Being Gifted – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Being Gifted, we explore the unique challenges and strengths of parenting twice-exceptional (2E) children—those who are gifted (Buddhimaan) while also facing developmental challenges such as ADHD, learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, or physical and mental health conditions.

To help us understand this complex journey, we are joined by a very special guest, Ms. Vidya Iyengar—a life coach and a parent of a 2E child. Vidya has successfully homeschooled her daughter, who is now 18 and pursuing a degree in Physics at Melbourne University, Australia. She shares her experiences, challenges, and insights on advocating for neurodivergent children in school, family, and community settings.

Key points discussed:

• Understanding Twice-Exceptional Children

• Challenges a regular schools need to address
• The Need for Advocacy

Guest Speaker: Vidya Iyengar – Life coach, advocate for neurodivergent children, and parent of a 2E child.

Do listen to the entire episode and if you like it, leave us a 5 Star Rating on the platform you are listening to!

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kaverigiftededucationcentre

Do write to us on gifted.admin@kaveri.edu.in for any queries, help and comments.

Useful Links:To Order Our Book - Nurturing Buddhimaan Children: A practical guide for caregivers, Whatsapp 9130077122.

*Being Gifted podcast has been produced by Partners in Upbringing LLP for  KGERC. Hosts ⁠Kalyani Vaidya⁠ and ⁠Himani Kanitkar⁠

#GiftedEducation #HighAbility #PartnersInUpBringing #Parenting

Join us for a special conversation with Abhijit Jejurikar, aself-taught musician and social entrepreneur on a mission to empower the youth of Dharavi through his incredible project, Dharavi Reloaded! 🎶

In this episode, we explore Abhijit's journey from thecorporate world to creating a vibrant platform for slum kids to express their creativity through music and dance. With over 350 performances alongside stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Ed Sheeran, and Salman Khan, Abhijit is not just changing lives—he's redefining what it means to give back.

🎤 Discover:

• How he discovered his passion for music
• The challenges he faced on his unique path
• His experience mentoring young talents in India’s largest recycling hub
• The incredible impact Dharavi Reloaded has had on the community

Tune in for an inspiring story of creativity, resilience, and social change!

Do listen to the entire episode and if you like it, leave us a 5 Star Rating on the platform you are listening to!

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kaverigiftededucationcentre

Do write to us on gifted.admin@kaveri.edu.in.

*Being Gifted podcast has been produced by Partners in Upbringing LLP for  KGERC. Hosts ⁠Kalyani Vaidya⁠ and ⁠Himani Kanitkar⁠

#DharaviReloaded #AbhijitJejurikar #MusicForChange #SocialEntrepreneurship #EmpowerYouth #SlumToStage #CreativeImpact #InspiringStories #JunkPercussion #CommunityArt #YouthEmpowerment #DharaviRocks #ArtWithPurpose #MusicEducation #ChangeMakers #BeingGifted #Giftedsocialentrepreneur

What role does spirituality play in the life of gifted children?

In this podcast we have with us not one but two distinguished guests - Dr. P. Vijayalaxmi (Masters in Medicine, Post graduate in Psychiatry) and  Mrs. Malati Kalmadi (Founder director of KGERC) sharing their knowledge and experiences on 

• Why is it important to have a spiritual base especially in the context of gifted children?
• How does having a spiritual base for the gifted children help in reaching their maximum potential?
• How can we ensure that pride and ego doesn't come in the way of their success and achievements?
• How can gifted children be taught to cope with the WHY ME question that may occur in their mind as they grow up?
• How do we set our children on the path of spirituality?

Do listen to the entire episode and if you like it, leave us a 5 Star Rating on the platform you are listening to!

We will be coming up with one Spirituality for Gifted Children - Part II soon on 28th December 2022. 

You can listen to us on Spotify, Apple and Google podcasts.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kaverigiftededucationcentre

Do write to us on gifted.admin@kaveri.edu.in.

*Being Gifted podcast has been produced by Partners in Upbringing LLP (Instagram @partnersinupbringing) for  KGERC.

#gifted #giftededucation #partnersinupbringing #beinggifted #kaverigiftededucationandresearchcenter #kaverigiftedcenter #friendshipsforgifted #friendshipsforgiftedchildren #friendswithgifted #schoolingofrgiftedchildren #higherability

How can parents find the right mentors for their gifted children? 

On today's podcast we are joined by Ms. Sarita Dhimate. She is an artist, an art therapist, a clinical psychologist, a counselor and a design mentor who has mentored hundreds of students and their parents. 

The points we have discussed are:

• How to know which mentor is good for your child
• Having multiple mentors
• Mentors and godfathers and godmothers
• Parent and mentor partnership

Do listen to the entire episode, share your comments and if you like it, leave us a 5 Star Rating on the platform you are listening to!

You can listen to us on Spotify, Apple and Google podcasts.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kaverigiftededucationcentre

Do write to us on gifted.admin@kaveri.edu.in.

*Being Gifted podcast has been produced by Partners in Upbringing LLP (Instagram @partnersinupbringing) for  KGERC.

