The 5 Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up: What They Tell Us

by Phd Deborah L. Ruf

Overview

The 5 Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up is a detailed follow-up to Dr. Deborah Ruf's previous book, 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options. In this book, Dr. Ruf explores how background experiences and opportunities shape the lives of a specific group of gifted children—the ones from her previous book—as they reach adulthood.

As a researcher and gifted education expert, Dr. Ruf realized her earlier understanding of what gifted children need underestimated how complex the issue is. Over the next dozen years, she continued to observe, read, speak, write, and work with at least 1,000 families. Through this experience, she recognized additional factors exist apart from the schools and the school "fit" that often have a greater impact on how gifted children turn out as gifted adults.

To gain a deeper understanding of how these factors affected the gifted children from her previous book, Dr. Ruf contacted and began to speak with them again. All of them are now adults, many with families. Dr. Ruf wanted to know—and share with readers—who they had become and how life had turned out so far. This new book builds on the former, and it's time to look at that together.

The 5 Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up is for parents and educators of gifted children, psychologists and therapists who work with the families of gifted children, educational program coordinators and designers, and policymakers from local, state, and national levels. It's also relevant for adults who know or suspect they are gifted themselves. Through the stories of these 78 individuals, Dr. Ruf provides a unique perspective on the complex issues that face gifted children and the impact of their background experiences and opportunities on their adult lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798988323709
Publisher:	5LoG Press
Publication date:	07/12/2023
Pages:	536
Sales rank:	419,384
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 1.08(d)

About the Author

Deborah L. Ruf earned a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota in the Psychological Foundations of Education. Her major focus was Tests & Measurement with a minor in Learning & Cognition. She worked as a private consultant and specialist in gifted assessment, test interpretation, and guidance for the gifted for 30 years. She served as the National Gifted Children Program Coordinator for American Mensa from 2003 to 2008 and was awarded the Mensa Foundation’s Intellectual Benefits award in 2007 for her professional work in the field of intelligence. A parent, classroom teacher, and administrator in elementary through graduate education, she writes about school issues, social, and emotional adjustment of gifted children and adults.

Dr. Ruf addresses educational policy, particularly how to set up schools that meet not only academic but social and emotional needs of children through grouping and instruction with true peers. She is the author of the award-winning book Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind (2005) and retitled 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options in 2009.

A succinct compilation of parenting advice, Keys to Successfully Parenting the Gifted Child, was released in July 2022 and a print version is now available in July 2023.

In 2023, Dr. Ruf releases her follow-up longitudinal book study of the now-adult children from the original book and how they are doing now: The 5 Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up: What They Tell Us. The book looks at the social and emotional health of the gifted adults who parent gifted children.

For more than 40 years, Dr. Ruf has served as a keynote speaker, workshop, and conference presenter, and written chapters for 5 textbooks, more than 12 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 100 plus articles and handouts for newsletters, magazines, and websites. Website: www.fivelevelsofgifted.com

Editorial Reviews

The 5 Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up will be of tremendous value to policymakers as they determine how to allocate scarce public resources to serve students of a range of abilities. Every student should have access to the resources they need not only to succeed but to thrive. Dr. Ruf's book provides a practical framework policymakers can use to meet this goal, bolstered by real-life examples gained from her extensive experience working with the families of gifted children and adults.

MN State Representative - Mike Freiberg

I am pleased to see this new book. I often wondered what happens to gifted kids when they grow up; after all, they don't cease to be gifted. I couldn't find anything online on this topic except one article on SENG, Supporting the Emotional Needs of Gifted. Ruf's descriptions of parenting styles and MBTI personality results are only one part of what helps us understand why gifted people turn out so differently from each other. It is much needed research in a clear, well-written book.

Software Engineer, MN Council for Gifted & Talented - Silali Banerjee

Dr. Ruf's book not only fills a gap in the literature serving gifted adults, The 5 Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up provides an applicable framework that is truly paradigm shifting. By focusing on social-emotional factors in addition to neurocognitive skills, the book provides a guide for professionals who serve the gifted community. It's accessible, implementable, and realistic. The "fit" concept spans disciplines and I think we will be seeing this language more in the years to come.

The Neurodiversity Clinic - Matt Zakreski

In her new book, The 5 Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up, Dr. Ruf extends foundational knowledge she has shared previously, and she discusses highly nuanced understandings of giftedness, assessment, educational fit, family dynamics, and much more. Moreover she brings authentic stories of 78 individuals whose lives she followed over time. This book is carefully crafted with powerful messages, and it's unlike any other publication in my gifted resources collection.

Award-winning Author and Gifted Education Professional - Joanne Foster, Ed.D.

I find Dr. Ruf's book intriguing and insightful. She combines stories, experiences, and research that reflect the developmental identities of parents and gifted children, and in so doing, she lends an opportunity for teachers to reflect on where they have been and where they are going. Who are we--we gifted kids, adults, parents and teachers of the gifted? How have we, not just the kids we teach, grown and matured? Ruf has gathered a career of wisdom and understanding into this one volume.

Retired Teacher, Author of I Used to Be Gifted, SENG Board of Directors Member - Mark Hess