Not meaning to be a killjoy when the humor is running....but back to the topic:
I happened to have loved Dr. Ruf's book and found it very useful in terms of putting my son's giftedness in perspective. This might be because I bounce between the idea of "you're not all that smart" and "how smart ARE you???!" when it comes to understanding MrWiggly.
I think that Dr. Ruf makes it clear, if not in her book then on her website, that her book and views are in fact based only on the children she has seen and evaluated. She acknowledges in the book that this is a small sample and anecdotal evidence to support her LOG. What I find interseting and most helpful is her view that you cannot label a lavel of giftedness simply by having a test score. Her book clearly shows how there is so much more to consider when dealing with a gifted child. Her tables indicate that children can have the exact same scores on an ability test and yet actually have very different needs in terms of education and parenting due to other factors in terms of temperament, motivation, early developmental profile and so on. I think it is wonderfully holistic way to view a child and his/her needs.
Dr. Ruf has done a lot of work looking at how temperament (using Meyers-Briggs and the children's version, Murphy-Meisgeier) can influence the way giftedness plays out in a child or adult's life. I know not everyone is a fan of those assessments, but I think it can be very helpful in understanding yourself and your child.
In fact, all that said, I'll tell you now that we are taking MrWiggly to see Dr. Ruf in less than two weeks. We considered several options we had for testing and finally settled on the trip to MN to have him evaluated by her. I had received feedback from several parents that evaluation with her was the most helpful assessment they had ever had for their child. After a couple of emails with her and then her assistant, looking at some of the info on her website, getting that feedback and deciding exactly what we needed to learn or know about our son, we decided she was our best bet.
I'll have to let you know how it works out, I suppose. FWIW, we have already completed the personality stuff for all of us and found that MrWiggly is an EFNP. Dr. Ruf notes that although "P" is estimated to occur in about 48% of the population, approximately 92% of the children who come to her for evaluation are "P". Interesting. Perhaps being a "gifted P" personality makes school and things harder?? We also know that I am ENFJ and my husband is INTJ/P. We are looking forward to her insights about our relationships with MrWiggly in terms of personality profiles as well as his intellectual abilities. We are also hopeful that she will be able to educate us on just what may or may not work in terms of teaching and education for MrWiggly. I'll keep you posted if you're interested!
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Debbie
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