February 12, 2014

GIFTED IN FRANCE
February 12, 2014
"I am not absentminded.
It is the presence of mind that makes
me unaware of everything else."
~G.K. Chesterton
Dear Friends,

Our next meeting is about understanding commonly misdiagnosed features of gifted children. Below is the information for signing up. Please feel free to pass the word to other parents, teachers, school administrators, therapists, psychologist, and speech and occupational therapists. Registration closes Feb. 28.

Differential Diagnosis: A Logical Approach to Understanding Commonly
Misdiagnosed Features of Gifted Children

90 minute, recorded webinar presented by Paul Beljan, PsyD, in PowerPoint format.
Thursday March 6, 2014
RSVP, in advance is mandatory, please follow these steps, space is limited to 15:

Two presentations, pick your date and time and Click here to reserve your spot.
Thursday morning March 6, 12h00-14h15 (bring your lunch)
Thursday evening March 6, 19h30-22h00

Location:   is at a private residence, 75016, near Radio France.
Participation fee: Free to current GiF and Message members; 10 euros to non-members. Event is open to the community.
Handout: handout of slides available for those registered in advance.
Deadline: Registration and payment closes on February 28, 2014

Description:
“The top diagnoses asked about by parents of gifted children in my private pediatric neuropsychology practice are: short term memory deficit, processing speed deficit, central auditory processing deficit, sensory integration deficit and working memory deficit. More often than not, these disorders are not present. This webinar reviews these diagnoses and offers simple and logical methods for how to determine if they really exist in the child or not.  We will further discuss why a gifted child may appear to have these disorders when in fact they do not.  Suggestions are offered for what should be involved in an appropriate neuropsychological evaluation that parents should look for when having their child tested. 

Topics include:
Why short term memory deficit, processing speed deficit, central auditory processing deficit, sensory integration deficit and working memory deficit are probably the most over-diagnosed disorders among the gifted population.
·       Why these diagnostic errors are easy to make.
·       Very simple methods for how to rule out each diagnosis.
·       What constitutes an appropriate evaluation to rule-in or rule-out these diagnoses.

About the presenter: Dr. Paul Beljan is the past president of the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology. He holds child and adult diplomate qualifications with the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology and the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology. Dr. Beljan completed two Post-Doctoral Fellowship programs in Pediatric Psychology and Pediatric Neuropsychology and has completed coursework for his post doctoral master’s degree in Psychopharmachology. Dr. Beljan’s professional focus is on Alcohol/Drug Related Neurodevelopmental Deficit (A/DRND), Gifted Intelligence, Learning Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury, Trauma and Attention and Executive Functioning Deficit diagnosis and interventions. Dr. Beljan co-wrote Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults.”


This webinar was organised by SENG, in the United States, as part of their ongoing series to educate the public and mental health professionals around the world.


Gifted in France is a loi 1901 non-profit association. GiF does not endorse speakers or their material, but aims to provide a wide variety of ideas and discussions about the educational, emotional and social needs of the gifted and twice-exceptional population. In addition to meetings for adults, GiF also provides activities for children including the Little Mad Scientists' Club and the annual Paris Spelling Bee.

ICIE's learning and networking opportunity!   Gifted in France is proud to be collaborating with ICIE's 11th International Conference on Excellence in Education. This year’s theme is  The Creativity – Innovation Challenge, to be held at Paris Descartes University, in Boulogne, on July 7-10. Participants registering through Gifted in France will receive a discount. Please contact giftedinfrance@gmail.com if you are interested in registering through our organisation. More information about the conference is on this link and click here for a list of keynote speakers. This conference is for parents, educators, psychologists, policy makers, university students, and school administrators.

As always, thank you for your continued support and interest.

Kind regards,

Helen Sahin Connelly
President,GiF