Gifted Assessment & Advocacy Center

10/24/2025

Mental health conditions are one group of invisible disabilities. Learning differences/learning disabilities, many chronic health conditions including dysautonomia and neurological conditions, and sensory differences such as hearing loss are among them. You are not alone.

10/22/2025

Awareness is everything. No one should feel alone or feel they are not seen or understood.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1D9SPjF9TJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Porzingis revealed the cause for his frustrating illness during the playoffs last season.

10/21/2025

Here is a window into parenting with one form of dysautonomia (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, POTS) as we continue with Dysautonomia Awareness Month. It shows some of the self-acceptance and self-care needed not just for parenting with a disability but also more broadly for living with one.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1A3sUPwRoX/?mibextid=wwXIfr e rg t

Becoming disabled is a crash course in giving and receiving care, adapting to the unexpected, and accepting imperfection—all of which are crucial for parents, Jessica Slice wrote in April. https://theatln.tc/s9erBSkB

Slice has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and an associated neurological condition, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. When she adopted her daughter and started meeting up with other moms, she noticed that she seemed to be having an easier time than they were adjusting to parenthood. Over the past few years, she’s interviewed dozens of disabled and nondisabled parents from various racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. “I now believe that being disabled and learning from disability culture both prepared me for the challenges of early parenthood and ultimately set me up to be a more creative and flexible caregiver,” she writes.

“One way to think about the first week of parenthood is as a time when a large portion of a family is or becomes temporarily disabled. Not only does a new baby require relentless attention, but whoever gave birth also typically does. Even if you adopted a child, as I did, you’re likely exhausted,” she continues.

The nondisabled people Slice talked with were coming to terms with the reality that we cannot make our babies or our body do what we want them to. “The disabled people I spoke with, by contrast, had spent years of living in a body that rebelled and failed, and many had learned the hard way that recovery from surgery is long and arduous and that the body is impossible to predict,” she writes.

After becoming disabled at 28, Slice found herself learning to embrace imperfection and more willing to accept help, qualities that proved important when she became a parent. “You don’t have to be disabled to adopt this mindset,” she continues. For any parent it “might mean not obsessing over the expensive stroller you can’t afford and instead making do with the safe one passed down from a neighbor. In others, it might mean asking for more help at night. Once you learn to show yourself compassion, you may finally see, as I did, that you are giving your baby exactly what they need.”

🎨: Holly Stapleton

10/04/2025

October is dysautonomia awareness month! Why am I posting about it here?

There is an unusually high proportion of gifted and neurodivergent individuals who have joint hypermobility and related diagnoses (hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder, or another connective tissue disorder). A very common co-existing condition in persons with hypermobility is dysautonomia.

Autonomic dysfunction affects all body systems and substantially impacts daily functioning and quality of life.

You and your loved ones don’t have to go through this alone. Please reach out for emotional support here including referrals for evaluation and treatment if you’ve struggled getting a diagnosis.

05/14/2025

A wonderful message from Suki Wessling! For many parents, we want to share our children’s successes and the good things happening in our family but not be seen as bragging. We also want our children to know we see them shining in their unique ways, and that we will love them no matter what they show us.

I think sharing contributes to our sense of community and allows us to join in and celebrate everyone’s children. So, bring it on!

Don't let other parents tell you you're bragging

04/23/2025

Another book recommendation!

https://www.facebook.com/share/15HnbB3eTH/?mibextid=WC7FNe

The wait is OVER! Today is the day! 📚✨

Dr. Matt’s incredible new book is officially released! Packed with wisdom, insight, and his signature approachable style, it’s a must-read for anyone looking to learn and grow.

Already ordered your copy? High five! 🙌 If not, don’t wait – grab yours now, you won’t be disappointed!

Huge congratulations to on this amazing accomplishment! 🎉👏

02/13/2025

17 states (including Florida) sued the United States government asking the Court to eliminate Section 504. Section 504 is a clear anti-discrimination law. They are sueing to eliminate the right to educational accommodations. The only reason to end Section 504 is for districts to save money by not providing accommodations - districts don’t receive federal funds to implement this law. They are sueing so that schools DO NOT have to help students in need learn - this is an explicit act of discrimination.

As an advocate for students, I can unequivocally state that Section 504 is necessary for many many children and young adults. Most students with reading, writing, attentional, and mood disorders do not meet criteria for an IEP but do meet criteria for (and NEED) accommodations through Section 504 plans. Many individuals with physical/medical conditions also need accommodations through Section 504. A list of issues covered by section 504 is attached below.

Some of the accommodations that a school would no longer be required to carry out: preferential seating, extra time for testing or completing assignments, quiet testing rooms, hearing aids/assisted learning devices, brain breaks, instructions and homework written on board/given in a handout and spoken (versus only verbal or only written), providing written notes/peer note-taking of class content, providing extra time for transitions, communication to parents on a student’s progress and challenges, development of a missed classwork makeup plan, school counselors teaching emotion regulation strategies and providing mental health support, providing training to staff to administer medications including EpiPens and breaks for diabetes care, banning common allergens like peanuts, allow the student to stay indoors on specific days that trigger asthma attacks, and so many more.

If you live in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, South Carolina, Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, or Utah, contact your Attorney General to express your opposition and urge them to withdraw from the suit.

12/06/2024

For some gifted children (particularly those with additional exceptionalities), the experience of attending school is very difficult; the social and academic environment both contribute. Over time, this can result in such internal disharmony that school becomes intolerable and the child’s reaction is to no longer engage. Here is a valuable resource for parents.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/9FqGMTaCc8SjB1YE/?mibextid=WC7FNe

📣New On-Demand Learning Path on School Avoidance

Title: School Avoidance Learning Path
Cost: $49 for COPAA members and $99 for registered guests
Registration link: https://learn.copaa.org/p/schoolavoidance

04/03/2024

I love helping parents with questions about Giftedness and Autism. Gifted individuals are already often misunderstood or not truly seen for who they are. Twice-exceptional students are even more misunderstood because Autism and Giftedness can co-exist and one can mask the other. So many gifted students with Autism are unidentified for years, and thus remain underserved and lacking in supports.

Here’s to World Autism Awareness Day! What we know (and what we still need to discover) about Autism needs so much more time than just a day though!

02/23/2024

For the math-lovers, poets, and math-loving poets among us, as well as those who simply enjoy a fun limerick.

Thanks to TheCredible Hulk for posting!