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    Joined: Aug 2010
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    ABQMom Offline OP
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    I just found this forum today and am reaching out in hopes of someone knowing at least where to point me for more information.

    My youngest son is now 10 and entering 5th grade. He was placed in special education in second grade after private testing proved a learning disability of dysgraphia. At that point the psychologist said my son's IQ was 121 but that the result was most likely skewed from the disability.

    Through speech therapy, Wilson reading, and occupational therapy, my son has made dramatic improvements in the areas of reading and writing. His spelling is still abysmal and most likely always will be. He still cannot tie his shoes or ride a bike, but he did learn to swim this summer - something he couldn't do a few years ago.

    At the insistence of both his second and fourth grade teachers and at my request, the diagnostician finally agreed to test him for gifted over the summer. He tested in the gifted range in critical thinking and creativity but showed a GAI score of 119 on the Wexler IQ test. The diagnostician, who originally said she could take into account his disability when looking at the final IQ score and making a gifted placement, is now saying that since the IQ is not 130 and because he tested at grade level or above in all of the academic areas, it no longer shows evidence of a disability.

    My son displays many of the characteristics of the gifted personality and already produces his own movies, writes his own music, and has verbal communication skills that tested at an equivalent of grade 13.

    I have an upcoming IEP based on the gifted testing and re-evaluation of his current special ed placement for his disability. The diagnostician is going to recommend that all special ed services be stopped and that he is not qualified for gifted. I am very concerned about my son's ability to adapt to the rigid structure of a regular classroom in mid-school and want to do what I can to help maintain support services without holding him back.

    Is there any type of resource that would document skewed IQ results due to a learning disability? His teachers are very aware from their own experience that he has a high IQ and say that they do not believe the results. Neither do I.

    Any help you might have is greatly appreciated.

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    ABQMom Offline OP
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    Thank you for the feedback. I do not believe he was given the FSIQ; this didn't appear on the results the diagnostician sent me. The results plus the subtest results for the WISC IV are below:

    One thing, however, is that I don't understand the statement that only the block design would be affected by the dysgraphia. It has impacted several areas of performance for my son, including his ability to read and recognize words and comprehend what he reads.

    WISC IV:
    General Ability Index 119
    Verbal Comprehension Index 114
    Perceptual Reasoning Index 117
    Similarities 15 Block Design 12
    Vocabulary 11 Picture Concepts 13
    Comprehension 12 Matrix Reasoning 13

    SOI:
    Creativity
    Divergent Production of Figural Units (DFU) This is a timed test of the student�s ability to draw creatively.
    16 Limiting

    Divergent Production of Semantic Units (DMU) This is a timed test of verbal fluency and creativity. It assesses willingness to express one�s ideas freely. 84 Superior

    Critical Thinking
    Cognition of Semantic Relations (CMR) This is a test of the ability to see relations between ideas or meanings of words. The task is to identify what comes between the two other things.
    94 Gifted

    Convergent Production of Symbolic Implications (NSI) This subtest involves logic and form reasoning. It requires the student to �add� figures rather than numbers. 94 Gifted


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    ABQMom Offline OP
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    Thanks for the help. Yes, dysgraphia is very similar to dyslexia with the additional fine motor issue in addition. Thanks again.

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    It is absolutely untrue that if someone is performing at grade level they don't have a disability any more.

    Lots of gifted kids with LDs don't get services because of this line of thinking, but if the disability hinders their academic performance or their functioning in the school setting, they should be served.

    I would recommend you do some reading about your child's rights at the Wrightslaw website (their books are good too); there's also some good information out there if you google "twice exceptional."

    We also had good results when we hired an educational advocate who was familiar with our school district and knowledgeable of the fine points of the law.

    DeeDee

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    So it looks like they only gave him the tests that make up the perceptual reasoning and verbal index. Do you know why they omitted the working memory and processing speed indices? I have two children for whom the GAI was used in lieu of full scale IQ, so I do understand that those two can be dropped if there is a big discrepancy btwn them and the PRI/VCI subtests, but not giving them at all seems odd.

    Do you have the breakdown of his IQ testing from the earlier testing as well? That might be telling to see if there were some wide swings on some of these tests.

    I, too, have never heard of the other tests they gave him. Do the "94 gifted" scores mean 94th percentile?

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    ABQMom Offline OP
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    Thank you, Dee Dee. That is the part that is most frustrating - and I will look at the website you've recommended. I don't min him going to no pull outs but I want the accommodations left in place so that he is allowed to type reports, dictate reports, etc.

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    ABQMom Offline OP
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    Cricket - yes, the 94 is a percentile. I don't know why she chose the tests that she did, or why she omitted others. I will ask. I'll also get in touch with the previous psychologist and ask for a copy of the test results. What would large discrepancies in the two tests indicate if any exist?

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    ABQmom, is this diagnostician part of the school (or district)? I have seen appallingly bad testing methods in schools; you may need to bring results from an outside professional into the discussion.

    I would also recommend getting a private OT on board to work on shoe tying and balance (toward the bike riding). Not being able to do these things can be very stigmatizing for a kid; they're not academic skills, but they are important IMHO.

    DeeDee

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    ABQMom Offline OP
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    Thank you for all the feedback - it's nice to know I'm not alone, because it very much feels that way when I'm in a meeting with people who would rather I just be quiet and go along with what is easiest for them. There is a lot to digest, so thank you very much.

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    I'm not sure on the discrepencies btwn test sessions if they exist. We do have that situation with our younger dd, but both of her scores were gifted or pretty darn close. One was just highly gifted and the other not that high.

    In our instance, the erratic performance btwn tests leaves me wondering if any of the scores are accurate. I am disinclined to take the lower scores as gospel. I am also not taking the high scores as gospel either, honestly.

    My take away message has been that, if the child is inconsistent, don't make decisions based upon one set of test scores. I wouldn't do away with a 504 or IEP based upon one score looking like he didn't have a problem, for instance. I also wouldn't decide that my child is DYS material based upon one score either, for instance.

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