Genius Teatime with Rebecca Niederlander
Channel: Opulent Mobility
Date: 2023-03-04

The asynchrony of giftedness is a whole body experience, affecting not just the brain, but also the body. Anecdotal reports and at least one major study abound of the increased prevalence of certain physiological conditions in the gifted population.  Rebecca Niederlander has several syndromes and conditions that are genetic, and some that are of unknown origin, but that are certainly affected by their interaction with her brain.  Why are these so prevalent in the gifted community?  How does GRO Gifted want to support and educate us as we navigate this terrain, especially post-pandemic? Are the things you think of as just a facet of being alive actually chronic illnesses that need medical attention? Come hear one story and her efforts to move from anecdotes to medical research.

Rebecca Niederlander is an artist, essayist, curator, activist, and accomplice. Her artwork has been shown internationally including the acclaimed Venice Biennale. A recipient of numerous grants including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Durfee Foundation, Niederlander’s TEDtalk was entitled “The Art of the Journey.” She developed community engagement projects for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Niederlander co-founded the art and family social engagement BROODWORK (which was featured in the New York Times). She has written about art for numerous publications including a chapter in the catalog of the exhibition “Color and Fire” at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, for which she was also a curatorial assistant.

Niederlander is also the Board Treasurer for GRO-Gifted non-profit. She presented at the 2023 Gift-A-Palooza conference on giftedness and neurodiversity. In 2021 and 2022 she presented at the SENG Annual Conference on Parenting your Transgender and Gifted Child and Being the Best Ally to the Transgender and Gifted People in your Life, as well as co-authored the article Just Listen: Affirming Strategies for Supporting Gifted Transgender Youth for the June 2021 issue of the NAGC magazine Parenting for High Potential. 

Genius Teatime was conceived by Pamela Samuelson of Embodywork LA and A. Laura Brody of Opulent Mobility. We ask folks what they can give a talk on for 40 minutes without prep or notes, and they deliver talks full of wonderful information and community spirit! This talk benefited GRO-Gifted, our speaker, and the Opulent Mobility accessibility fund. 

Please join us for future Genius Teatime sessions each Saturday at 3:30-4:30 Pm PST (teatime!) via Zoom on https://www.opulentmobility (dot) com/genius-teatime.html.