About the Author

CENTAR ZA POTICANJE DAROVITOSTI DJETETA


Dr. Jasna C.Lay
Founder and vicepresident,
Specialist in Gifted Education

Jasna Cvetković Lay, Psychologist,
Specialist in Gifted Education, Adviser

Has a BA in psychology & ECHA specialisation in Gifted Education including fifteen years of work experience as educational & developmental psychologist.

For several years she worked as an associate at the Office of Schooling, in the Croatian Ministry of Education and Sport. She trained educators end other professionals in the field of developmental & educational psychology, and she also worked as a mentor, introducing psychologists to their individual work. As a supervisor in UNICEF projects for psycho-social help to children affected by war, she especially worked in the area of traumatic psychology, for which she  has acquired her expert knowledge in professional seminar "Trauma prevention and treatment" in Israel.

Expert knowledge in the field of Gifted Education she acquired in Great Britain and Netherlands In Great Britain she also finished in service teacher training held by experts and visited many institutions such as National Associations for Gifted Children, National Associations for Curriculum Enrichment, Bromley Developmental and Teacher Training Center, Newton's Prep School, Windmill School, Middlesex University, Reading University etc. Her education was financially supported by British Council in Zagreb. In the Center for the Study of Giftedness, University of Nijmegen in 2000. she finished European postgraduate program and become Specialist in Gifted Education.

In 1995. she founded Bistrić - Center for gifted child development (NGO) together with  a group of colleagues, whose aim is to apply in practice the knowledge about gifted children and ways of working with them. In the few year she has held a series of practical and theoretical trainings and workshops for educators and people who work with gifted children. She is a permanent adviser to parents of gifted children in Zagreb and some other Croatian cities. Her first book - handbook "I want and can more "(Alinea - Bistrić, 1995), is written for parents to help them raised gifted children from age 3 to 8. She personally directs and creates the program for Brainy playgroups for gifted children. Her second book "He is gifted, what should I do with him?" (Alinea - Bistrić, 1998) is written for teachers and based on her experience in teacher training and workshops for gifted children. Her third and most comprehensive handbook for family, preschool and school "He is gifted, what should I do with myself?" (Alinea - Bistrić, 2002) deals with many practical questions on scientific way and offers practically applied answers to educationalists and parents.

As an associate at the Slovene Office of Schooling, for the last two years she has been training the educators in the area of the development of a positive self-concept in a child and the gifted educations.

She has published several works and gave reports at professional conferences in Croatia and abroad including the ECHA (European Council for High Ability) conference in Wiena (1966, Debrecin (2000) and Rhodes (2002).

In 2000 when she finished ECHA postgraduate training and got ECHA diploma. She invited representatives from 11 countries in transition and organizes the international conference "National networks for Gifted Children" with support of Center for the Study of Giftednes and European Council for High Ability. She also edited the international conference proceedings.

Now she works as adviser for gifted children and youth and prepare new handbook for creative thinking. In 2002. she became the national ECHA corespodent from Croatia. His report for year 2003 is here.

Croatian psychological association has assigned her annual psychological award Marko Marulić in 2003. for remarkably valuable contribution in applied psychology.   From 2005. she lectured the Gifted Education course for students of psychology on University of  Zagreb.

Send mail to nadarenost@gmail.com with questions or comments .