Helping
Gifted Children
Helen Dowland, B.Sc.,
B.A,(Hons), Dip.Ed.
Gifted Education
Consultant helping Gifted Children, their families and schools.
| PLEASE
NOTE: Starting October '07 this site is
currently under major
reconstruction, after having been "stuck" since Jan '06 with a
company where I couldn't access it to update it. However there are
a lot of teething problems getting it re-started with the new company,
so to see the information more easily go to it's previous address:
http://www.helendowland.fasthit.net. But to check the reconstructed site as it develops, check back here. |
Do you have, or think that you may have, a gifted child in your family?
Is the situation unclear in
many ways, and are there issues which you are
uncertain relate to your child's
giftedness? Do you wonder what to do next?
There are many problems which can affect gifted children; some of these I have
tried to address on this website; other topics will be added to this site
when
I have time. I hope you find the information here to be helpful.
I have been working for
some years as an education
consultant specialising in
working with such situations, mostly within families, occasionally in
schools,
analysing problems and coming up with practical solutions. I work with
both
pre-school and school-aged children, helping families & their gifted
child or children to achieve a happy and productive life for their child from
babyhood through toddlerhood, and throughout the school years. When children
start
school
I help the family and child to work with the school to ensure that the
child is happy,
that his or her
needs are met, and that his or her potential is not
lost.
However since a car accident in April 2004, which compounded previous
health
problems (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), I haven't been consulting very actively,
and
have left the website online for whatever help it may be to parents
and teachers;
it has some good practical information and I hoped people could find something
helpful
here! Currently (October '07) I'm still not well, but I'd like to do a
very little
consulting when I can, especially for families who have an urgent situation.
I very much appreciate the people who email
me to thank me for
the information
on the
website; thank you - getting positive feedback certainly helps one through
difficult times!
A REQUEST:
Being ill for the past too-many years (my daughter also has a
long-term
illness; neither are infectious!) has been a very hard row to hoe, & the worst part
to me is being endlessly confined to our fairly small unit - I love traveling so much &
miss it
so much! Does anyone reading this site & finding it helpful, have
accommodation
they could
lend me, or rent me very reasonably, in return for the information on this site, and some help
with
their situation? I would be so very grateful! Realistically this
wouldn't be until into 2008.
I could "house-sit" or apartment-sit, as long as not too much
energetic work is needed - I love
animals and the reduced health means I'd mostly be home to keep them company.
- In Adelaide,
I would love just a week or more's break anywhere pleasant to make a change, or
especially
a week or so near the beach;
(outside school holidays is fine)
- elsewhere in
Australia I would so
love : a couple of weeks in inner city in
Sydney, Canberra,
Melbourne, Hobart or Brisbane,
to check out Art Galleries etc;
-overseas anywhere,
we would adore a month or two in any pleasant environment that has
economic restaurants/take aways, so that we could relax re cooking & enjoy
the ambience
We love the US, Canada, the
UK, France, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, New Zealand -
I speak
French & German & love to practise it.
If you can help, please email
me
The
new "Gifted/Highly Gifted Primary School Kit".
Development of this kit
has been much delayed by illness. The kit will contain all the information necessary for
parents to
design
an Individual Education Program especially for their gifted child, and
to negotiate with the school to enable the child to work on this program in the classroom.
This kit will help parents to help their child safely through the primary years,
hopefully
enabling him or her to reach his or her potential.
I will have this kit ready as soon as I can; I'm keeping contact details of
all those
who
have enquired about the kit, and will contact you when it's ready.
If you're interested in it please email
me and I'll get in touch when it's ready. All parents
who email, please tell me the gender, age & year level of your
child, which city & state
you're in (and country if not in Australia), and give a list of
the problems and issues you
would like the kit to address - in preparing this first kit, I'll
try to make sure it addresses
all the needs of the people who are waiting to buy it.
I
expect the cost to be approximately $35, & I will be able to accept payment by
cheque or credit
card via Paypal.
This Website:
The website contains articles on
some topics relevant to gifted children, some of them adapted from articles
of mine which were previously
published. These articles give information and advice on
topics which concern
parents and families of gifted children. Please note
that advice and opinions on gifted children's issues vary
from one person to
another; the information and advice given on this site are those of myself personally, and
may differ from advice given by others.
Parents need to compare information and advice and use their
own judgment.
These articles may be downloaded and printed from this website for personal use by parents
and teachers.
Research students and media journalists working in the area of gifted children
should contact me directly,
preferably by e-mail. Any information from
this site should be appropriately referenced, and notification
given to me that the material has been cited, linked, or referenced.
Other topics and answers to frequently asked questions will be added
-
keep checking this site!
New pages completed or added
to this site recently are:
The long-awaited "If
my child seems happy at school is everything fine?"
-
A different way of thinking (or "Getting Ideas down on paper") -
this is hugely
helpful information regarding some gifted children
- Gifted learning disabled; including information re dyslexia (to be completed).
My Experience:
I have tertiary
qualifications in Maths, Physics, Psychology & Musicology (Honours), and a
Post-Graduate
Diploma in Education. I am a qualified teacher at both primary and
secondary level.
I have been Gifted Children's
Coordinator for Australian Mensa from 1989 - 2005. Since 1989 I have
coached and counseled many gifted children, and counseled and worked
with hundreds of families
from all over Australia, by letter, telephone,
and e-mail.
My consulting work has always been in the area of
problem analysis and finding practical
solutions for parents with gifted
children, analysing family situations with many confusing factors,
and identifying areas in which practical measures can help the gifted child and the
family.
I was an AFS Exchange
Student for 12 months in the US.
Helen Dowland, Education Consultant
B.Sc., B.A.(Hons), Dip.Ed.
recently Australian Mensa Gifted Children's Coordinator.
helendowland@senet.com.au
Download:
"Real Maths for Gifted Children"
Many gifted
& highly gifted children love maths, and want more than school offers them
in the
Junior
Primary and Primary years. Extension maths is just the thing to fill
boring times in class!
Download as Text File
[
DON'T worry about
the panel asking for a
username and password when you
try to download the Maths file; just click on cancel & it will
proceed. You don't need
any username or
password. I'll fix it as soon as I can find out how to 
]
In 100 years time
it won't matter what sort of house I lived in, what my income was, or
what
kind of car I drove; but
the world may be a different place because I was there to help
in the life of a child.
You are
visitor number since 24th June 2000