I recently had my 9-year old tested using the extended batteries of the Woodcock Johnson Test of Cognitive Abilities and Test of Achievement. Her scores were pretty amazing....
Gf-Gc (which is the score to use based on scatter): >160 (99.9)
Knowledge Comprehension: >160 (99.9)
Visual Processing: 158 (99.9)
Fluid Reasoning: 138 (99)
Quantitative Reasoning: 128 (97)
However, her phonological processing, visual-motor, and written expression are poor. Consequently, the testing psychologist declared her "brilliant, but dysgraphic." She also added that she has performance anxiety, a lack of persistence for tasks that require effort, and an unwillingness to tolerate boredom.
To provide a bit more information...her working memory and long term retrieval were both in the average range (the psychologist feels her anxiety is bringing that score down) and her cognitive processing speed and cognitive efficiency composites were both in the high average range. The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI) yielded very low scores with regard to visual motor integration and motor coordination. However, her visual perception was in the high average range. So clearly the issue is the motor. They also did the CTOPP-2 for phonological processing and they found below average scores in rapid letter naming and rapid symbolic naming suggesting issues with automaticity.
The psychologist feels that I need to keep pressuring her to write by hand. She feels that I should not give up on it yet because she is too young to move to a keyboard. I am conflicted because she is pretty non-compliant when it comes to handwriting and appears to be tortured by it. I understand what the psychologist is saying in terms of pushing her through it, but I am worried it will come at a price. The psychologist feels like it will come, but will take years. Do I really want to do that to her?
She has the most amazing stories that she can produce when I type them for her. When she is left writing herself, she pretty much refuses to write anything. It has been suggested that her written work is of a kindergarten/first grade level. Meanwhile, the work I type for her is pretty freaking amazing.
Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with this?
Last edited by SecretGiftedMom; 03/27/19 12:50 PM.
