MY APPROACH AND SERVICES

Twice-exceptional (2e) and highly sensitive children and adults often struggle in multiple areas. Each 2e individual has a unique combination of abilities and needs. Targeting the one area that creates the most difficulty can often be challenging. My job is to team up with 2e/gifted/neurodiverse individuals to help them identify the areas of most immediate need and develop an individualized step-by-step plan to address unique challenges while building on their strengths. As they begin to experience success and confidence in one area, we continue to develop other individualized strategies to support each subsequent area of need.

One common difficulty for many 2e children is their low-academic self-concept. As a result of repeated academic or social failures, they are often prone to experiencing feelings of fear, self-doubt, or chronic worry. They may become easily discouraged and reluctant to persevere through difficult or unfamiliar tasks, oftentimes rendering them more vulnerable to behavior challenges, negative mindsets, and inaccurate beliefs about their abilities. Left unaddressed, this can impact individuals throughout their adult years, creating a cycle of shame and guilt for the years of unfulfilled potential.

Some gifted and 2e children fall through the cracks in the education system because their exceptionalities mask each other. Others do their best to compensate for their weaknesses throughout elementary school but begin to struggle with the increasing demands of middle school or high school.

Others do well academically but struggle with important interpersonal, coping, or communication skills. These skills are not present at birth. Just like arithmetic and reading skills, we have to provide explicit instruction and multiple opportunities for individuals to practice and master social-emotional skills and improve their social and emotional intelligence. Unfortunately, we cannot rely on schools to do this! Parents play an invaluable role in the development of these and other essential life skills that gifted and 2e children require to navigate the social and academic world.

As a social and emotional intelligence coach and facilitator, I collaborate with gifted, twice-exceptional, and neurodivergent children, teens, and adults to guide them in rewiring their brain for positive mindsets, developing positive behaviors, and building important habits and skills so they can experience success, improve their self-esteem and confidence, and explore their gifts and talents. When working with families, I also show parents practical ways to support and empower their children on a daily basis.

Your vision of a thriving and successful child living up to their potential is a real possibility!

My approach incorporates the latest research on positive psychology, neuroscience, social and emotional learning, cognitive-behavioral techniques, and a variety of evidence-based strategies designed to promote overall well-being and a lifelong love of learning.

I offer coaching sessions via Zoom video conferencing and in-person sessions for families and adults living in New York /New Jersey. The frequency and duration of sessions vary based on the main areas of concern and specific needs of each individual. Coaching and consulting services range from one-time guidance and strategy sessions to long-term ongoing support with unlimited email support between sessions.

I offer varying levels of support to assist children, teens, and adults with:

• Social skills and communication difficulties
• Internalizing behaviors
• Self-regulation skills and emotional regulation
• Executive function deficits
• Unique sensory needs
• High sensitivities
• Energy management
• Low academic self-concept and low self-esteem
• Adjusting to change and life transitions
• Navigating spiritual sensitivities and understanding intuitive gifts
• Coping with stress and overwhelm
• Navigating eco-anxiety and reimagining a brighter future
• Activism fatigue or work burnout
• Awareness of purpose
• Increased creativity and flow states

More details about my services here.

While each coaching program is customized and designed around the unique needs of each family or individual, my practice is anchored on 5 pillars:

Rapport:

An essential aspect of my work is creating a positive, strong, and supportive coaching relationship with my clients to establish and maintain open lines of communication and expect positive results. Although some initial resistance may be a natural reaction from some children when working with a new person, my experience working with hundreds of children from all walks of life and with all kinds of personalities has allowed me to get creative with strategies to build rapport quickly and effectively. However, some children may exhibit excessive resistance or may not have the necessary skills to engage in 1:1 coaching. When this is the case, I do not extend an invitation for coaching but will gladly recommend other available resources to the family.

Strength-Based Individualized Strategies:

My work focuses on identifying the learning, social-emotional, and personal strengths of the child/adult as well as the strengths of the family, the learning environment, and any support systems. This allows me to determine the best plan of action and the strategies to be implemented during each coaching session. In addition to customizing the program based on strengths, strategies are individually tailored to the needs, interests, and processing styles of each individual. Each strategy is monitored, evaluated, and adjusted based on the client’s response and progress.

Promoting Social and Emotional Intelligence and Character Development:

Through mindfulness-based strategies, embodied practices, and emotional literacy training, I work 1:1 with the individual to foster emotional self-awareness and increase their ability to recognize, understand, label, regulate, manage, and express their emotions. When working with families, I also work with the parents to improve their abilities to support the continued development of these competencies. We work as a team to provide the child with multiple opportunities to practice the skills they are working on. My work with the parents also enhances their ability to recognize the way their emotions, words, and actions impact their child’s progress and how to maximize positive results. When working with adults, we also focus on identifying how their personal relations affect their social-emotional progress and functioning.

Building Knowledge of Neuroscience:

Through the use of short and fun lessons adapted based on the developmental level and specific areas of need, I introduce important brain science concepts relevant to laying solid foundations for increased emotional intelligence and neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is a word to describe our brain’s ability to change and create new neural pathways in response to new information. As clients begin to discover how their brain works and how their thoughts, words, and emotions influence their feelings, habits, and actions on a daily basis, we begin to rewire negative mindsets and create new, healthier thought and behavioral patterns.

Goal Setting and Accountability:

Positive coaching outcomes require effort, commitment, and willingness to change behaviors and attitudes negatively affecting learning or social-emotional progress. During the initial stages of coaching, my focus is on helping clients and families set realistic and achievable goals that can translate into small, quick successes. As clients gain skills and self-confidence, I gradually fade support and encourage them to take ownership of their progress by assisting them in setting new, more challenging goals while maintaining accountability and promoting independence. Parents also play an essential role in fostering accountability and independence. I provide supportive feedback and troubleshooting to guide parents in this complex task. I also provide an online system of communication with the parents to monitor progress and adjust strategies as needed.

In addition to working with neurodivergent adults, I work with a small number of families to provide support to: