On Friday 29th September and Saturday 30th September a very special event will take place in The Netherlands.
Renata Hamsikova (ECHA), in cooperation with Joyce Luider (ECHA), is organising one of a kind international symposium.
The speaker P. Susan (Sue) Jackson from Daimon Institute, Vancouver, Canada, the creator of the widely praised documentary “Rise”, will share her knowledge and experience through lectures and workshops.
This symposium is centred around research, education and admiration of the beautiful minds of our intelligent children and teenagers. Since you or your organisation is or could be involved in the societal theme “giftedness” we want to draw your attention to this symposium. The symposium will focus on the remarkable world of highly gifted children and teenagers, and their individual needs.
Exceptional Giftedness is a way of experiencing, perceiving, thinking and creating that is fundamentally different from a more typical human experience.
And, it might not be what you think it is ...
Extraordinarily gifted students, who score in the 99.9th percentile on IQ and achievement tests, or who show the potential for exceptional performance in leadership, visual or performing arts, creative or productive thinking, entrepreneurship and technical know-how are, arguably, the most underserved in today’s education system.
The current inability of most educators to identify and even minimally address their needs leaves the HPG student anxious, frustrated, and otherwise functionally disabled in the classroom and in life. This is a tragedy for the child and his or her family, and a profound waste of astonishing human potential and creative capacity. As well, many physicians, psychologists, counselors, coaches and support workers are uninformed about those characteristics of exceptionally gifted children that may mimic aspects of a typical mental illness profile.
This lack of awareness could result in an ill-fated misdiagnosis.
Further, untrained professionals might also struggle to make an accurate diagnosis for exceptionally gifted children who, though remarkably talented, have language processing difficulties, and may need accommodations for best results.
Exceptionally gifted children have uncommon and extraordinary methods of perceiving, thinking and producing that are not easily pigeonholed. They are easily misunderstood, at their peril.
It is essential that we provide professionals, families, policy makers and educators of all stripes with crucial knowledge and guidance to support this extraordinary tribe of children. It is essential that we work together to form a strong network of committed laypersons and professionals, world-wide, who have their best interests at heart.
The first participants from the Netherlands and the rest of Europe have already applied. Read everything you want to know about the symposium’s contents and apply in a timely manner. You will receive valuable insights regarding highly gifted children and teenagers.
If you have any questions about the symposium or giftedness, please contact us via renata@ieku.nl
Sincerely,
Renata Hamsikova and Joyce Luider-Veenstra, both ECHA Specialist in Gifted Education, organisers of the symposium.
