What to Expect from GDC
FAQs about Testing at GDC
-
Dr. Linda Silverman is a licensed clinical and counseling psychologist with background in special education.
GDC has 46 years of experience testing the gifted.
6600+ gifted and twice exceptional children have been assessed since 1979.
We administer 13 subtests of WISC-V. We calculate the Verbal (Expanded Crystallized) Index (VECI), which was the highest score in a national study of 390 gifted children.
We also calculate the Expanded General Ability Index (EGAI)--”The Gifted Index.” which was the second highest score in our national study of 490 gifted children.
We calculate extended norms on the WISC-V for exceptionally gifted children.
We have the largest database on exceptionally and profoundly gifted children (1,000+).
Linda founded PG Retreat for families of children who test 160 IQ or above
She advises the Admissions Committee.
Interpretation of test results is informed by research on the twice exceptional.
She understands g-loadings of subtests and their implications (g-loadings indicate how much general intelligence each subtest is measuring).
She has written extensively about gifted girls, who tend to dumb down at age 9.
GDC is Internationally recognized. We have an international network of respected leaders in the study of giftedness.
Our staff has a deep knowledge of “conundrum kids.”
Our recommendations are accepted by schools, Davidson Institute, PG Retreat, etc.
Linda Silverman developed the construct of the visual-spatial learner.
-
We founded the National Consortium of Schools for the Gifted
We founded the Colorado Consortium of Schools for the Gifted
We founded a Child-Centered Consortium of Leaders in Gifted Education
We work closely with schools and can help you find the right fit for your child.
-
We know about camps for the gifted.
We know about enrichment programs at the universities.
We know about homeschooling resources.
We founded PG Retreat, a summer family camp for families of exceptionally gifted children.
We qualify children for the Davidson Young Scholars Program.
We qualify children for Druidawn creative writing mentoring for the gifted.
-
Yes, we specialize in smart students who are struggling in school.
We identify hidden learning disabilities and hidden giftedness through our assessments.
We can refer you to specialists all over the country and in many parts of the world who can assist with visual, auditory and sensory processing difficulties, as well as dyslexia.
We create Section 504 Plans for classroom accommodations for twice exceptional children and schools often implement them.
Linda Silverman, Director, holds a PhD in the study of learning disabilities from the University of Southern California.
Pre-Consultation Information
Before we meet your family, we ask that you complete a set of research-based evaluations so that we can get a comprehensive picture of your child. You know your child best and these forms will tell us their story.
How to Prepare for Testing
Linda Kreger Silverman, PhD
The best preparation for testing is to practice guessing.
Tests start with very easy items designed for younger children. Do not think of these as trick questions. Imagine that you are younger. How would you answer the questions if you were a year or two younger than you are now? Test questions get progressively more difficult. After the easy questions, you will be asked questions that are the right challenge for your age. Then you will be asked harder questions for older children. The same test you are taking can be taken by a 16 year old! You are not supposed to know the answers to questions for older kids. But you will be asked some of them anyway to see how far above your age you might be able to answer items correctly.
Giftedness is measured by your ability to answer questions designed for older kids. When you don’t know the answer to a question, instead of saying, “I don’t know,” take a guess. When you guess, you invite your Intuition to take the test with you. Intuition is your SUPER POWER! It knows things that your mind does not know. Your Intuition may guess correctly, which will give you a higher score. If you don’t guess, you don’t give your Intuition a chance to participate. People who guess get higher scores than people who won’t guess. If you are afraid of being wrong, play some guessing games before you are tested.
One game I recommend is “Guess how many pennies are in this jar?” One person in the family counts out a number of pennies and puts them in a jar on the table. Everyone else in the family guesses how many pennies are in the jar. The one who guesses the closest wins the pennies. You don’t have to guess the exact number of pennies to win. You just need to guess close to the correct number.
This is the same skill you need to do well on a test. You can play this game several times with different family members counting out the pennies. Make up other guessing games in your family. Guessing is fun! And it makes testing more fun. If you guess correctly, it feels like you’ve just won the jackpot. It’s exciting for you and it’s exciting for the tester. “Wow! You got that right! Awesome!”
Comprehensive Testing
Comprehensive Testing
Many gifted children reach a point when further information about their educational needs is important. A child who couldn’t wait to enter school may soon complain that schoolwork is too easy. Students whose math knowledge has eclipsed their instruction in school may want to move forward. A twice exceptional child, viewed as bright but “lazy” by teachers, is seen by parents as working far too hard to complete homework. A school or program for the gifted—with or without additional accommodations for weaknesses—seems warranted, but testing is needed to prove it. Most schools use achievement testing to measure growth and offer brief intelligence screening for gifted identification. Is that enough?
