Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Need Assistance With WJIII for Non-Gifted Child

I forgot to mention that but same for my ds - his anxiety was sky high prior to getting a proper diagnosis and accommodations. Anxiety was actually what drove us to have ds evaluated - we were totally clueless that anything else was going on.

Best wishes,

polarbear

Thank you guys so much! I will start Googling away to get more info.

I did email the director about our discussion today as well. I have a tendency to do that after serving in the military regardless of the situation lol.

OK, I am looking at dyspraxia and OMG, it is my son! Pronouncing words and being misunderstood, establishing left or right hand dominance, bumping into things-young child. School age-poor pencil grip, slow handwriting, letter formation, fine motor skills (couldn't button his clothes until 3rd grade and still has difficulty with shoe tying but wasn't able to actually tie until almost 5th grade), riding a bike (unable to remove training wheels until age 9), horrid sense of direction, phobias and some obsessive behavior. Teen-writing and typing, personal grooming (I still help him with his teeth), clumsiness. Just, wow.

Oh, and he still messes up his left from right.

OK, I just got off the phone with the state (Washington OSPI). They were actually shocked at the info I was given by the district Special Services director. They said that dyslexia and ADHD, by both state and federal laws, is in fact a LD and they are required to follow the federal laws in full. The state actual recommended that I file a Civil Rights complaint at the federal level due to the district refusing to follow the federal disability laws. According to OSPI, DS13's scores do qualify him for a 505 plan at a minimum or an IEP based on the severe discrepancy classification for learning disabilities.

Ahhh, ok I need to get all my thoughts together before I type lol. Here are his scores from the BOT2 with the occupational therapist. SS: Mean 50, SD 10

Fine Motor Precision 41
Fine Motor Integration 39
Fine Motor Control 39
Manual Dexterity 33
Upper Limb Coordination 39
Manual Coordination 39

So, he is greater than 1 SD from the mean on all items except Fine Motor Precision but the OT said he is completely normal? I don't understand.

There are different definitions of normal, depending on the setting. Sometimes you will get reports that show mild normative deficits (such as you have here, with the exception of Manual Dexterity, which is more of a moderate deficit), but "within functional limits", which is more of a clinical judgment call, and doesn't mean that an individual is completely normal, but that they can get by with their activities of daily living. TBH, school-based OTs don't much like to suggest direct service (therapy) once kids hit middle school, as their experience usually is scads of no-shows and non-compliant students, even more so than for other service providers, like educational specialists and speech/language therapists. If kids won't engage, it's a waste of time for both service provider and client. Also, by that time, most kids have ingrained habits, which are quite intractable to remediation. Consequently, for borderline kids, they tend to lean away from treatment. This does not mean your kid doesn't have weaknesses in this area, or that he would not benefit from therapy, of course.

And, BTW, dyslexia is just another name for reading disability, and is absolutely a federal IDEIA qualifying disability. If you even mention OCR to the school, you are likely to get a whole lot more cooperation--although they won't be saying nice things about you behind your back. If OCR substantiates your claims, they really go over the school's behavior toward every federally protected class with a fine-tooth comb--even the ones you haven't complained about. No school wants to go through that.

I have not told the district yet about OCR. I am giving them their 15 days to contact me back concerning the IEE.

I found the full breakdown of my son's score but I really have no clue what they mean:

WJIII Tests Of Acheivement

CLUSTER/Test Raw W AE EASY to DIFF RPI SS (90% Band) GE
Brief Achievement - 535 15-11 13-6 23 98/90 117(111-123) 10.4

Broad Reading - 524 14-9 12-5 20 96/90 113(107-119) 9.3
Broad Math - 529 17-1 13-3 >30 97/90 117(112-123) 11.6
Broad Written Lang - 526 21 13-5 >28 98/90 120(113-128) 13.0

Brief Writing - 523 13-4 1-5 16-0 94/90 105(98-112) 7.9
Brief Math - 540 25 15-0 >30 99/90 121(115-127) 13.0
Math Calc Skills - 520 14-2 11-7 >24 95/90 109(103-115) 8.8
Brief Writing - 529 >30 14-8 >30 98/90 123(115-131) 13.0
Written Expression - 521 19 12-9 >24 97/90 118(108-127) 13.0

