I don't think we need to assume that all newbies are idiots though. Sometimes it sounds like that's what's happening on this topic, and I don't think we have to do that. Nothing will work for everyone. This works for some people. It's one tool among many. Anyone who blindly follows the first book they pick up on this topic is in trouble no matter which book they pick!
This has been an interesting conversation all - thanks! In re to this comment, I may be the outlier here, but I am coming from the perspective of living in an area where an outrageous # of kids are identified as gifted. Basically anyone who tests advanced on grade level reading or math achievement tests will likely be ided as gifted at some point if the parent so desires. I am, therefore, more concerned with people utilizing a checklist like this as "proof" that their children are gifted without further testing.
I've seen some kids for whom the label has become an albatross around their necks and has led to emotional challenges when they are trying to be someone they are not. I imagine that it would create some degree of internal dichotomy when you are believing that everything you encounter is related to your experience of being a gifted individual when that may not actually be the case.
It would be like telling my kids that, when they run into social problems, when they are bored or unhappy in school, etc., that it is related to their being autistic. They aren't autistic. My oldest could possibly be construed as having Asperger's by someone who really doesn't know what that looks like and I could likely have convinced her that she did when she was younger, but it wouldn't do her any good in the long run other than to cause internal discord. Gifted has a more positive connotation. I'm just concerned that parents seeking reasons for their kids normal bright kid behaviors might use a tool of this sort to convince themselves and/or their kids of things that are not true for that child.
