Category: Early Childhood & Learning
Does Early Talking Signal Giftedness?
How does early or late talking relate to how smart a child is? Two families were visiting their great aunt and uncle and chatting with each other as their first-borns, and first cousins to each other, were crawling and toddling around the living room floor in front of them all. Little Sally, about 14 months […]
Are Schools Prepared for Gifted Children? (Exceptionally to Profoundly Gifted, Level Four)
Level Four children and their parents in my first book (5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options, 2009) generally had considerable difficulty finding a good school fit. My second book, my longitudinal study (The 5 Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up: What They Tell Us, 2023), shows us how the outcomes of this high […]
Scatterplots of Early Childhood Development in Gifted Children
Different in Many Ways Scatterplots to illustrate some of the ways! Early in my consulting career with gifted families, my natural inclination to explore, theorize, and try to figure things out about high intelligence and its affects, led me to do a fun little investigation. One of my focuses during my PhD doctoral training was […]
Is Early Reading a Sign of Giftedness?
Many gifted kids read before any lessons. Some highly, exceptionally, to profoundly gifted start by ages two to three. Some don’t read until later. Many gifted kids read before any lessons. Some highly, exceptionally, to profoundly gifted (Ruf Estimates of Levels Three, Four, and Five) start by ages two to three. A child might still […]
Preschool Behaviors in Highly to Profoundly Gifted Children
The Grayson School left this insightful comment on “Preschool Behaviors in Highly to Profoundly Gifted Children” on Substack: “This is a fabulous summary of the gifted preschooler at various ages. We know at Grayson that gifted PreK children are tremendously hungry to learn, and that research shows that 3- and 4-year-old gifted children get tremendous […]
Early Childhood Screening for Giftedness
Early Childhood Screening for Giftedness Even when a gifted program isn’t available, it makes sense to screen anyway.All students in the classroom benefit from an approach that identifies and addresses different learningand social needs. There are good reasons why readiness screening is done routinely. Do you know whatyour school does and how they use the […]
Why Recognizing Giftedness in Early Childhood is So Crucial
Unlocking the Mysteries of Giftedness: An Interview with Julia Krysztofiak-Szopa of Dzieci Zdolne Gifted children are often misunderstood and overlooked in traditional educational systems, leading to feelings of boredom, frustration, and even underachievement. To shed light on this topic, I sat down with Julia Krysztofiak-Szopa, the founder of Dzieci Zdolne (Gifted Children), to discuss Dr. […]
Is my preschooler gifted?
When very young children demonstrate precocious behaviors, such as seeming to understand words and adult conversations that are beyond their years, or strong interest in things and topics that generally interest older children, their parents may wonder if their baby or preschool child might be gifted. Below are some guidelines to help you know if […]
Early Childhood Screening for Giftedness
Deborah Ruf, PhD ©2022 Gifted programming generally isn’t available for the youngest gifted children. But that doesn’t mean that the classroom teacher or parents can’t provide appropriate instruction and social interactions for students who are ahead of classmates in preschool, kindergarten, or the earliest grade levels of school. Generally speaking, both screening and individualizing for […]
