I think at just seven, a better bet might be SCAT through CTY as a starting place. That is where we started and expect to move up to Explore next year. Prices are nowhere near like private achievement testing, yet provide a glimpse that supports the RIAS scores or suggests that something more/different might be appropriate.
Back to the discussion of RIAS. We are one of the few that I've seen that have both RIAS and WISC-IV scores in this general range. There is at least one journal article that I found way back when we were living through this that suggested there was a correlation between WISC and RIAS, about 75%.
I've mentioned this on the board before, but wasn't sure if you'd seen it. We did RIAS through the school system in K, testing just after DD turned 6. I don't recall the individual subtest scores, but verbal was 118 (for highly verbal DD) and non-verbal was 141 (for DD who showed no signs of unusual visual-spatial strengths) for a composite of 133. I was floored at how far off I was and decided to private test, thinking if the non-verbal score was anywhere close to representative and the verbal score was off as much as I thought it was, maybe I was in denial and she really was DYS level.
Private testing wtih WISC about 3 months later showed VCI of 136, PRI of 137, with supporting WMI and PSI scores for a FS of 143 and a GAI of 144. So in our case the RIAS was close on the non-verbal and way off on the verbal.
I do have to say that I would not have had any success dealing with some of the educational advocacy we have pursued if I had only the RIAS scores, since they look garden-variety gifted and did not represent my DD or her strengths. I get a much different reaction at the district level when discussing the WISC scores which, although not DYS, are not really garden-variety gifted to those who are in the know. School level - they don't get the difference - or only a very few do.
Just recently DS6 was tested on RIAS through school. His scores were much more even and at least surficially match my opinion of his profile, and were sufficient to gain access to the gifted designation and learning opportunities, such as they may be. His personality and learning needs are not as out-of the box as DDs, so at this time we see no reason to pursue additional testing. If things change as school progresses, we may need to do something different.
