Neurodiversity Podcast

As part of our series on the coronavirus pandemic, on episode 58 we’re delving into the trauma aspect. How will we respond to the pressure to venture out? How will the human species be affected, changed, challenged? What will we tell our grandchildren about the experience? We’ll use Christine Fonseca and her new book, Healing the heart: Helping Your Child Thrive After Trauma, as a template for this compelling conversation. About the guest - Christine Fonseca is a licensed educational psychologist, critically acclaimed author, and a nationally recognized speaker on topics related to educational psychology, mental health, giftedness, and using storytelling to heal past wounds. Christine has written for Psychology Today, the parenting blog Parenting for A New Generation, Parents.com, Johnson & Johnson, and Justine Magazine. Her critically acclaimed books include her newest, Healing the Heart: Helping Your Child Thrive After Trauma. Other works include The Caring Child: Raising Empathetic and Emotionally Intelligent Children, Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students, Raising the Shy Child, Letting Go: A Girl’s Guide to Breaking Free of Stress and Anxiety, and the Young Adult series, The Solomon Experiments. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com. Thank you for caring about kids. Copyright © 2019 Morris Creative Services LLC. All rights reserved.

It’s no secret that gifted kids often see the world differently than neurotypical peers. They also see the coronavirus pandemic differently, and experience stress and anxiety in different ways. We talk with Dr. Edward Amend about life in a pandemic, how to talk with kids about this event, things we can do to minimize anxiety, and how counseling and therapy sessions are adapting to meet the requirements of quarantine. It’s all on episode 57 of Mind Matters. About the guest - Edward R. Amend, Psy.D., is a Clinical Psychologist at The Amend Group in Lexington, KY. He has worked in both private practice and community mental health settings, as well as in consulting positions with clinics, hospitals, schools, and other organizations. Dr. Amend is co-author of A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children, and Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, Depression, and Other Disorders. Dr. Amend has held various positions, including on the Board of Directors of Supporting Emotional Needs of Gifted (SENG); President of the Kentucky Association for Gifted Education (KAGE) and Chair for the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Counseling and Guidance Network. He has been a consultant to the Davidson Institute for Talent Development and a Contributing Editor for Roeper Review, a peer-reviewed journal for gifted education. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com. Thank you for caring about kids. Copyright © 2019 Morris Creative Services LLC. All rights reserved.

The world is at the same time both together and necessarily apart. We’re all going through the same pandemic, and most of us are practicing “social distancing.” How does that affect us? Some believe it can be a time for growth, and that’s the subject of episode 56. Our guest is author and family therapist Chris Crutcher, and this is a conversation you and your family won’t want to miss. About the guest - Chris Crutcher is a native of Cascade, Idaho. He spent the 1970s as a teacher, then as director of a K-12 alternative school in Oakland, California. The following 20+ years he was a therapist specializing in child abuse and neglect. Those years largely inform his thirteen novels and two collections of short stories. He has also written what he calls an ill-advised autobiography titled King of the Mild Frontier, which was designated by Publisher’s Weekly as “the YA book most adults would have read if they knew it existed.” Chris was awarded the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as two Intellectual Freedom awards, one from the National Council for Teachers of English and the other from the National Coalition Against Censorship.  Five of his books appeared on an American Library Association list of the 100 Best Books for Teens of the Twentieth Century (1999 to 2000). You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com. Thank you for caring about kids. Copyright © 2019 Morris Creative Services LLC. All rights reserved.

There are social, academic, and personal obstacles inherent to boys, and when you add other features like giftedness, things can get complicated. How can we help boys understand social expectations, and learn to be themselves, often in spite of those expectations? Dr. Tom Hébert talks with us about the things he’s learned as an educator, and as a trainer of educators working in gifted education. About the guest - Thomas Hébert, Ph.D., is a Professor of Gifted and Talented Education in the College of Education at the University of South Carolina. He has more than a decade of K-12 classroom experience working with gifted students and over 20 years in higher education training graduate students and educators in gifted education. He has also conducted research for the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) and the Association for the Gifted of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and has been a consultant to numerous schools nationally and internationally. His research interests include social and emotional development of gifted students, gifted culturally diverse students, and problems faced by gifted young men. His publications include over 100 refereed journal articles, book chapters, and scholarly reports. He is the author of the award-winning text Understanding the Social and Emotional Lives of Gifted Students. He has received numerous research and teaching awards including the 2000 Early Scholar Award from the National Association for Gifted Children, and the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com. Thank you for caring about kids. Copyright © 2019 Morris Creative Services LLC. All rights reserved.

