Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment TalentIgniter (Dr. Ruf)

I just got back from vacation last night and found this same email in my large bunch of emails. I, too, have wondered about the levels just as a whole b/c dd11 fits very clearly into level 4 with a few level 5 and a few level 3 areas. She isn't nearly that highly gifted from what I can tell though. IQ puts her at MG and achievement at HG.

In re to paying for the online assessment, like others have said, I'm not sure what one could do with the info since it seems unlikely to get one's child into any programming. I am also a bit cautious about retrospective studies which is essentially what these levels/milestones are. I know too many parents, for instance, who have told me that their kids were speaking in sentences at 18 months whose kids were barely saying a few words at that age (and not combining any of them). I wonder if it might be subject to parental misrecollection especially if the parent is prone to over or underestimating their children already.

This has been a fantastic thread so far.

Cricket, I agree with you about the flaws inherent to retrospective studies, but I wonder about this:

No doubt some of these parents were overrepresenting their kids, or being lax on the meaning of the word "sentence", but how do you know their kids were "barely saying a few words at that age". Pretty much every kid I know does way more in the comfort of their house than they do in public. Now this is perhaps an extreme case (and it's not about age; just about the fact that the evidence in front of a person may not be all the evidence there is), but my dd spent her 2nd year in a day care with three fantastic "teachers" who were very loving to her, and whom she was fond of and at least one of them never heard her say a SINGLE word for over half the year. DD is not 2E, she is not particularly shy, and she talks (and at that time was talking) like a parrot at home. Her teacher didn't know she could say two words (except for the fact that I kept on reassuring her that she talked, and relating anecdotes from day care that dd would tell me about), much less would she have guessed that dd is gifted. So... MMV?

How do you go about finding this info out?


I'm curious about my daughter who will be 5 soon. I doubt we'll be able to get her tested through the school as she will probably comply and do the 'easy' work and won't have the behavior issues our son somewhat had. She was a 29 week preemie but once she hit about 18 months or so she really took off and is almost on par in some ways as her brother was at her age.

Careful, this is starting to sound a lot like 'they all even out by X'.

I understand Clay's point because I, too, have one of those kids who was talking in complete sentences by 6 months and I'm not talking about made up words but real sentences. I was over at my mother's house one day and was exhausted since my crazy baby did not nap so I took advantage of the extra hands and crashed on my mother's bed while my mother and grandmother played with DD. They were begging her to take a nap and pointed to me in the other room sleeping. DD wasn't having any of it and said "I'm not my mother." Very clearly and meant it. She was also asking her "what's this" and "what's that" questions none stop at this time. YET out in public she was tight lipped and hardly ever said anything. Only when she was distracted by something that excited her did she forget where she was and open up which was met with open mouths and complete shock by strangers. And btw, may just be my experience but have noticed how this attitude extended into school time and DD's need to just fit in.

This said, I know a few people who exaggerated their children's speech ability and one in particular couldn't remember half of what she told people. One day her daughter was talking crazy sentences yet by age 2 she hadn't formed a sentence and needed to be tested, etc. It got to the point that I took in the information with a wait and see approach. But this is also a person who is VERY competitive and was clearly trying to hothouse her child. Whenever she heard stories from others about what their child was doing she ran home and set up shop to teach curriculum to her daughter even though her daughter had shown no interest in anything she was trying to teach her.

LOL ... I know you weren't but just had to chuckle and maybe make a poke at you at how close we are crossing into the 'famous' saying. Trust me ... I have never thought you roll your eyes at people on this board. You are definitely a major supporter and helper on this board.

-hugs!

I haven't read all the responses but this online assessment is perfect for someone like me. I don't think my dd is "off the charts" or even Davidson material. And I don't want to pay a high price to get her tested when there's really no need (we home school).

But am I curious? Absolutely. So here's a low priced way to satsify my curiousity.

It doesn't matter to me if her LOGs are completely perfect. I think a lot of people who will use this are going to be like me - you suspect and have a low cost way to confirm (or disprove).

ROFL - not to mention I'd get to visit California! I'd take a visit to wine country or San Francisco any day.

Ditto K's Mom. I love this board and the frequent flyers! I have learned a lot here and know I will continue to do so. I guess I'm just concerned about someone being overlooked because there are so many "false positives". Of course, it's not our responsibility to screen for giftedness, BUT I think to the degree that we have a heads up on a lot of people (having done some of the research and knowing about online resources), and to the degree that IMHO some people seem to emphasize the wrong thing when their kids exhibit any signs of precociousness, I at least want to be a helpful source to potentially gifted kids and their parents, which means checking my assumptions -- which was the point of my original post.

From my experience, I wouldn't recommend it for kids under 6 or 7. The testers are young and new- they are ed.psychs in the process of finishing their credentials and coursework. They don't often have experience testing young children.

For example, when we tried it with my son who had just turned 5, he asked what the giant mirror in the room was for. The tester replied "Oh there are people in there watching you!" She thought she was being funny... she scared the living daylights out of him.

However, it can be a very inexpensive and useful way to get some information! I called our university's education department and asked if they offered IQ/Achievement testing for a reduced rate for their psych in training. They said yes, scheduled an appointment and I paid $75. I believe the going rate is now $90.

Another option is to call a neighboring school district and talk to their school psychologist. Some have psychologists who do private testing on the side. Our "real" tester is one of these and has worked fabulously with my son.

I agree. I do recall dd9's ped asking me if she was saying any words yet at around 12-18 months b/c she was totally silent at her dr apt. She had been speaking since 5 months and was a non stop chatterbox at home. That said, I am as certain as I can be in some of these instances that there is some significant overestimation going on. I don't believe that it is a result of malice but more parental insecurity and comparing their children to others who were somewhat delayed. Things like, "uh, uh, uh!" were interpreted as "sentences" the same as reading DRA level 8 books in 1st grade (exact # reported to me by the mom) was interpreted as "third grade level."

I'm really not a fan of gauging a child's LOG based on parental reports unless there is significant data to support this (and not just a child who reads above grade level).