A congress organised by the “Jacques a dit” association, chaired by Natacha Jelic, which took place on 15 and 16 November 2014 in Limoux, in the Aude department of southern France.
A brief look at the Gifted Children Congress
The EIP Congress
This series of 11 videos is a rather special case in 3TOON’s history… The studio’s founders, as parents of a gifted child (“EIP” — enfant intellectuellement précoce — in French), were keen to film these two days of congress in their entirety, so as to make them available to a wider audience unable to travel to Limoux (see the article below).
A snapshot of intellectually gifted children
Statistics estimate that in France there are around 400,000 gifted children — on average 3 per class. Yet, poorly diagnosed and poorly supported, these children often have a difficult time at school, and 60% of them fail to obtain the baccalaureate!
Two days of lectures and workshops
Organised by Alexandrine Léon, herself the parent of a gifted child, the Limoux lectures addressed the many difficulties gifted children face.
The speakers set out the learning process of a high-potential child. To ease their path through school, tools were presented to the audience — notably learning through play, and techniques for re-motivating these “gifted” children, who often feel rejected by an education system that does not accept them as they are.
Many speakers followed one another, including:
- A graphotherapist explained how to compensate for the awkward handwriting of high-potential children.
- A neuropsychologist described the cognitive process.
- A psychologist detailed issues around social and emotional skills, and revealed ways to better understand and respond to these children’s emotions.
- And many other professionals covering every topic linked to giftedness in children (see below).
Two days during which tools were presented for absorbing new notions and adopting new strategies towards these little “zebras”, as gifted children are affectionately called in France.
The 11 lectures on video
Programme of the Gifted Children Congress
Opening of the symposium
“Opening of the symposium” by Alexandrine Léon, symposium coordinator, Pierre Durand, President of the Limoux and Saint-Hilaire Community of Communes, and Myriam Manifacier, national-education liaison for Languedoc-Roussillon.
André Giordan
“Supporting a gifted child to succeed at school” by André Giordan, Professor and Founder of the Laboratory for the Didactics and Epistemology of Science, University of Geneva.
Cécile Bost
“At what age does one stop being gifted?” by Cécile Bost, author. Cécile Bost discovered her own specificity at age 42.
Rose Gonfond
“Mindfulness in gifted children and teenagers” by Rose Gonfond, teacher and MBSR instructor.
Pascal Olivier
“The difficulty of losing among gifted children: between the desire to win and narcissistic fragility” by Pascal Olivier, clinical psychologist and psychotherapist.
Elizabeth de Castelbajac and Patricia Brochen
“An introduction to graphotherapy” by Elizabeth de Castelbajac and Patricia Brochen, graphotherapists in Toulouse.
Fabrice Bak
“Kind treatment and gifted children” by Fabrice Bak, psychologist, lecturer at Lyon 2 University, trainer and author.
Claudine Gault
“Knowing and recognising high potential: which teaching approaches to put in place for a fulfilling welcome that takes gifted children’s differences into account” by Claudine Gault, school head.
Véronique Gaillard
“Elements of pedagogy at school and at home” by Véronique Gaillard, trainer – EIP Group at the Ministry of National Education.
Renaud Keymeulen
“Enjoyable, effective learning with multiple intelligences” by Renaud Keymeulen, methodologist, trainer, author and learning specialist in Belgium.
Nelly Dussausse and Noëlle Sanchez
“Round table: examples of institutions with specific teaching approaches” with Nelly Dussausse (head of the Georges Gusdorf school) and Noëlle Sanchez (Montessori educator).
The article in La Dépêche du Midi
Below, you can read a screenshot of the article the newspaper devoted to the Limoux EIP Congress (in French), including a photo and interview of 3TOON’s founders and their child…
