REEL hosted an inspirational Q&A session to honor Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2022 with founder Siena Castellon. Learn about her experiences at school and life and why she created this special week to honor the neurodivergent.

Students who are twice-exceptional (2e) have tremendous intellectual gifts alongside a wide range of possible learning challenges — attention differences, slow processing speed, social immaturity, and/or weak executive function skills, just to name a few of the possibilities.

an interactive overview of 2e - what it is, why it matters, and effective approaches for supporting 2e learners. 2e students experience both high ability and learning challenges, which presents unique challenges in the classroom, including asynchronous development that may lead to anxiety and behavior issues. Explore strategies to help your child thrive at school.

In this workshop we will consider the goals and benefits of creating a student one sheet, the do’s and don’t of an effective document, and when and how to support student self-advocacy by involving the student in the process of writing and distributing their own one sheet.

a discussion about strength-based learning. When kids are far from the bell curve in both directions, parents and educators tend to focus on shoring up weaknesses at the expense of bolstering strengths. However, strengths are where 2e kids build energy to face their challenges, boost their self-esteem, and their likely future careers will lie.

REEL was excited to host independent educational planner Teresa Nair, who shared her experiences helping families, in particular those with 2e and neurodivergent learners, explore non-traditional schooling pathways.

Learn about 504 plans and IEPs and how to push for eligibility even when the district mentions that your student is performing at grade level and is thus not eligible. Learn various support options available under a 504 or IEP. Learn how to work with teams to creatively extend learning beyond grade-level curriculum. And lastly, learn how Advocates can support your journey.

Dr. Marci Schwartz joined us to talk about what colleges do to support kids with unique learning profiles, what the considerations are for parents and students as they move through the high school years, success stories, colleges that are open and supportive, and more. Hear her insights to help alleviate a lot of the fear and anxiety parents have about their 2e kids' futures as well as practical tools and tips for navigating the high school years with an eye on the future.