May Nellen is a Specialist in Gifted Education and she coaches gifted children in the age from 4 up to 20 years old. She also coaches and advices their parents en their teachers. Her approach is based on the fixed mindset/ growth mindset theory of Carol Dweck and the profiles of gifted and  talented students (Betts and Neihart).  To shift a mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset she uses relaxation en meditation techniques that she learned during her schooling as a Yoga teacher.  This combination is very successful.   Explaining the profiles to everyone involved makes it easier for teachers and parents to understand the gifted student and for students to understand themselves. The profiles also explains the needs of the student.

The overexcitabilties as defined by Dabrowski also play an important role in her coaching. Understanding of the overexcitabilties by parents, teachers and the children themselves makes a better communication possible between them. She often notices that for the first time children feel that someone understands them. With this knowledge they don’t feel as if there is something wrong with them. They also learn how to anticipate when they are misunderstood. They now know that other people may see things a little differently and how they see it differently.

For parents it is deliberating to know that she is a mother of a gifted child too and that she knows what can go wrong. They don’t feel judged of ignorant. This makes her an easy partner to talk to or ask her questions about giftedness. The child benefits f this situation.