Giftedness isn’t what most people think it is — and it doesn’t come with a manual.

 

I’m Devon Harris, and I help parents of gifted children decode confusing or troubling behaviour and meet the real needs driving it. Today, I feel like I’m living at the very centre of my purpose: helping families raise brilliant, sensitive, creative children in ways that unleash their true potential.

 

Our home is not perfect — there’s still conflict and struggle — but I’m no longer in conflict with the conflict. I can respond instead of react and I recognise the struggles as vital for learning and growth. I know what my child needs in every moment, and when things go off course (as they inevitably do), we repair quickly. .

 

We’ve built a democratic household where everyone’s needs are met abundantly, even — perhaps especially — mine.

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It wasn’t always this way.

 

Despite my degree in Youth Studies, my background as a Child and Adolescent Behavioural Specialist, and years of professional experience supporting young people, I often felt like I was failing as a parent.

 

I tried everything — Montessori, gentle parenting, positive discipline — yet found myself swinging between permissiveness and control. I was ashamed of the moments I used threats, punishments, or bribes, and even more ashamed of how alone I felt.

 

On the surface, I looked capable and calm; my child was excelling academically and socially, even as a toddler. But inside, I was unraveling — terrified that I was somehow dimming his light, watching his love of learning fade and his confidence wane.

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The turning point came with a question: What if it’s not all me? What if there’s something missing in how we understand children altogether? That question cracked open everything I thought I knew. I saw the invisible assumptions baked into modern parenting — that behaviour must be controlled, that emotions are problems to be fixed, that children’s intensity is something to manage rather than honour.

 

When I discovered Aware Parenting, a new paradigm came into focus: unwanted behaviour wasn’t a sign of defiance but an indicator of unmet needs or unexpressed feelings. Better still there was a framework so we didn't just wallow in the mud. 

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I dove headfirst into learning and integrating these principles, combining them with a deeper understanding of giftedness. Overnight, my relationship with my child transformed. I could finally decode his behaviour, meet him where he was, and support his self-healing and self-learning processes.

 

Instead of power struggles, we had breakthroughs. With each emotional storm, he emerged more integrated, mature, and confident.

 

Over time, I distilled what worked into a clear process — foundational mindset shifts and clear learnable steps — that now form the heart of my coaching practice. Parents who apply this work consistently report the same transformation: calmer homes, deeper connection, and children who begin to thrive through challenge.
 

I stand for parents who are ready to move beyond outdated models of reward and punishment and step into a new era of connection, cooperation, and growth. I believe gifted children are the canaries in the coal mine of our culture — reacting more intensely to what is harmful to all humans. When we learn to listen to them, not fix them, they become our greatest teachers, and our greatest joy.

 

My mission is to help parents become the steady, attuned presence their children need to unlock their full potential and lead with empathy, creativity, and courage.
 

This matters because the world urgently needs future-conscious leaders — people who can think critically, feel deeply, and act compassionately. When a parent learns to raise a gifted child without dimming their light, it doesn’t just change that family; it changes the trajectory of a generation. Every healed interaction, every moment of true connection, ripples outward — shaping communities, society, and the future itself.