“Though I was bursting inside with stories to tell, I was never taught how to structure a riveting plot that would keep my readers interested. I was never taught how to create vibrant characters and describe tangible settings and add symbolism and nuance to my stories, which to me ARE the important aspects of writing.

So, to get back to the roots, the essence of the story and the character, the things that matter the most, I created a game.”

Charlie presented to us as a precocious 5-year-old boy with visual processing difficulties, as well as trouble with sensory processing and impulsivity. Charlie tested in the gifted range and had difficulty regulating much of what his brain was attempting to process. He completed his OMST program, resulting in a number of behavior changes that took weeks to regulate and re-establish more proficiently. Charlie is a prime example of a gifted boy who developed many coping mechanisms throughout his life that left his sensory system exhausted and uncertain. OMST deconstructs and rebuilds those sensory systems. Read more about Charlie’s progress and other OMST success stories.

“Twenty-five years ago, three of my four children were diagnosed as twice exceptional (2e) at Gifted Development Center. Their teachers, and my husband and I, spent lots of time trying to figure out how to help them gain the skills of “paying attention,” “perseverance” and “legible handwriting.”  It was time that we felt would have been better spent encouraging the full expression of their giftedness. We questioned why we could not find a solution to the issues caused by our children’s atypical neurology that prevented the full expression of their talents and gifts. We wanted them to be all that they were meant to be.”

Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | In Berry Song, the artist celebrates life on an island surrounded by the wild sea that has been the home of her Tlingit ancestors for countless generations. Berry Song is a lovely celebration of Mother Earth. The narration is brief yet inspirational.

Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | If there is a lesson to be learned from this unique double biography, it is that truly creative people never give up. Christo and Jeanne-Claude considered their life work a success despite the reality that they were at least one project shy of even realizing 50 percent overall success of their monumental dreams.

Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | Readers of all ages will get a hoot out of the consummate picture book, Knight Owl, that was this year named by the American Library Association as a Caldecott Honor Book. This seemingly simple picture book is filled with laugh out-loud word play and cleverness. But, it is also a book about courage, confidence, and diligence.

Gifted Development Center and Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG) are offering a series of professional development courses for psychologists and examiners of gifted and twice exceptional children. The series generates APA Continuing Education Units (CEUs), but others can enroll without earning the APA CEUs. The courses are also of interest to university instructors in gifted education, school counselors, therapists, coordinators of gifted programs, Directors of Admission at schools for the gifted, teachers, and parents.

Review by Dr. Jerry Flack | The canine hero of Hot Dog is a Dachshund, but the title is not a nickname for that popular breed. The title is quite literally a story about the day in life of a dog (actually a pup) whose existence becomes increasingly wretched due to the stifling summer heat of his home in New York City.