Blog
Young Scholars Academy is a virtual village that helps twice-exceptional & differently-wired students to feel seen, nurtured, and happy as heck through strength-based courses, camps, and community!
Most Popular Blogs
-
![]()
How A Strength-Based School Year Will Change Your Child’s Life!
-
![]()
Goodbye to Social Skills Classes. Hello to Dungeons & Dragons!
-
![]()
Creating Learning Plans That Work! The 3 KEY Ingredients
-
![]()
Alternative Education Paths: Removing Barriers to Learning
-
![]()
The Most Overlooked Support for 2e Students: Acceleration
Whether you're a parent, educator, or simply passionate about supporting neurodivergent learners, this blog is your go-to resource for all things related to strength-based education and fostering a community of belonging.
Find Exactly What You’re Looking For
Categories
- 2e
- 2e education
- 3e
- 504
- IEP
- adhd
- adulting
- advocacy
- alternative learning
- anxiety
- art
- autism
- back to school
- burnout
- college
- college readiness
- community
- cultural diversity
- dealing with overwhlem
- depre
- depression
- diagnosis
- diversity
- dungeons and dragons
- emotional support
- end of school year
- energy
- enrichment
- equity
- event
- executive function
- executive function skills
- expectations
- finishing strong
- gifted education
- giftedness
- goal setting
- gratitude
- growth
- happiness
- homeschooling
- illuminating interview
- inclusion
- independence
- interest exploration
- interview
- learning plans
- life-design
- mental health
- mentoring
Lessons From The River Nile
Sending you an email from a boat on the River Nile in Egypt.
As we sail down this sacred, life-giving river, I can't help but contemplate ancient civilizations, present-day cultures, and humanity, at large.
As the sun drops below the tree line, I'm sipping date juice, hearing the call to prayer ring out from the minarets as it echos off the banks of the river, all while the ever-changing fragrance from the vegetation shifts with every gust of the warm Sahara winds.
As we drift along, red and white sail thrown to the wind, my mind keeps going back to our little virtual village.
The River Nile was, and is, a source of…
Deliberate Practice – Growing as a Parent
This is all well and good for learning a musical instrument or growing in a new field, but how does deliberate practice look for families and parents? While parenting may not come with a manual, it does come with a mountain of expectations and familial and social scripts. Many parents when they find out they are expecting read all of the books, but then once that child arrives, much of that information goes out the window. So, how do we get better?
Your Child’s Big Leap: A Framework For Unleashing Your Kiddo’s Strengths
Is your child a vibrant ray of sunshine in your world, radiating unique interests, creativity, and curiosity at home, but seems to be dimmed by the demands of school and other “social norms”?
Much of life can have both us and our kiddos wondering, "What am I doing wrong?
Let’s be clear, it doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with you or your child! Quite the contrary…
The problem that you’re facing is simply a challenge of alignment- your kiddo may be out of alignment with their strengths and the tasks that they’re being asked to do.
Would you like to know how to help your kiddo break free from this cycle? It starts by….
Creating A Strength-Based Life With Intentions, Not Resolutions
Happy New Year! For many people, the new year means a chance to create a resolution. The thing is, resolutions can often include a lot of shame.
Intentions, on the other hand, are built on affirmations and goals. Instead of making a resolution this year, I invite you to set intentions around building strength-based opportunities in your child’s life.
Here are a few tips on setting intentions:
1. Focus on the present. When setting intentions, framing the intention in the present tense is important. Doing things you already believe you can do is way easier than trying to achieve something in which you doubt yourself...
How To Make This New Year Your Child’s Best Ever!
Real life can be really hard and raising a neurodivergent child certainly presents no shortage of challenges.
While our minds can often shift to the negative, it's important that we make a conscious effort to look for the positive. This doesn't always come easy and might take real work for you to get the hang of it, but it's worth it!
Just as you would want with your kids, our goal as adults is to aim to be strength-based and talent-focused as possible.
As we pivot into the New Year, this is an important time…
Rudolph The Twice-Exceptional Reindeer
I always know it's December when the flood of Christmas movies on TV swells to a tidal high. This year, I can't help but watch these classics through a different lens; a strength-based, positive psychology lens.
After watching the 1964 classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, I can't help but feel like Rudolph is totally 2e!
When All the Pieces Fall
Once upon a September… I went through an intense depressive lull. For those of you who have depression or love someone who does, you know that it can be cyclical or seasonal.
Depression can look like a thousand things. My depression looked like a dark tide creeping in.
Once my depression hit, I felt like I was underwater. This was not a tide – it was a tsunami, and I could not catch my breath.
But depressive lulls, like tides, have an ebb and a flow.
The thing we can’t see in the middle of depression is that so many of the things we thought were broken or irreparably harmed are just...
Expert Tips On Supporting The Adults Who Support Your Child
We all know it takes a village to raise a child, but sometimes when our children are neurodivergent, the neurotypical village may not have the skills necessary to support our children.
Teachers, coaches, and neighbors are all part of our children’s lives, and these adults often create the framework through which our children.
If you've been wondering how you can better support your child,
here are some Expert Tips On How To Support Adults In Better Supporting Your Child:
What To Do When Your Child Is Twice-Exceptional
Parents come to the realization that their child might be twice-exceptional (2e) through several different paths…
Many parents find out they have a twice-exceptional child with this incredibly unique profile and then you find yourself saying, “Ok, now what?”
