Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional WISC V scores

Hello all-

I was on a couple of years ago with questions while our son was undergoing testing and before we had results. He has since been identified as (stealth) dyslexic with dysgraphia and an auditory processing disorder. Through all of the testing and the last couple of years trying to figure out the best school for him (turns out we are homeschooling through a public charter and he is happy again) I have always wondered why he scored the way he did on the WISC V. Specifically, his scores were:

Verbal Comprehension: 133
Visual Spatial: 119
Fluid Reasoning: 100
Working memory: 91
Processing speed: 116

What i find confusing (still) is that within these categories (except verbal which was consistently high and working memory which was consistently low) why he scored high on one subtest and low in the other. For example, in visual spatial he scored 95% on visual puzzles but 75% on block design. In fluid reasoning he scored 9% on matrix reasoning and 91% on figure weights. In processing speed he scored 95% on symbol search but 63% on coding. I guess what I have never been able to figure out is what these subtests are testing and why does he do so well on one and not the other? Is is because one required writing and another didn't? Or one requires more working memory than the other? Now that I've been working with him on schoolwork for this year, I can see how working memory and processing speed affects his output but I still don't understand the rest. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Nice to hear from you again, KT!

If you recall from our prior discussions, with one exception, the areas he was weakest in on cognitive testing were all related to visual-motor speed. Given the subsequent diagnoses, these are likely reflections of weaknesses in automaticity (the core deficit in most dysgraphics and some dyslexics). This explanation covers the (insignificantly) weaker BD, and weaker Cd. I continue to find the MR finding (the exception) thought-provoking, and to wonder whether it was a real finding, or artifactual in some way, as it appears inconsistent with much of his presentation as it's been reported--but perhaps you have other pieces of data that would affect the interpretation. MR is an untimed measure of fluid reasoning, so right off the bat, one would expect stronger performance, not weaker (FW is timed, though I would not have expected speed effects in your child, based on the weaknesses in speed being focused on fine-motor tasks). On the other hand, it is also a measure of cognitive flexibility, vs FW, which is more related to quantitative/mathematical thinking. It is possible to have high abstract reasoning skills, and yet have a rigid problem solving approach. I would not be surprised to see these test scores in a learner with that profile. You would be in a better position to consider whether this applies to your child.

Thanks for the response! I was hoping you would.

It makes sense that the weaknesses are for the most part related to visual-motor speed or his inability to quickly copy something from one place to another. It also is possible that something happened during the matrix reasoning test. The report says," ... performed in the below average range (9th percentile) on a task where he needed to view pictures; to figure out what was missing in pictures; and then had to complete them with visual patterns. On this subtest there is a discontinue rule which states that administration stops when the subject gets 3 consecutive items incorrect. His last item was 15 out of a total of 32 items. The examiner decided to present him with more items to see if he could get some correct. Of the additional 18 items administered, he was able to complete 5 successfully. This task was challenging for him and he told the examiner, "I don't know what this is" for one of the items."

Looking at it now, there were a couple of times during the test where he was in tears and had to take a break and compose himself. His dad and I are wondering if what he was saying is that he didn't understand what he was supposed to be doing in a general way. He is a perfectionist with low tolerance for frustration so if he was struggling he would stop. That being said, I would also say cognitive flexibility is not part of his makeup if I understand correctly what that means. He is very rule driven and not a particularly abstract thinker when it comes to problem solving. He also is slow at problem solving but, when given adequate time, is almost always accurate.

Hm. Sounds like the nominal score has a decent likelihood of being a low estimate (with that many additional correct--but uncredited--items), but it also appears that the task was genuinely challenging for him. Your IRL description does align with weaknesses in cognitive flexibility, which additionally supports the interpretation of this as generally a real result (if somewhat lowered by frustration).

The directions for this test explicitly note that there will often be more than one way to solve the problem. It is also untimed, so should not be affected by his visual-motor speed, but it does use visual materials, so it's possible that that was a contributing factor (but then, FW and VP are also visual, and he did nicely on both). I think it's more likely that real underlying vulnerabilities in cognitive flexibility and abstract problem solving affected the MR result. That can have quite a bit of impact on his school experience. In your smaller, more individualized--and much cozier--homeschooling environment, I would expect that you have better facilities for adapting to his learning and emotional needs day-to-day, rather than forcing him to adapt to the rest of the class. This likely is reducing his overall stress level by quite a bit, which allows him to use all of his cognitive and self-regulation skills more effectively.

BTW, you might want to edit out his first name from your last post.

Thank you again, for the information. I edited out the identifying information. (I can't believe I missed that!).

It will be interesting to me to see what my quirky 2e boy will do. This morning- "Mom, I think if I was a commercial airline pilot I would rather fly a (some kind of big plane) rather than (this other kind of big plane) because even though I like Boeing better, this other plane has (some in depth discussion of the difference in flight mechanics that I didn't fully understand). Also, his pants were on backward. LOL.

I love that! He sounds very happy now that he's at home, in a comfortable learning environment. Keep enjoying your little charmer!