Conference Supports Gifted Children and Their Families

EVANSTON, Ill.   --- In her keynote address “Straight A’s and Stressed,” psychologist Danielle Black will discuss anxiety, common parenting traps and ways to build resiliency during Northwestern University’s annual summer conference for families of academically advanced children.

“Opportunities for the Future,” sponsored by Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development (CTD), features workshops and programs for adults and children, ages preschool through 12th grade. For the first time this year, Northwestern faculty and staff will receive a 50 percent registration discount.

Black, director of the Child Anxiety Clinic at Northwestern’s Family Institute, will host a workshop following her speech so parents can dive deeper into the issues discussed, including the causes of anxiety in gifted children and how it impacts their growth.

Other workshops for adults include:

• “Stick With It: Embracing Uncertainty By Learning To Shift Manually in an Automatic World” by Joseph Holtgreive, assistant dean and director of the office of personal development at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering

•  “10 Essential Tips For Ensuring Your Gifted Child’s Success” by Kathleen Niles, parent services and communications manager for the National Association for Gifted Children

 Students in fourth through 12th grades can attend workshops designed to offer new perspectives on current areas of study as well as future career opportunities. Children age 4 through third grade can participate in hands-on architecture and construction activities, modeled on CTD’s Summer Leapfrog Program.

Several workshops are university-level classes that have been adapted for the first time for younger students. “Solar Cell Workshop: Turning Sunlight into Power,” for example, is based on the work of Sameer Patwardhan, a materials scientist and postdoctoral scholar at Northwestern. Students will construct solar cells capable of powering electronic devices with sunlight, based on Patwardhan’s work at the Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center.

“Opportunities for the Future” is open to all interested parents and children. There are no admission criteria.

The conference will be from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 25 at Northwestern’s Technological Institute, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston.

For more information on conference workshops, fees and presenter biographies, go to the “details” section of the conference page or contact ctd@northwestern.edu.