Here are a few tips to make sure you are fully supporting your twice-exceptional child...
Classes Start NEXT Week! Here’s What You Can Expect 🎆
I love the beginning of the year. It’s always so full of promise. It’s exciting, and sometimes a little nerve-wracking! As a parent, my first school week is best categorized by running about 5 minutes late to EVERYTHING and at least one drive-through meal because I forgot how long it takes to get somewhere. Many of our 2e kiddos need more support starting something new. The unknown can feel so anxiety-provoking!
Do you know what helps me most with difficult transitions? Knowing exactly what to expect!
In hopes that this will help your family, too, we want to make sure you know exactly what happens from the moment that you register for class to the beginning of the course.
Where Is The “Fun” In Executive Function?
I have many strengths, but like many other folks with ADHD, I have a thousand good ideas in my brain that swim around until they starve slowly from lack of care and feeding or burrow so deeply into my skull that I can think of nothing else until I start, and then abandon yet another mostly finished project. I know I’m not alone in this, because I also have three children who have joined me in this ADHD journey. Executive function is not fun for me, it’s not super fun for my kids, and I think it’s not so fun for my husband who is often the frontal cortex of our family.
So, what is executive function and why should we care?
How A Strength-Based School Year Will Change Your Child’s Life!
As the school year begins, it can be tempting to look back at the past year and only focus on the trials, tribulations, and turmoil.
Real life can be really hard and raising a neurodivergent child certainly presents no shortage of challenges.
While our minds can often shift to the negative, it's important that we make a conscious effort to look for the positive. This doesn't always come easy and might take real work for you to get the hang of it, but it's worth it!
Just as you would want with your kids, our goal as adults is to aim to be strength-based and talent-focused as possible.
Creating a Climate of Resilience
Resilience is the ability to bounce back after adversity, and let’s face it, we have all faced some adversity lately. Teaching children resilience is a hot topic right now as we are all learning to navigate a post-pandemic world. The trouble is that we often go about this in a less-than-ideal way.
When we talk about children and resilience, the focus tends to be on what parents and teachers can do to “build” this skill in children. Instead of the traditional approach, maybe the question is not so much how to help children build resilience, but are we creating the right climate in which it can grow?
Kids Who Shine – Helping Children Avoid Burnout: Part 2
Every year, businesses spend millions of dollars trying to apply the best practices and newest research into employee productivity, far more than education dollars spent on children and burnout.
There is so much research out there on the things adults can do to avoid burnout in their professional lives. We are applying some of that hard-earned research to help our children thrive.
Each of the steps on the Path to Shine includes strategies to help your child build resilience and avoid burnout. This week, we’ll cover the last four steps….
Building Strength-Based IEPs/504s
Children are amazing!
They are funny, clever, and brave. They can remind us of all of the very best things about this world, and they are so much more than any IEP, 504, assessment, report, or document could ever say. They are more than a moment in their educational career, and they deserve to be seen as the complex, unique beings that they are.
So here are a few tips for helping the IEP/504 team develop a strength-based approach to your child’s educational needs.
Top IEP & 504 Tips for Twice-Exceptional Families
Ah, spring.
A time of new beginnings: Flowers are blooming; eggs are hatching; and American parents are navigating the ins and outs of IEPs/504s at the end of a school term.
This time of year usually brings with it a few specific questions around IEPs and 504s, so I wanted to take a moment and answer a few of the most commonly asked questions.
Comparison- The Thief Of Joy
My mom always told me that “Comparison is the thief of joy.” It was right up there with, “If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you follow them?” Both turned into maxims that I still follow… at least most of the time. It’s hard not to compare your child when the world seems so set on gauging growth and success as some sort of delta between where you are to where “normal” is. From the first moment a child enters into your life, there are growth charts and development metrics.
![The Kids Are Alright – At least, They Will Be [An Open Letter]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f31e3d9fd368d05843cb4b3/1679932919804-2A1MGFYKL2H3BPCO49TN/You%27re+ok.jpg)
The Kids Are Alright – At least, They Will Be [An Open Letter]
Hey friend,
How are you? Are you doing alright?
I’m here to tell you that you are doing a great job. I know you are exhausted looking at all the information and reading everything you can. It makes a difference. We can only ever do the best we can with the information we have at the time
Put On Your Mask: Recovering From The Dysregulation of Vacation
Phew. You made it. Winter break is over. I hope you are nice and relaxed and ready for the year ahead.
But… maybe you aren’t. That’s ok too. Here’s the thing though: You and your family don’t have to stay feeling stuck and overwhelmed after a holiday or vacation. To get your family back on track, you need to focus on yourself first. Think of it like an airplane…
A Strength-Based New Year!
As 2022 closes out and 2023 begins, it can be tempting to look back at the past year and only focus on the trials, tribulations, and turmoil.
Real life can be really hard and raising a neurodivergent child certainly presents no shortage of challenges.
While our minds can often shift to the negative, it's important that we make a conscious effort to look for the positive. This doesn't always come easy and might take real work for you to get the hang of it, but it's worth it!
Get Guidance, Validation, and Support
Right to your inbox!
Simply tell us where to send it:
