If doctors can be trained to recognize atypical development on the left side of the Bell Curve, it seems like they could pretty easily be trained to spot it on the right side. (Especially since many already are spotting it...)
Sure, they could be trained to do it. They're smart people. They could be trained to do anything. But they haven't been. And, frankly, their brains are packed so full of warning signs and treatment strategies and whatnot that none of them know all of what they should know. I wouldn't add a single additional burden, even if it were possible to waive a magic wand and teach all the doctors in the country how to recognize potentially gifted children. If I could waive that magic wand, I'd teach educators how to recognize them. Giftedness isn't a medical problem; it is an educational issue.
But doctors see a lot of kids, and they already ask the right sort of questions. It doesn't seem a big leap to add giftedness to the list. It would be another case of referring the family to a specialist in the area, not of giving extensive advice. I don't see a problem with that approach.
After all, most teachers are laypeople in the area of gifted education, too, and they're giving extensive advice...
Eh. DD's never seen a doctor who asked appropriate questions of her development. We've seen doctors who were hugely impressed for no apparent reason (as when DD said "no way" when the doctor asked if she would open her mouth at her two-year checkup) and doctors who were inappropriately worried (as when a nurse-practitioner spent the whole of DD's one-year checkup running down the list designed for three-year checkups and then giving up when I pointed out her mistake and she couldn't find the appropriate list).
I guess I don't need to say that I see huge flaws in both the medical and educational systems. I think both need a lot of work. And I don't think that shifting the burden from one failing system to another would help.
