Making the Choice: When Typical School Doesn’t Fit Your Atypical Child

By Corin Barsily Goodwin, Mika Gustavson MFT, Sarah J. Wilson
GHF Press, $5.95, 56 pages

As the school year begins, many parents are sending their children to school for the first time, hoping those children will thrive in their new environment. Some, however, will come to discover that they are the parents of gifted children, who also may have secondary learning issues, for whom the traditional educational system does not provide a good fit. For those parents suddenly seeking alternatives, Making the Choice will prove invaluable.

In this small but informative book, Corin Barsily Goodwin and Mika Gustafson address definitions of giftedness, the role and types of testing, what it means to be twice exceptional and/or asynchronous, different approaches to gifted education and why they might not work, red flags for which parents should watch, different types of homeschooling, transitioning from a school environment, college prospects and socialization among other topics. They also provide an appendix containing additional resources. Finally, these authors know of what they write. Goodwin is the homeschooling mother of  two children who founded of the Gifted Homeschoolers Forum, while Gustavson is a homeschooling mother and a marriage and family therapist specializing in helping gifted children thrive.

For parents of gifted children whose needs are unmet by their schools, Making the Choice will provide a welcome wealth of answers.

Reviewed by Annie Peters