It may not be. We see a reasonable number of gifted children who fail to be identified for gifted programs based on IQ screeners at school. This is common if the child is asynchronous and earns variable scores, is twice exceptional or highly gifted. Even an untreated visual processing weakness that would benefit quickly from vision exercises can lower scores and fail to document higher visual reasoning strengths. Achievement tests at school often have low ceilings. What about the elementary-aged child who already has a high school graduate reading level? What should teachers know to ensure continuous learning?
Parent advocates generally find that sharing a child’s assessment on a comprehensive individual intelligence test greatly improves understanding of the gifted child’s learning needs. Achievement testing allows a consideration of current achievement levels and how fast a very bright child is progressing academically. Diagnostic tests for a disability, when needed, are invaluable to clarify a confusing struggle, and initiate early intervention. Such testing can change the trajectory of a child’s educational life by ensuring that strengths are emphasized and developed, and weaknesses are gently supported.
When you come to GDC, our child-centered atmosphere enables your child to show us what he or she really knows. After contacting us, you will have a diagnostic consultation with a senior staff member to explore which tests would be most beneficial in our comprehensive evaluation. Our assessment includes evaluation of all the material available to us, including previous test results.
-
The heart of our work is our two-hour post-test conference in which we create an optimal development plan uniquely designed for your child. This plan may qualify your child for scholarships, enrichment opportunities, special programs or schools for the gifted or accommodations in the classroom and on standardized tests. The process results in a detailed report that will serve as the template for your child’s educational career and intellectual needs.
-
Consultations are available for understanding your child’s giftedness, learning how to support strengths and weaknesses, re-interpreting prior test results, locating an appropriate school, designing a homeschooling curriculum, or understanding your own giftedness. We also have partnerships with practitioners who understand the unique needs of gifted individuals and can provide in-person or virtual counseling.
Pre-Consultation Information
Before we meet your family, we ask that you complete a set of research-based evaluations so that we can get a comprehensive picture of your child. You know your child best and these forms will tell us their story.
TESTIMONIALS
TESTIMONIALS
“Thank you for literally everything. While we are certainly happy that the extreme creativity and verbal ability that we see in our daughter mean that she is definitely gifted, we both are actually even more thrilled that Linda caught the visual and auditory processing discrepancies. I really don't have words for how grateful I am for that information. I feel like her giftedness, progress, self-esteem, and love of learning could have been profoundly affected if that had not been identified. I can't really articulate how truly grateful we are to catch this now. I believe this will be the extra piece that is going to allow her full abilities to come together and show through, and it is going to allow her to not be working so hard and so exhausted at the end of the day. Just truly, we thank you so very much. I feel confident that we can support our daughter’s giftedness in ways that we truly want to, and help her to truly actualize her life purpose. Please know what a difference you have all made in our lives.”
“For the first time I felt understood by someone else.
I am not a test taker, or quiz writer. I don't have the fancy degrees, or the million dollar home. Yet I am able to impact my world with uniqueness and creative abilities. You seem to respect those qualities. “
“My daughter was a mystery to me. I was trying so hard to understand both her strengths and weaknesses. The best thing I ever did was get her tested here. I have a clear understanding of her gifts and how to nurture them. I also have a plan for helping her with her struggles. The staff was so supportive and caring. My little girl mattered to them.
I’m beyond grateful… I’m not alone!
I'm beyond grateful! It was also nice to realize that there is a huge gifted community out there. I'm not alone in raising my twice exceptional child. I was provided with tons of resources for moving forward.”
“Acting on all your recommendations has been an enormous help and has helped break down huge barriers making both boys closer to fulfilling their potential. The school could not argue against grade acceleration for C and he is the happiest we have ever seen him since starting school in kindergarten with his acceleration to grade seven…
We have great appreciation for all you have done to help our boys, thank you so very much!"
“Understand that while there are several very knowledgeable people in these fields, there is none that has the experience, background, or research that Dr. Silverman does.
Her most important quality/expertise is her passion for caring about these children and their families.
If your child needs auditory, visual or other additional testing she has experts to administer the proper tests.”
“Whether you are in Denver, New York or Boca Raton, if you have a gifted or twice exceptional student, Gifted Development Center provides a first class option.”
“I just had to write about the success I have had with my 8 year old son.
At the beginning of the school year he was getting a D in spelling and struggling to spell phonetically. After some research I came to the conclusion that he is a visual- spatial learner. We started using Linda Silverman's technique ‘A Visualization Approach to Spelling.’ IT WORKS!!!!! He is now getting an A in spelling and just zips through learning his spelling words each week - no more struggles. Now on to the reading techniques...”
“Appreciate your site and resources so much!”
It had been life changing to me since I checked in the GDC in 1998. It will be life changing to meet with the GDC community as you take the step to reach out to Dr. Linda Silverman and her team.
“I have one simple recommendation...
Contact Gifted Development Center in Denver!
Dr. Linda Silverman understands gifted, LD, visual spatial learners … she covers the spectrum. After Dr. Silverman reads the forms and you first meet her you'll feel as if she has known you your entire life and she will tell you volumes about your child.”