Interview by Lucinda Leo* (Children’s names have been changed)

Tell us about how OEs have affected your family

All three of my children (now 10, 8 and 6) have OEs to varying degrees.

Naturally, our steepest learning curve was with our firstborn. Right from the start I noticed that Laura was very sensitive and didn't like changes in her routine. When she was about five we moved to a new area. Because we home-educate I felt pressure to integrate into the local community, but playdates were a nightmare.

Laura has such a powerful imagination, her toys are alive to her - they even have a particular way of speaking and behaving. Laura found it really difficult to share them when other children visited. Visits to other people's house were no easier. Laura struggled to cope with a strange new environment and the other mother (even if the mum was very kind). Read on for the rest of the interview

"Connecting Positively with your 'OE' Child or Teenager" is designed to help you understand what you and your child need to enable positive dialogue and develop a clear connection.  You’ll learn how strong emotions may affect development and behaviour, as well as discovering more about influencing factors such as Asynchronous Development, OverExcitability and High Ability.

"I thought it was brilliant.Very inspiring and and just what we needed for our family. I gained confidence in myself and my choices and to get tools to help our family." Mum of a nine and two-year-old.

This workshop will help parents with the skills needed to help their child to understand and control their own emotions and behaviour. You’ll also be introduced to strategies that can make challenging situations more manageable and build greater communication. The workshop will be led by Simone de Hoogh.

"Simone - very knowledgeable and shared your knowledge in structured way so very understandable. Really liked the final exercise, where we decided how to make a plan for a child." Mum of a 15 and 10-year-old.

 "Every part, more time to discuss examples and process information would be great, I’d gladly do another day on it! Thank you for a wonderfully informative day." ( mum of 2 boys and one girl)