Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment 50 point differences on WISC IV

I won't have final scores until later this month, but in preparation for an appointment with another specialist the neuropsychologist mentioned that my DD8 has an almost 50 point difference in her working memory and processing speed scores versus her verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning scores (with the low being 88).

Can anyone shed some light on what I should expect and what I should ask when it comes to my face to face? Am I correct that I would want to make sure we have her GAI in addition to her FSIQ?

Are there additional tests I should be requesting? (She took achievement but nothing was mentioned as being a concern.)

I think that is common. My son had a 55 point spread like that. It can indicate a processing disorder where taking timed tests can be difficult. You can get a GAI too. My son's GAI was 11 points higher than the FSIQ since the GAI drops the speed part of the test.

Jack'sMom are you talking about IQ points or percentiles? A 50 percentile point spread is not as dramatic as a 50 IQ point spread. My DD has a 43 IQ point spread between WMI and VCI, which is an 83% gap!

I am guessing MelMichigan that you have to be talking about a WMI or PSI of 88 and a VCI or PRI of 148? That is, in my understanding, an uncommon degree of scatter and can be indicative of a potential learning delay. But it could also be perfectionism and/or motor skill issues at work. Comparison with the achievement testing will no doubt help enormously.

In my DDs case we have CAPD, and almost certainly dyslexia and inattentive ADHD at work.

I was talking about percentile.
For CAPD, I would definitely make sure there is no hearing loss, by doing an audiology exam. Hearing loss also can cause inattention.

Thanks Jack'smom, her hearing is spectacular. In the lower register in particular she can hear way more than "normal", which may be the cause of some her inability to figure out what to listen to.

I don't understand you could get a CAPD diagnosis without a hearing test? Maybe this is a difference between Australia and the US? Here CAPD is diagnosed only by audiologists, who won't start the CAPD testing until after the hearing test? Both the hearing test and the CAPD tests are done in a sound proof room.

Yes, get the GAI, and get the NP to write 'the GAI reflects this child's ability more than the FSIQ' in the report for all to see.

Ask if the testing was perhaps limited by anxiety or perfectionism, and to what extent.

Ask if the testing was limited by poor fine motor control.

Ask what you might see in real life if the Processing Speed or Working Memory truly is slow,so you can start to get a feel for your child's learning style.

Ask if ADHD is part of the picture that the NP could tell.

Good Luck
Grinity

Yes, you are right, you should not get the diagnosis of CAPD without an audiology exam. My son has a global and auditory processing disorder- but he is hearing impaired. He is deaf in one ear. For 3 years in a row, they said his hearing was normal at the pediatrician's office, but I asked for an audiology exam.
I always like to mention that since I think hearing loss in kids is alot more common than people realize. My son is doing great now, two years later; he has a great hearing aid and uses an FM system in school.

Yes, I was speaking of point difference, with WMI or PSI at 88. I'm pretty sure she said PSI, but that her working memory was also low, I'm just not sure how low.

This is my twin who has a more mild cerebral palsy. (She had a low level of oxygen for an unknown period of time because of a medical mistake when she was 24 hours old.) This is the DD who they told us was deaf at 6 months old. Her hearing is actually very good according to the brain study they did when she was an infant (ABR). She was immediately placed into speech therapy with the statement that she "didn't understand the importance of sound".

She didn't start reading until last year. Now she is reading as well as and with better comprehension than her twin but everything is very slow and she really works at it. (I am anxiously awaiting her achievement results because her last DORA exam had her reading comprehension at 7th grade. I will be interested to see how accurate that is.) I have been concerned because she still has some letter reversals, she struggles to get information out in math. It is there, she is doing the same program as her sister right now(at different times of the day) but you can see that she needs something presented in different ways and she can get the same answer as her twin but she seems to really work to pull out the information. At first I thought she just wasn't working to level, but it is an information retreival problem.

I will call and see about having her tested through the audiology department at the school again. She hasn't been tested since she was put into speech therapy. Who would be the person to tell me if she is dyslexic? Is that covered under the neuropsychologist report or is that something different?

I think up through second grade, you can still see some letter reversals and it's "normal." Probably going to an educational psychologist can help with the diagnosis of dyslexia. I think the WJ-III achievement test can help with the diagnosis of a learning disability (not necessarily dyslexia).
I"m a doctor and was shocked that my son's hearing loss was missed until I asked for an audiology exam half-way through kindergarten. I figure, if it could happen to us, it could happen to others.
I organized for two years free preschool hearing screening in our area. It's with a mobile audiology unit. We screened about 300 kids each year (kids at upper-middle class preschools mainly; kids who have health insurance). Shockingly, 10% had hearing losses that we picked up. Now, some could be temporary, etc., although we did test in May to try and avoid the flu/cold season.
My son in group situations was spacey and inattentive, until we got the hearing aid and now the FM system. It's been really amazing.

She has very good fine motor skills, her handwriting is very good, although as a now 3rd grader if she was in public school, she still has reversals with letters and sometimes numbers. Can I ask who (type of doctor) diagnosed CAPD for your DD? Who diagnosed dyslexia?

I did schedule an appointment with the audiologist at the PS for next week. But I'm unsure what they would yield, her ABR shows her hearing is good down to 15. (Not sure 15 of what. )