Our Gaskill Gifted Program is designed to educate students, teachers and the community on the importance of recognizing Giftedness as a neuro-type, and not as a label of achievement.  Any personal or academic achievement is wholly dependent upon honoring our full selves: successes and perceived failures.  Understanding Giftedness as a neuro-type helps us to recognize why we might be struggling despite (or because of) our labels, and helps us normalize and validate our emotional or academic struggles.  After all, Giftedness is not a bumper-sticker, it is an atypical brain structure with benefits and burdens.

The connection between Giftedness and learning “deficits” cannot be over emphasized; Gifted individuals are disproportionately affected by anxiety, ADHD, auditory and sensory processing disorders. They are often intensely sensitive to the world and feel overwhelmed and undervalued.  For these reasons, I am passionate about advocating for students with Giftedness and providing strategies for success at Gudy Gaskill Elementary and on the trail beyond.