What is Pathological Demand Avoidance and how does it manifest among the neurodiverse? What can we do to educate parents, teachers, and counselors about how to approach it? Understanding demand avoidance can completely transform the way you look at a child. Harry J. Thompson joins Emily Kircher-Morris for this important discussion about PDA, on episode 54. About the guest - Harry J. Thompson was born in Edgware, and grew up in Barnet in north London. He is currently based in London, UK. An avid reader & researcher, Harry speaks publicly and is heavily involved in projects & research on all topics around neurodiversity and autism; namely, Pathological Demand Avoidance. Harry began to write the first draft of his book in 2015. After connecting with many autistic & PDA families, he pivoted his direction and completed his book in about 6 weeks, a memoir entitled the PDA Paradox: The Highs and Lows of My Life on a Little-Known Part of the Autism Spectrum, published in February 2019. He launched his YouTube channel in 2017. Harry has been elected to a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), in recognition of his work in the field of PDA, and also in recognition of the publication of his book. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com. Thank you for caring about kids. Copyright © 2019 Morris Creative Services LLC. All rights reserved.

Emily Kircher-Morris and Dr. Ellen Braaten discuss processing speed and why it’s important. They also talk about when it’s not so important, and why it varies so much from child to child. They discuss the impact it has on intelligence testing scores, and ways to help kids increase their processing speed. Dr. Braaten is coauthor of the book Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up. About the guest -  Dr. Ellen Braaten is the Director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP) at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Track Director of the Child Psychology Training Program at MGH/Harvard Medical School. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Braaten received her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Colorado, her PhD in Psychology at Colorado State University, and completed her internship training at Massachusetts General Hospital. She has been affiliated with Mass. General Hospital since 1998. Dr. Braaten is widely recognized as an expert in the field of pediatric neuropsychological and psychological assessment, particularly in the areas of assessing learning disabilities and attentional disorders. She is the co-author of Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up, and Straight Talk about Psychological Testing for Kids, a book that has become a classic for parents and professionals. She also authored The Child Clinician's Report Writing Handbook, which has been called "the most comprehensive child assessment handbook available." Her most recent book for parents is entitled Finding the Right Mental Health Care for Your Child, published by the American Psychological Association. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com. Thank you for caring about kids. Copyright © 2019 Morris Creative Services LLC. All rights reserved.

When a child asks a question, do you just give them the answer? If so, you’re missing an opportunity to help them develop critical thinking skills. On episode 52 we are joined by Colin Seale, founder of ThinkLaw, an organization committed to helping educators teach critical thinking. We talk about how kids learn the skill, and how teachers can better teach critical thinking. About the guest - Colin Seale is a critical thinking expert, achievement-gap educator, child welfare reformer, education-for-all advocate, and former attorney who founded ThinkLaw—an award-winning program that helps educators teach critical thinking to all students using real-life legal cases and other Socratic and powerful inquiry strategies. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com Thank you for caring about kids. Copyright © 2019 Morris Creative Services LLC. All rights reserved.

Why is there a bright line between academia and the arts? Between cognition and creativity? Where should that line break down? Or should it? And, why do educators and others think of creativity only in terms of art or music, when it also applies to problem solving and cognition? We talk with Dr. Jennifer Fisher, who is both a university assistant teaching professor and an art education coordinator. We talk about how to bridge that gap, and hear from a gifted student’s struggle to be academic and artistic. About the guest - Jennifer Fisher, PhD, is an Assistant Teaching Professor and Coordinator of Art Education in the Department of Educator Preparation, Innovation and Research in the College of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She is a joint faculty member in the Department of Art & Design within the College of Arts and Sciences.  She holds a teaching certificate in the state of Missouri, where she is certified to teach Art K-12, Gifted K-12, and English Language Arts 5-12. She received a B.S.Ed. in Secondary Education-Art from Southeast Missouri State University in 2009. Dr. Fisher also earned a Master of Special Education-Gifted and Talented from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2011, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching and Learning Processes from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2016. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com Thank you for caring about kids. Copyright © 2019 Morris Creative Services LLC. All rights reserved.

On episode 50 we talk with Haley Taylor Schlitz, a 17-year-old first-year law student who began college at age 13. We discuss her education experience, some of the benefits and barriers of homeschooling, and we imagine what the perfect public school system would be like. About the guest - At age 17, Haley Taylor Schlitz has graduated from Texas Woman's University with a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies, and has chosen to attend SMU Dedman School of Law, after being accepted to many prestigious law schools. Homeschooling allowed her to advance through high-school at her own pace, graduating at age 13, ready for college. Haley excelled as an honors student while representing the College of Professional Education as a Student Senator. Additionally, Haley has been actively involved in meaningful extracurricular activities such as The Representation Project, where she works to eliminate limiting stereotypes in the media, and serve as a catalyst for cultural transformation. Haley lives with her family in Fort Worth, Texas. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com Thank you for caring about kids. Copyright © 2019 Morris Creative Services LLC. All rights reserved.

As we move into the 2020s, we look back at some of the conversations we had in the two years of our podcast’s history. While we covered a variety of subjects, one seemed to pop up just above the fray. We’re revisiting some of our best conversations about twice-exceptionality, on this special 49th episode of Mind Matters. You can support the podcast and receive subscriber-only benefits at www.patreon.com/mindmatters. The Mind Matters podcast is available on Facebook and Instagram at Mind Matters Podcast, and on Twitter @MindMattersPod. For more information go to www.MindMattersPodcast.com Thank you for caring about kids. Copyright © 2019 Morris Creative Services LLC. All rights reserved.