Mark Hess Interview with Dr. Ruf about The Five Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up Longitudinal Findings

From my collection of podcast and video interviews, here is a recent one when I was interviewed by Mark Hess in the autumn of 2023. We talked about my book, The Five Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up: What They Tell Us (2023).

Dr. Hess and I focused on my primary discoveries during the follow-up study of gifted children who’d been part of my first book, 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options in 2005, 2009. I had worked with the families of 78 gifted youngsters to illustrate the degrees, Levels, and categories of giftedness in ways that showed how early behavioral milestones and interests can help us all see the probable intelligence levels of gifted children before they are even officially evaluated.

The 2023 book that Mark Hess interviewed me about is about is a longitudinal follow-up of more than two-thirds of those former gifted children who are now gifted adults. Whereas my first book utilized input from the parents, the follow-up book benefited from my oral…