I still think that you also must make comparisons to VSLs as well and work this into your assessment, which just may need a different way of learning, and tying in the way tests are presented while he's learning. 4+5=9 on a test is the same as OOOO+OOOOO=OOOOOOOOO beads
I don't know how to do the quotes yet; so I am rebutting/commenting on your answers below in brackets again:
"-Have trouble paying attention to and remembering information presented orally
*His WM is a 135, which is much higher than I would have guessed it to be based on how quickly he forgets directions given orally. I make him repeat directions so that he remembers them. This is a pretty strong yes.
[Am I wrong that 135 WM is pretty good? Is this before or after you have his full attention? Bright VSLs can also be ultra-focused!!!]
-Have problems carrying out multistep directions
*Again, he does have trouble with multi-step directions, certainly more trouble than he should have with a 135 WMI. I think he has been relying on his memory quite heavily to cope and it is masking a lot of problems. He will forget the first direction I gave him or the last. If I give him more than 2 things to do, he'll leave at least one out.
[This really just needs practice, and is an expressive language disorder thing too. My DS is great with this now since his SLP worked on this a lot. It is a sequencing thing. I can rattle directions off to him now, which was unheard of a year ago.]
-Have poor listening skills
*I'm less sure about this one. He tends to interrupt conversations inappropriately in ways that his brother never did. He often asks a question and then talks over me while I answer it. It's not utterly age-inappropriate though, so I'm not sure.
[Does it seem like he needs to get it out before he forgets what he wants/needs to say? This is an expressive language disorder thing too, and age-appropriate.:) It needs practice and focus. I personally would like ideas on how to help my own brain with this one.:)]
-Need more time to process information
*Maybe. His processing speed was significantly lower than his VCI and his PRI. It was on the high end of average, though, so it wasn't slow. He's not a kid I'd call fast, certainly.
[still holding to former comment here;)]
-Have low academic performance
*The high level of giftedness makes this hard to answer fairly, I think. I do think he's not been performing as well as he could. It's hard to persuade anyone of that because his is advanced. But that he misses math problems when they're on paper leads me to answer a mild yes to this.
[I believe that with Math, if your DS learned the info on an abacus, with cards, with anything PLUS seeing it on a sheet of paper, it may help him more when he is tested on just a sheet of paper, if he is really visual. It seems to work with mine. I force tying in the written part though, since that is commonplace. I use RightStart Math, which my DS loves, and asks for first before any other school work.]
-Have behavior problems
*No.
-Have language difficulty (e.g., they confuse syllable sequences and have problems developing vocabulary and understanding language)
*Yes, I have seen vocab issues. He has been asking meanings of words I would expect him to know. He started talking in sentences pretty early, but his vocabulary has felt...stuck?...to me for a while. He does not seem at all ahead in this area, despite the fact that he is crazy-talkative. This is a strong yes.
[Look deeper into the SPD definition on this one. I believe that it may be different than what ou are saying. This is an Expressive Language Disorder issue - he still needs to create files in his head first from which to pull the info and vocab words that are in there. ]
-Have difficulty with reading, comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary
*This is a BIG issue! He is not reading fluently, even with work on sight words, though everyone on both sides of the family was reading fluently before turning 4, and several before turning 3. That he is now 6 and still not reading has been a big concern for me, frankly. (I know that not all gifted kids read early, but this just felt wrong for a kid who is so into books and is so talkative.)
However, he is pretty good at sounding out words, and more importantly, he enjoys doing it. That would seem to work against an APD.
[Is he a perfectionist? Or does he have a problem with the rules of the words? Do you think that seeing the words written in the book AND elsewhere would help him? Since DS started using time4learning.com for reading (just the LangArts portion] he has gotten a lot more fluent, but mostly mroe confident. If you read him a book (an I Can Read book), and ask him questions about it after, can he answer them? I think that the fact that he is asking what words means works against the APD as well. Is he is just really literal?...then again Expressive Language Disorder. My DS is gabby as all get out...will not be quiet.:) But he seems vocab-stagnant at times as well. The combination of my gently, but diligently, correcting my DS's speech and his SLP's re-iterating it is helping so much. He won't use the vocab he knows (and can point out and understand its use) in his speech, but this may be a filing problem again. He may still be figuring out where it is filed or where to file it....ELD]
I want you to get the right answers for you as well. You know that! I think your answers are all mostly, "yes, but" though.
Hugs to you! Please, please keep me informed with what you discover. -m
