Hi Maya - Welcome!
I hope this the the right place!
Who did the IQ test? Was it an WISC IV? If so, what were the scores for processing speed and the other 3 main areas?
What does the person how did the testing think about how the school is acting? Would he or she be willing to call them and throw a 'professional opinion' into the mix?
You've clearly done your homework. Good Job. It is entirely possible that more challenging work will help your child stay 'activated' and on course. It's also possible that the school is right and that your child would be even farther behind. I would suggest 2 things -
1) go in and observe the classroom. Are the advanced classrooms truely advanced enough to provide that activation you are looking for?
2) try teaching your child something at home, and see first hand what the teachers are dealing with. If possible, figure out workable stratagies at home and then share them with the school.
If you child really does have ADHD-PI with slow cognitive tempo then it's quite possible that stimulent medication would work well to bring all the various parts of your child's brain into harmony with each other. It's also possible that the slowness has nothing to do with ADHD, but is a vision problem, a hearing problem, muscle weakness or boredom.
Good for you for taking the first steps and not just throwing your hands up. It will take a little while, but it's worth it!
Love and More Love,
Grinity
Hi Grinity, thanks for the welcome!
Yes, it was the WISC-IV. His score breakdowns were as follows (roughly, I don't have the paper right here)
Verbal Comp 125 95th percentile
Perceptual Reasoning 130 98th percentile
Working Memory 100 50th percentile
Processing Speed 110 75th percentile
FSIQ 125 (95th percentile)
GAI 135 (99th percentile)
The psychologist said that GAI should be used as a measure of his ability since the spread of the scores between VC and PR and WM and PS was so large. And that his WM and PS, even though not as high, were still in the normal range.
I haven't observed the classroom, but I know the kids well and I do think it would be an advantage for him to be with them for these core content areas.
I have worked with him at home and he does extremely well. He's very easy to teach, he can focus, he's compliant, totally with it. It's not that I don't believe though that he could have ADD-PI. He's always been disorganized when it comes to remembering books, belongings and I do believe that he is spacing out a lot in the classroom.
The class is also large (25 kids) and has a reputation of being a rowdy class, whatever that means. She also seats the kids in pods instead of rows, which he has even told me makes it harder for him to follow directions. We've recently tested vision and hearing and general medical wellness.