#gifted #giftededucation #partnersinupbringing #beinggifted #kaverigiftededucationandresearchcenter #kaverigiftedcenter #friendshipsforgifted #friendshipsforgiftedchildren #friendswithgifted #schoolingofrgiftedchildren #higherability

Mentors can make a huge impact on the lives of gifted children. They not only help the children explore in their area of giftedness, but also contribute towards their holistic development. 

On today's podcast we are joined by Ms. Sarita Dhimate. She is an artist, an art therapist, a clinical psychologist, a counselor and a design mentor who has mentored hundreds of students. 

The points we have discussed are:

• Mentors are beyond teachers
• Building a rapport with mentors
• Creating different learning environments
• Rituals for inculcating values
• Challenges of mentors

Do listen to the entire episode, share your comments and if you like it, leave us a 5 Star Rating on the platform you are listening to!

You can listen to us on Spotify, Apple and Google podcasts. 

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kaverigiftededucationcentre

Do write to us on gifted.admin@kaveri.edu.in.

*Being Gifted podcast has been produced by Partners in Upbringing LLP (Instagram @partnersinupbringing) for  KGERC.

#gifted #giftededucation #partnersinupbringing #beinggifted #kaverigiftededucationandresearchcenter #kaverigiftedcenter #friendshipsforgifted #friendshipsforgiftedchildren #friendswithgifted #schoolingofrgiftedchildren #higherability 

Experiences and challenges that we face as parents while nurturing gifted children are very different than our peers. We may feel stuck and lonely as finding the right answers from the immediate support group may not be possible; we all know there may not be simple and direct answers. In such a situation, sharing tips that are easy to remember and apply come handy.  

In this episode we have shared with you, 5 pearls of wisdom that are highly effective while nurturing gifted children, by Devasena Desai. Dr. Devasena Desai, is an associate director at KGERC and an adjunct lecturer at Iowa, university, USA. She has been working in the gifted domain for the last 15 years. Many of you might have listened to her in our 2nd episode when we discussed What and Why of Giftedness.

Points covered:

1. Observation & Alertness 

2. Opportunities and Exposure 

3. Instructions Vs Conversations 

4. Single Focus & Holistic 

5. Handling anxiety & joy 

 Do listen to the entire episode, share your comments and if you like it, leave us a 5 Star Rating on the platform you are listening to!

You can listen to us on Spotify, Apple and Google podcasts. We will be releasing a new episode on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kaverigiftededucationcentre

Do write to us on gifted.admin@kaveri.edu.in.

*Being Gifted podcast has been produced by Partners in Upbringing LLP (Instagram @partnersinupbringing) for  KGERC.  #gifted #giftededucation #partnersinupbringing #beinggifted #kaverigiftededucationandresearchcenter #kaverigiftedcenter #friendshipsforgifted #friendshipsforgiftedchildren #friendswithgifted #schoolingofrgiftedchildren

Friends bring more happiness into our lives than virtually anything else. Friendships have a huge impact on your mental health. Good friends relieve stress, provide comfort, joy and make loneliness disappear! Having true friends is like having a treasure.

However, friendships and social interaction may seem different and difficult for some gifted children. As parents, we may feel worried for our child that he or she may end up being a loner and not having friends at all. Will they have people around who understand them? Will they enjoy with children like other normal kids? This is a common feeling especially amongst the parents of younger age group.  

So today, we are in conversation with 2 gifted individuals, Rohan Ghatpande and Rukmini Sinha to understand and learn from their personal  experiences in the area of friendship, what affected them, how did they learn through experiences and how did they find their friends and their happiness. 

Rohan works in a consulting firm. He has graduated in mechanical engineering with honors in thermal engineering. HE is very passionate about Music and has been learning to play the piano for over 16 years now. Rohan has completed Grade 8 in Piano and Theory of Music from Trinity College London and he also  teaches Piano to kids on weekends. 

Rukmini works at an animation studio as a storyboard artist. She has graduated with a Bachelor's in Animation from LISAA, a design and animation school in Paris. When she is not working she does something that is totally unrelated to drawing like cooking something new or practicing foreign languages and recently she even learnt skateboarding with a friend!

The key aspects we covered today in our conversation are:

• How was it to make friends as a child
• What problems did they face 
• What helped them to overcome those problems in their social interaction 
• How did social interaction change as they grew up

 And much more 

Do listen to the entire episode, share your comments and if you like it, leave us a 5 Star Rating on the platform you are listening to!

You can listen to us on Spotify, Apple and Google podcasts. We will be releasing a new episode on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kaverigiftededucationcentre

Do write to us on gifted.admin@kaveri.edu.in.

*Being Gifted podcast has been produced by Partners in Upbringing LLP (Instagram @partnersinupbringing) for  KGERC.  #gifted #giftededucation #partnersinupbringing #beinggifted #kaverigiftededucationandresearchcenter #kaverigiftedcenter #friendshipsforgifted #friendshipsforgiftedchildren #friendswithgifted 

Creating an Eco System for Gifted children is like creating a lifeline for them. In the book ‘Brain Child’ by Tony Buzan this wonderful example of the importance of creating an ecosystem and how it is essential for the success of every individual…Tony has compared children to F1 cars. And especially when we are talking about children with higher ability, their brains can run at very high speeds leaving the other regular cars behind.

