Lists of Behavioral Milestones

When Dr. Ruf was gathering material for her book, "Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind" (subsequently renamed "5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options"), she sent survey questions to approximately 80 families who participated in her research. She found it fascinating at how many parents told similar stories and how often those stories and milestones fell into the same Levels. Ultimately, these behavioral milestones became the basis for her Five Levels of Giftedness.

Finding out a child’s Level is not a competition to see who is best or smartest or most amazing. It is a nonintrusive way of figuring out how to meet the social, emotional, academic and parenting needs of a child even without a full-scale assessment. The Ruf Estimates is a good alternative to getting this information when a child is too young for professional IQ testing, or the family cannot afford the testing.

As is stated at the beginning of any of the "list” articles Dr. Ruf has written, not all things on the list must be present for a child to basically fit a Level. It is about finding a "feel" for what seems to best describe the child. Also, the lists were never intended to be read in isolation - that is, without the benefit of the anecdotes that accompanied the behaviors that are contained in her book. Knowing a child's Level does no good if one doesn't then read up on what each level needs.

We hope this helps people to understand a little better the purpose of the lists. Learn how to use the information by reading the whole book, or read the feedback from the Ruf Estimates Online Assessment. Remember, it's not about labeling the child - it's about helping the child."