The Gifted Children’s Association is offering a series of online evening workshops facilitated by Dr. Debbie Clelland. Debbie has been a long-time member of the GCA, spending many years as a leader at the historical Chapter and Provincial levels of the organization. She has two grown sons who are gifted, and has worked for many years as a professor in a counselling master’s program. She has been invited to speak on supporting the social-emotional aspects of giftedness at conferences run by SENG, clinical counselling organizations, and this summer will be offering two sessions at the World Council for the Gifted. Debbie’s goal is always to facilitate parents having information and trusting their own inner wisdom to support and parent their children – gifted, multi-exceptional and “normal”.
Each evening will involve Debbie doing a 45 minute presentation on the topic, followed by a facilitated discussion among the participants. Parents will be invited to have small group conversations to meet each other, as well as share and gather ideas about successful parenting. Debbie will be available to help debrief those conversations and answer further questions that come up from the participants.
Successfully Dealing with School Transitions: Worries and Expectations
Date: Tuesday May 25, 7-9pm
During the pandemic gifted & multi-exceptional children are dealing with many transitions in school, such as changes between homeschooling or in-person schooling. Even without the pandemic, anticipating a transition to a new classroom/type of program or new school next year can bring up a lot
of anxiety for children and families. Some gifted/multi-exceptional children may spend hours vividly imagining fearful situations that could happen in a new setting. Others might just act out, burying their worries and having them erupt in other behaviours. During this workshop, we will discuss ways to deal with some of the uncertainties of the world in general right now, and specific strategies for managing anxieties for school transitions.
Members: Free
Public: $10
Click here to register.
Buy a one-year GCABC membership for $35.
Ready for Summer: Peers, Having Fun, and Relaxing
Date: Monday June 14, 7-9pm
This summer we are anticipating things being different than most years. However, gifted/multi- exceptional children will have lots of time and energy to expend during the summer break. Sometimes there can be a lot of concerns if there are issues with friends/peer groups. Parents may worry children have too few friends and seem isolated. Or they have too many friends and seem overwhelmed by the need to take care of others. During this workshop, we will discuss friendship issues that arise in gifted/multi-exceptional children, as well as how to find ways to intentionally build in fun and relaxation into this summer.
Members: Free
Public: $10
Click here to register.
Buy a one-year GCABC membership for $35.
New to Giftedness: Understanding the Emotional Highs and Lows
Date: October 13, 2021
Suspecting or learning that you have a gifted/multi-exceptional child can be a rocky road. Parents may wonder things like: Is this real? Am I sounding presumptuous to say my child is gifted? How do I figure out what this means for my family? Often one of the clues that a child is gifted is experiencing the potentially extreme highs or lows in emotion and other characteristics. For some children this can be exaggerated at the beginning of the school year when stress levels run high. During this workshop we
will discuss giftedness as a “real” diversity, what characteristics of giftedness/multi-exceptionality might look like, and some social-emotional resources to support the journey of parenting these children.
Members: Free
Public: $10
Buy a one-year GCABC membership for $35.
