Supporting Your Neurodiverse (Gifted & Talented) Child

• ​Nurture your child's strengths and interests.
• Share the adventure of learning something new with your child.
• Recognize and model making mistakes as an opportunity to learn, not a mark of failure.
• Encourage safe risk-taking.
• Help set priorities.
• Seek positive peer connections. 
• Avoid over-scheduling.
• Allow time for reflecting.
• Pursue unfamiliar learning opportunities.
• Encourage selective excellence, rather than across-the-board perfection.
• Keep your sense of humor!

Communicating with School: A Positive Approach

• Request a convenient time to speak with your child's teacher.
• Provide, in writing, your questions and concerns before meeting the teacher.
• Be willing to compromise and collaborate on behalf of the student's needs.
• Provide a home perspective to your child's teacher on a regular basis.
• Keep a file of communications, learning plans and testing data on your child throughout his/her K-12 years.
• Provide both positive and negative feedback for changes in your child's learning plan, school assignments and learning activities.
• Always give your child's teacher a second chance to discuss educational issues about your child.
• Determine reasonable timelines and methods for communicating with your child's teacher.
• Celebrate excellence both for your child and for those who teach your child.