Academic Skills - 530 14-6 12-5 19 96/90 112(106-119) 9.0
Academic Fluency - 518 15-4 12-5 >24 96/90 114(108-119) 9.8
Academic Apps - 531 29 15-1 >30 98/90 120(115-126) 13.0

Letter-Word ID 60 523 12-3 11-0 13-0 89/90 99(94-104) 6.8
Applied Problems 48 548 >30 17-5 >30 99/90 119(113-125) 13.0
Spelling 49 536 22 14-9 >30 99/90 118(109-126) 13.0
Passage Comp 39 522 18-0 12-6 >30 97/90 111(101-121) 12.5
Calculation 37 533 16-0 12-8 >23 97/90 112(104-121) 10.5
Writing Samples 17-D 522 >30 14-6 >30 98/90 119(109-129) 14.4
CLUSTER/Test Raw W AE EASY to DIFF RPI SS (90% Band) GE
Reading Fluency 78 528 >30 15-1 >30 99/90 120(114-126) 13.0
Math Fluency 88 507 12-8 9-7 17-8 91/90 101(97-105) 7.2
Writing Fluency 25 521 14-3 11-10 >21 95/90 110(98-121) 8.8

WJIII Tests Of Cognitive Abilities
CLUSTER/Test Raw W AE EASY to DIFF RPI SS (90% Band) GE
GIA (Std) - 512 13-4 10-4 17-10 92/90 105(99-110) 8.1

Verbal Ability - 505 10-11 9-2 13-2 81/90 94(87-101) 5.6
Thinking Ability - 515 >23 11-9 >23 96/90 114(108-121) 13.0
Cog Efficiency - 506 11-0 9-4 13-6 82/90 93(85-101) 5.6

Verbal Comp - 505 10-11 9-2 13-2 81/90 94(87-101) 5.6
Visual-Auditory Learn 10-E 503 11-9 7-7 >19 89/90 98(87-109) 6.3
Spatial Relations 65-D 502 10-11 7-1 >25 87/90 96(89-104) 5.5
Sound Blending 25 522 21 13-10 >25 98/90 114(105-122) 13.0
Concept Formation 38-E 534 >18-8 >18-8 >18-8 99/90 123(112-134) >17.8
Visual Matching 40-2 504 10-6 9-0 12-10 78/90 87(78-96) 5.1
Numbers Reversed 13 509 11-6 9-9 14-3 85/90 97(87-107) 6.1

Raw Score = the actual number of items correct; usually includes credit for items not administered that occurred below the basal, which is a certain number of easy items correct in a row (usually six on the WJ), except in the case of item sets, which are usually denoted by a letter attached to the raw score. Not every line has a raw score reported, because some of them are cluster scores, which are derived from the individual subtest standard scores.

W = this is a unit of Rasch scaling, which is continuous over age levels, and intended to represent equal changes in difficulty levels along the scale, allowing you to compare absolute growth from one administration to another, instead of normative growth (which would be how well you are keeping pace with the expected growth of your age-peers).

AE = age equivalent, which tells you the age level for whom the 50th %ile obtained the same raw score as you. It most certainly does not say that the instructional level or classroom performance level of this student is this age, or that they should be placed at that level. Universally considered a poor measure by testing & measurement professionals, but popular with teachers and parents, which is why it's still here.

Easy to Diff = the expected zone of proximal development, using age equivalents. Subject to the same problems as AE.

RPI = a representation of mastery, based on the W score. It has been likened to the 20/20 system of denoting visual acuity. The second /90 describes the difficulty level at which the average person of this age in the norm group achieved 90% success. The first number means what your %age level of success would be predicted to be on the same type of task. It has a very low ceiling, as it is really designed to look for areas of struggle, not advancement.

SS = norm-reference standard score, where 100 is the mean, and 15 is the standard deviation, comparing your relative standing to the age/grade-matched normative group.

(90% Band) = 90% confidence interval, a representation of the standard error of measurement and it's implications for the SS, as a sample of behavior only, and not the be-all and end-all.

GE = grade equivalent, similar to the AE, but using grade norms. Subject to the same concerns.

So for the RPI, is it a negative if it is below the 90? Does that show struggle for my son? Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions BTW. I just want to make sure I have all of the info I need when we see a different evaluator.