Elle Leher helps parents see, support and celebrate their Wonderfully Wired child with neuro-differences such as Dyslexia, ADHD, giftedness, autism, twice excep...
Talking Strength based assessment with Dr Jade Rivera
Dr Jade Rivera is professor at the Bridges Gradual School for Cognitive diversity with a passion for 'a strength based world for neurodivergent humans' She's been a force for change in education for wonderfully wired kids for over fifteen year designing 'micro schools' that serve niche communities in creative ways showing ideas like project based learning and grade less classrooms aren't just fanciful dreams. Anyone who spends a bit of time on Dr Rivera's newsletter on Substack will quickly see her depth of knowledge and infectious passion. I've invited her on the show to talk to us about her most recent baby, and maybe greatest contribution in running the STRENGTH based assessment lab at Bridges: where we get to pack away all we've learnt about assessment, all our stress and anxiety and see in action something significantly different.
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Introducing Southern African Fathers of Children with Neurodiversity (FCN)
“There is a prevailing narrative that black dads are deadbeats, that they often abscond their responsibilities.” said Buzwe Mabuza, founder of Black Dad’s are Cool Dads and one of my three guests on the podcast this month “Providing and disciplining. That's all that we were told we can look forward to when we become dads.But I'm a present dad, I'm active and I have a couple of friends who are also active and present. Therefore we decided as opposed to just complaining, let's do something about it.” I interviewed Caleb Chavalala, Buzwe Mabuza and Mosi Molefe of FCN (Fathers of Children with Neurodiversity) a vibrant online community out of South Africa made of men supporting one another in parenting their Wonderfully Wired kids. You are in for a treat!
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Understanding Working Memory with Dr Erica Warren
"If the research shows that Working Memory is a better indicator of academic success than IQ, then why aren't we honing in on this skill in education?" This compelling question is posed by Dr. Erica Warren, our guest on this month's Wonderfully Wired podcast. For quite some time, we've understood that IQ isn't the sole predictor of a child's academic success. Children can exhibit areas of extraordinary IQ yet struggle academically. What if enhancing the Executive Functioning skill of working memory is the most practical way to improve academic performance? Dr. Warren certainly thinks so.
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Teaching Kids Social skills with Caroline Maguire
For years, my guest Caroline Maguire wondered why nobody in the industry was serving Wonderfully Wired kids by explicitly teaching them social skills. As a Wonderfully Wired person herself, Caroline thought it was "bonkers," that nobody was acknowledging how hard it was for these kids and teaching them the skills they were lacking. Wonderfully Wired kids often struggle to understand social rules: They may feel like they’ve broken rules they didn’t know existed. Feedback they receive can seem unexpected and confusing. Caroline emphasises that in her 20 years of experience, all the children she taught were more worried about belonging and being understood than their academic performance. She believes that developing the underlying executive functioning skills is key to helping kids live the fulfilling lives they aspire to.
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Talking to Kids about their brains with Dr Liz Angoff
This month we are featuring the incredible insights of Dr. Liz Angoff from ExplainingBrains.com. Dr. Liz's approach to assessments is transformative, focusing on celebrating the strengths of a child's brain, recognising challenges, and using a child's language to understand the uniqueness of their brain. This process is inherently more collaborative and respectful, involving feedback to the child and the family that is empowering and celebratory of neurodiversity right from the very start.
Elle Leher helps parents see, support and celebrate their Wonderfully Wired child with neuro-differences such as Dyslexia, ADHD, giftedness, autism, twice exceptionality and more in order to grow, succeed and thrive.
She acts as bridge between parent and expert to access and simplify information; advocate for a strength perspective on difference; and support Wonderfully Wired families
South Africa