F1 cars can run so fast because they have a good TEAM - of technicians, engineers, scientists, metal health coaches and sponsors to support them and tune their engines - and most importantly to avoid accidents.

 As a society, as parents and teachers to gifted children, it is our responsibility to create this ecosystem to guide them along the path. but the question remains how to create one?

Today, we are once again by joined by Ms. Chitra Ramaswany from Bangalore. All of us have heard her in the last episode on ‘Schooling for gifted children’. She is a mother to 16 year old Shankar. 

Points covered:  

 - Finding a mentor/ educator/ mental health professional for the gifted child

 - Meeting the emotional needs 

 - Using the available resources and  infrastructure 

 - taking help of school and teachers 

 - Being a part of groups of gifted and non gifted children of different ages

And more  Do listen to the entire episode, share your comments and if you like it, leave us a 5 Star Rating on the platform you are listening to!

You can listen to us on Spotify, Apple and Google podcasts. We will be releasing a new episode on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kaverigiftededucationcentre

Do write to us on gifted.admin@kaveri.edu.in.

*Being Gifted podcast has been produced by Partners in Upbringing LLP (Instagram @partnersinupbringing) for  KGERC.  #gifted #giftededucation #partnersinupbringing #beinggifted #kaverigiftededucationandresearchcenter #kaverigiftedcenter #friendshipsforgifted #friendshipsforgiftedchildren #friendswithgifted #schoolingofrgiftedchildren

Schools are the backbone of our education system. Children are admitted to schools based on their physical age and not the mental ability… And this is exactly why gifted children may find it difficult to adjust themselves in schools because of void of the nurturing they should receive from the institution.

Gifted kids face many problems in the school set up like -

• They show higher abilities and are able to grasp the academic concepts far ahead of their age.
• They may not share their ideas openly thinking their friends might laugh at them or simply won't understand their thoughts..
• They may put a facade to hide their real talent
• They may feel restricted and limited 

To understand their challenges and to know how teachers and parents can help gifted children adjust in the normal school setup, today we are joined by a parent who has experienced all these challenges first hand,  Ms. Chitra Ramaswany from Bangalore. She is a mother to 16 year old Shankar, who is gifted in STEM area and has published a paper in the Young scientist journal UK at the age of 16. 

We have discussed about:

• Role of a parent
• Role of the school, Teachers and Principal 
•  Bullying 
•  Social interaction of the gifted child in school 

And more

Do listen to the entire episode, share your comments and if you like it, leave us a 5 Star Rating on the platform you are listening to!

You can listen to us on Spotify, Apple and Google podcasts. We will be releasing a new episode on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kaverigiftededucationcentre

Do write to us on gifted.admin@kaveri.edu.in.

*Being Gifted podcast has been produced by Partners in Upbringing LLP (Instagram @partnersinupbringing) for  KGERC.  #gifted #giftededucation #partnersinupbringing #beinggifted #kaverigiftededucationandresearchcenter #kaverigiftedcenter #friendshipsforgifted #friendshipsforgiftedchildren #friendswithgifted #schoolingofrgiftedchildren

As  parents and teachers, we may notice that some gifted children are fidgety, restless, and get easily bored. They may have trouble sitting still, or staying quiet when needed. They may rush through things and make careless mistakes. They may climb, jump, or roughhouse when they shouldn't. And Without meaning to, they may act in ways which are disturbing for others.

We casually label these children as Hyperactive. In this episode of Being Gifted,  let's understand in detail about hyperactivity, what are the root causes, how is it related to giftedness and most importantly how to handle it?

Today we are joined by Ms. Mukta Jatkar, a qualified special educator with more tha 25+ years of experience. She has pursued her B.Ed. in special education from SNDT University, Mumbai and a Masters of Science in Education with specialization in Learning Disabilities from the University of Kansas, U.S.A. She is also an alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

The key points addressed in this conversation are :

• Hyperactive VS High on energy and overactive.
• Why is Hyperactivity commonly found in gifted children?
• What are the reasons behind hyperactivity?
• Physical hyperactivity is a very obvious and commonly observed behavioral trait.  But are there any other behavioral traits as well?
• What is ADHD? How is it different from Hyperactive kids without ADHD?

Do listen to the entire episode, share your comments and if you like it, leave us a 5 Star Rating on the platform you are listening to!

You can listen to us on Spotify, Apple and Google podcasts. We will be releasing a new episode on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kaverigiftededucationcentre

Do write to us on gifted.admin@kaveri.edu.in.

*Being Gifted podcast has been produced by Partners in Upbringing LLP (Instagram @partnersinupbringing) for  KGERC.  #gifted #giftededucation #partnersinupbringing #beinggifted #kaverigiftededucationandresearchcenter #kaverigiftedcenter