Out of Town
Children younger than four years old

No need to travel or arrange for Dr. Ruf’s travel at this time. Although intelligence testing for children younger than four years old is not recommended, it is possible to estimate and evaluate the child’s intellectual level and profile via other, less intrusive means. We email you the intake form, Developmental Milestones, which you complete and email or mail back to Educational Options (with perhaps a family photo attached). Then, after reading through the Developmental Milestones form, Dr. Ruf selects relevant readings for you – between 35 and 50 articles, and mails them to you to review prior to the phone consultation. A date and time for the phone consultation is set when the intake form is received and mailing packet is prepared.

You place the long distance call to Dr. Ruf at the appointed time. The articles are numbered for you and Dr. Ruf keeps an identical stack in front of her for the consultation. This is where you receive your “Crash Course on Levels and Profiles of Giftedness” where Dr. Ruf walks you through the readings and explains what you need to know at this point in order to make good decisions and how to ask yourselves the right questions as you move forward. This covers levels and profiles of giftedness, gender differences, where your child and family "fit" in the world and on the intellectual continuum, how it affects friendships, careers, social and emotional issues and adjustment, and so on. It takes about 1.5 hours. You may also ask follow-up or afterthought questions by email after you’ve had a chance to read the articles and try some of the suggestions.

There is no direct charge for the intake form or materials, but a down payment by personal check or credit card is required before the reading materials are mailed. This is credited toward the hourly consultation fee – based solely on the time on the phone together – and the balance is paid by credit card when the phone consultation ends. Contact the office for the fee.

When the child is four or older, the family can visit for assessments or get them done locally and send the reports and results to Educational Options for further analysis and recommendations, if desired.

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