Deborah L. Ruf, Ph. D., has been speaking at conferences around the world and to parent groups for more than 20 years. Workshops and training sessions are also available for teacher, school, business, and community groups. More people are currently aware of the need to address gifted children issues, but Dr. Ruf is also very interested in helping adults understand their own intelligence and the social and emotional ramifications of high intelligence on their family, personal, and career lives.

Click here for a three-minute audio demonstration of a one-hour speech given at the National Association for Gifted Children's 51st Annual Convention.

Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind, Deborah's new book, published by Great Potential Press, is the culmination of 4 years of research and writing dedicated to the understanding of the intellectual continuum in human beings from birth to adulthood as manifested in their behaviors, thoughts, accomplishments, and test scores. She introduces the concept of Levels of Giftedness and makes it very clear how many factors contribute to a person's intellectual levels and achievement. The most obvious result of this study is that our current educational structure misses meeting many of the social and emotional needs of, and is intellectually inhibiting to, most children who are in the top third of their classes throughout their K-12 school experiences.

Dr. Ruf is available for speaking on the topics covered by her book and on topics concerning the structural and viewpoint changes that are needed by our educational systems if we expect to meet the needs of both our students and the world that is waiting for them.

Scheduled Appearances Open to the Public:
(free, small fee, or with conference registration)

National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), 58th Annual Convention, New Orleans, November 3-6, 2011.

Presentation: Using Personality Factors to Support the Social, Emotional & Academic Health of Gifted Children.

Beavercreek City Schools, Ohio, November 10 and 11, 2011. Presentation to parents of bright and gifted children Thursday evening, November 10; all-day workshops for educations Friday, November 11.

Minnesota Council for Gifted and Talented (MCGT) Fall Conference, Minneapolis, November 12, 2011. Breakout session of Levels of Giftedness.

Westwood, California, November 22, 2011. Workshop for families on How to Encourage Your Gifted Child to Listen to Parents and Teachers.  Click here for more information.