with, face, endure, or benefit from? If you ever wonder where on Earth your parents or grandparents got their ideas, this series of articles might fill in some blanks for you. This qualitative research of mine was done with mostly middle class white people. If your families are not from this group, it may help you to understand a bit better how they thought and why they acted the ways that they did and do now. I use my original title to introduce the first part of the series because it is a good, representative heading for how my parents’ generations — the Greatest Generation and the Silent Generation — seemed to view their smart Baby Boomer children’s “self-absorbed” behaviors.
SENG Partner Spotlight
Improv for 2e+ Teens
Visit giftedandgrowing.org to learn more. You can also email giftedimprov@gmail.com to learn more and get registered!
2023 SENG Annual Conference
Authentic Voices: Community & Belonging
Registration, Sponsor & Vendor Opportunities Now Open!
Preparations for the SENG 2023 Annual Conference in Villanova, PA are well underway! We are proud to be able to offer both in-person and digital options for our families this year! We know being in-person, and being able to bring your family with you to an event like this is an amazing opportunity. Bringing our SENG family together after being apart for the last couple years is very important to us.

Please CLICK HERE to access our conference program!
The conference committee and staff will be updating this document each month so please keep checking back for more updates!
Sponsor registration is now open! Click below or email inquiries@sengifted.org for more information.  
About our Keynote Speakers
Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist and humanistic psychologist exploring the mind, creativity, and the depths of human potential. He is a professor at Columbia University and founder and director of the Center for Human Potential. Dr. Kaufman has taught at Columbia University, Yale, NYU, the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. Dr. Kaufman received a B.S. in psychology and human computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon, an M. Phil in experimental psychology from the University of Cambridge under a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Yale University. He is also an Honorary Principal Fellow at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Wellbeing Science.

Dr. Kaufman hosts the The Psychology Podcast which has received over 20 million downloads and was included in Business Insider’s list of “9 podcasts that will change how you think about human behavior.” Dr. Kaufman is interested in using his research to help all kinds of minds live a creative, fulfilling, and self-actualized life. His early educational experiences made him realize the deep reservoir of untapped potential of students, including bright and creative children who have been diagnosed with a learning disability. In 2015, he was named one of “50 groundbreaking scientists who are changing the way we see the world” by Business Insider.

Dr. Kaufman likes to share his enthusiasm and knowledge of the science of potential through his books, teaching, self-actualization coaching, podcast, blog, articles, and speaking engagements. If you’d like him to speak at one of your events, you can make a request here.

Dr. Kaufman’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Scientific American, Psychology Today, and Harvard Business Review, and he is the author and editor of 10 books. In his latest book Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, he presents a new hierarchy of human needs for the 21st century, one that allows for the fulfillment of individual potential as well as the actualization of transcendent purpose and peak experiences. 

Learn more on his website: https://scottbarrykaufman.com/
Cash photo jpg
Dr. Richard Cash received a bachelor of arts degree in theater from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. After a brief retail career, Dr. Cash attended the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, where he received a post-baccalaureate degree in elementary education. His first teaching position in a magnet school for gifted children, grades 1–6, in St. Paul, Minnesota, allowed him to use my talents as an actor and director. He created learning spaces that were rich in artistry, music, theater, and dance.

Richard later obtained a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He became a curriculum specialist and developed training modules, curriculum formats, and differentiated learning archetypes that assisted teachers in creating higher-level experiences to meet the needs of all children. Later, he returned to St. Thomas and received a doctoral degree in educational leadership.

Dr. Cash has served as the Administrator of Gifted Programs in Rochester, Minnesota, and the Director of Gifted Programs for the Bloomington Public Schools in Minnesota. In Bloomington, he realigned the gifted programs to service more students during a budget deficit and incorporated differentiated instruction into the total school curriculum. During his tenure with the Bloomington Public Schools, he created a school-within-a-school program for highly/profoundly gifted students, grades 2 – 10.

Dr. Richard Cash has given hundreds of workshops, presentations, and staff-development sessions throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The research-based strategies and techniques he offers are proven to increase student achievement. Others have commended his talent for working with teachers to develop engaging and enriching learning environments that can improve student learning. At the end of the day, his greatest passion is helping teachers recognize the various talents all children possess and create learning experiences to allow those talents to flourish. He is considered by many to be an exceptionally engaging, motivating, and enlightening presenter.

He is also a member of several professional organizations including the National Association for Gifted Children, the Council for Exceptional Children, and ASCD. Cash has authored numerous articles on quality instructional practices and written three popular teacher resource guides:

  • Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century
  • Differentiation for Gifted Leaners: Going Beyond the Basics (with Dr. Diane Heacox), and
  • Self-Regulation in the Classroom: Helping Students Learn How to Learn

Learn more on his website: https://www.nrichconsulting.com/
Questions?
inquries@sengifted.org
SENG North Dallas Meetup
Join SENG President Dr. Lin Lim, President-Elect Adam Laningham, SMPG Facilitator Cherin Escher, and Friends!
Join SENG President Dr. Lin Lim, President-Elect Adam Laningham, SMPG Facilitator Cherin Escher, and our friends including Gifted Education Family Network, Mensa Foundation, and Bridges Graduate School for a meetup in North Dallas, Texas on March 28th!
SENG Colorado Meetup
Join SENG President Dr. Lin Lim and SMPG Facilitator Marina Kammersell
Join SENG Board President Dr. Lin Lim and SMPG Facilitator Marina Kammersell for a meetup in Westminster, Colorado on April 4th!
University of North Texas Research Study
Exploration of Parent Perceptions of Gifted Formal Support Groups
The UNT Department of Educational Psychology is conducting a research study “Exploration of Parent Perceptions of Gifted Formal Support Groups.”

If you are a facilitator of or participant in a Gifted Parent Formal Support Group and are above the age of 18; you may qualify to participate in an online research study examining the functions these groups serve for participants and their families.

Eligible subjects will undergo a one hour virtual audio-recorded interview discussing their perceptions of the functions the Support Groups has served for them, with potential follow-up interviews for clarification or confirmation.

You will not receive compensation for participation.
Lead Student Investigator: Nicole N. Mattingly (nicolemattingly2@my.unt.edu)
Principal Investigator: Anne Rinn (Anne.Rinn@unt.edu)

For more information, please click here


Or contact Nicole Mattingly, nicolemattingly2@my.unt.edu
Have you checked out our Free Open Access SENG Journal yet?
SENGJ: Exploring the Psychology of Giftedness - Issue 2 Now Available!
The SENG Journal: Exploring the Psychology of Giftedness (SENGJ) was created to offer opportunities for diverse voices and points of view on topics important to society as they pertain to the psychology of individuals with the ability or potential to perform or produce at exceptional levels. The aim of SENGJ is to promote the social, emotional, and psychological well-being of these individuals. As the official scholarly publication of the SENG organization, the online open-access journal publishes peer-reviewed, rigorous research, including original studies, reviews of research, meta-analyses, and theoretical explorations. Substantive interviews with leaders and experts in the psychology of individuals in this exceptional population are within the scope of SENGJ. The journal places a priority on diversity, equity, inclusion, and rigor.
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