Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Period of disbelief after WPPSI-IV results normal?

**Didn't know whether to post this in the testing/identification board or parenting/advocacy. If it's better in another place, please advise and I'll take it there.**

Hello. I'm new to this forum. I am a gifted mom married to an ADHD (and likely gifted) husband. In an initial visit to determine if DD5 is showing ADHD signs, it was recommended we have a gifted eval. I knew there's some heritability and had an instinct she'd be found "bright" if not gifted, but didn't have the best "gifted" experience myself so I hesitated. After research, we found a great neuropsych center (on the Hoagies find a tester section) and had her eval on Monday. I was prepared for a "bright but not quite gifted" or even up into the 130 IQ range. I was not at all prepared for across the board 99+% and an FSIQ 148, GAI 147.

I've spent this week feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and even trying to find reason to believe it's falsely elevated. Sounds horrible, I know. Hubby has pretty severe ADHD and DD5 may or may not have it (tester says a lot of her "quirks" could also be explained w/ her WPPSI score but to revisit in a couple years). As I mentioned, my gifted experience was not pleasant and now she's in a higher range than me and I'm concerned I may be outgunned. I'm in a state that doesn't seem to value education and tester tells me I need to be selective w/ her educational environment in order for her to thrive, but recommended options are few and far between w/ many requiring a move. I'm also concerned that if this is somehow not a valid result, but I place her in a program accordingly, will I bring her misery b/c she can't keep up? Will I squash her love of learning that I desperately want to foster? (Overthinking is my "thing.")

I stumbled onto this site and see that 145+ is the qualifying IQ. I imagine her score in this forum isn't all that exciting, lol. I guess I'm wondering if it's "normal" to initially stumble through disbelief at results or feel overwhelmed. I'm assuming/hoping that after some time for it to sink in I'll move more into the "action" phase and out of the denial phase.

I've been flying wildly between wanting to throw myself in and make a plan to advocate for her better than was done for me and then wanting to tread lightly in case it's all a fluke. I'm only on day 3 of this news so definitely still in the fact-finding stage. Anyone experience anything similar when first starting the journey?

TIA for input from some wise BTDTs

Hello and welcome!
I'm sure you'll find lots of advice here to help you on your journey. IMO, it is helpful to remember that your DD is the same DD she was a week ago, you just have more insight into something that MAY be impacting some aspects of her growth and development. My DD is also PG and that influenced some of our decision making (like when we were moving, we made sure that there were multiple school options in the new place), but not others (our DD was never allowed to read age inappropriate (by our standards) books--we pre-read all of them for a long time. We found that knowing our DD was PG helped us advocated for her, but did not make the decision for us. We found that it was important to remember that although each child is different, even PG kiddos will have strengths and weaknesses and need opportunities to learn and grow in both aspects. Your DD may excel at origami and yet still need to learn to tie her shoes.

Best wishes!

Totally normal- and welcome 😀

You should also know that 145 is the qualifying IQ for Davidson Young Scholars (although I think it's 150 on the WPPSI - I haven't looked for a while, though, so I'm not certain). But there are plenty of people here with kids who do not have qualifying IQs, but do have kids that need something that the school system is not providing. Don't feel like you have to have a certain number to "belong."

145 on WPPSI-IV.

I think WPPSI and WJ were just lowered to 145. But we don't care either way. Welcome.

Thank you all, I appreciate it. I know I have so much to learn still.

The tester did mention Davidson (both as a possible school and the young scholar thing). I've only just begun looking at the scholar program and what immediately appealed to me was the opportunity for resources, consulting, and parents that know what they're doing more than we do at the moment.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, how much chance is there this was a falsely elevated score somehow? The tester is top notch, but as I look at school programs, some of which have a 145 IQ prereq, I can't shake the worry that I'd be setting her up for failure somehow. It seems so daunting, like they'll expect 4.5 gpa and 3 hrs of homework for a first grader, lol. (catastrophize much? lol) I've long assumed Montessori would be the answer for her, whether gifted or ADHD or 2E, b/c you work at your own pace. The tester has raised the possible concern that the 3 yr range may not be enough for her though, particularly when she's in the oldest age group as she is now in kindergarten.

Oh yeah. I was totally in the same boat, not expecting anything even close a PG-level score, feeling overwhelmed in all sorts of directions.

The good news is that it subsides. Welcome to the club!

P.S. Apparently we were the last to know. It came as no surprise to any of our friends we confided in. Funny how that works, isn't it, when you think you know your own child best...

Thank you all. This is all helpful.

Brilliantcp thank you for a tip - as she gets higher in her reading levels I'll be sure to pre-read or maybe check commonsensemedia and make sure it's appropriate content. I hadn't considered that but considering I don't even want to show her half of the cartoon movies that come out these days, it's a good idea.

George C we've had a few say the same. It seems like I'm the one having the biggest time accepting the level. But I keep reading and hopefully it will subside soon.

I'm still figuring out all the terminology. I don't know if she's considered PG or highly gifted or even how big of a difference it is. I only now know they no longer use the "genius" designation in official circles. The neuropsych mentioned the Davidson Institute and looking at the services provided if admitted to the DYS, I think it'd be wise to take advantage of that. The online community and the individual consulting are particularly appealing.

The possible ADHD - yes if she gets enough sleep, exercise, and stays away from screens she's much better. Better yet when she gets enough mental stimulation. I was surprised at her working memory and processing speeds b/c we have suspected ADHD, but who knows? The tester did say there were a couple times when it seemed she almost didn't hear her asking questions and she suspects our daughter wasn't "playing" her, so it's not ruled out.

The stigma of being labeled "gifted" haunted my childhood. I was ostracized b/c I skipped a grade, then stood out even more being pulled out for higher level things. I went from a comfortable bubble w/ lots of friends (albeit some behavioral issues that led to the gifted eval) to a group of kids I didn't know but who all knew why I was there and didn't like it. I worry about things like that for my daughter, particularly w/ her quirks. In the next few years, it seems, kids start to be more judgmental and possibly cruel. I just don't want to screw her up. I want her to continue to learn and most of all be happy.

I've started reading more about the DYS application stuff. So this is really dicey it seems? We need a portfolio or an achievement test?

welcome to the club.

I remember the stunned shock when we first got DS's results 4 years ago. I coped by researching. I read every gifted book in the local library, combed through hoagiesgifted.org and hung out here. Eventually all of this helped me put things into perspective and it became just a clue to the puzzle that is parenting for us. Over time we guessed that his first set of scores were actually a low estimate. We eventually had to retest to sort out LD stuff and then came round two of stunned shock. This time because I had a much better idea of exactly what the scores actually meant and that freaked me out even more than the first round did when I was clueless, haha.

Now you'd think after all of this I would have learned but no.... we tested DD a year ago and somehow still managed to react with stunned shock.

So yeah, a period of disbelief sound totally normal to me. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.