Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional ADHD IQ score-On Meds vs. No Meds?

I'm very curious if anyone has pre/post data for their DC. Last week I had DS6 go through gifted testing at our local university. He pretty much has an open-and-shut case of ADHD and is on medication (now I believe in miracles!). I don't have the detailed report yet, just index scores and FSIQ. I was expecting to see the spread in index scores that is considered typical of ADD/ADHD. But here's what he got:

WISC IV
VCI 138
PRI 147
WMI 132
PSI 131
FSIQ 148

Does anyone know the difference that medication typically makes in regard to WMI and PSI? I would love to hear any personal experiences of how medication affected your child's score. In searching past threads I've only found a couples threads where someone mentioned this. I've been obsessively reading this forum for the past few weeks and am in LOVE! My son has been an enigma to us for quite some time. I never imagined I would a find a community where I could discuss my delightfully quirky 2e son (who also falls into that gray area at one end of the autism spectrum) and feel completely understood! For the first time in a long time, I don't feel so alone. Thank you all for existing!
KelliB

DS13 was IQ tested at 6 and diagnosed with ADHD. Upon retest at age 10 he was taking his medication. All his scores went up by 5 points except his PSI which jumped about 30 points. I attribute that to the Focalin.

Your son does have unusually high PSI and WMI for ADHD. All of his scores are very high though. Has he had any particular trouble with school?

Welcome. This is a great community.

Oh boy, did he before the Focalin! Before I found myself facing the decision, I was so against medicating children that young. We tried every combo of diet change, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, bribery, etc.. with little to no result. Luckily, this occurred over the course of his preK year when he was five and way ahead of the game academically. But I knew time was running out and eventually he would miss out if he wasn't able to focus in the classroom. One of his biggest problems has been impulse control. This kid is addicted to making loud, repetitive (very annoying) noises. Take naps? Ha! In my dreams. He had terrible sleep habits as an infant as well. He hated getting in trouble at school, he really wanted to follow all the rules. He just had no control over his impulses and an over abundance of energy. I hated seeing so much focus put on what he did wrong that day and realizing that they weren't seeing what a special kid is.

He's on the lowest dose of Focalin and is now one of the best behaved kids at his school (a very small Montessori preschool). The school is now singing a different tune and pretty much use him as a shining example of the fruits of their labor. I haven't shared his WISC scores with them or they would probably try to take credit for that too!
I am very curious how his scores would change if he was tested au naturale. Do you know if working memory is affected more by the inattentive or hyper/impulsive subtypes?

I've been wondering the exact same thing!

Even though my DS (age 8) got an overall IQ score of 141 on the WISCIV, I am convinced that his score would be higher on ADHD medication (now that he is on it and he wasn't at the time of the test). I think he is much more intelligent than his score shows. Maybe not worth it to get it redone (although it was a year and four months ago) but I bugs me to no end that this score does not seem reflective of his true IQ.

I'd love to hear from more parents who have done the testing on and off ADHD meds.
Stephanie

I've been wondering the same with my daughter. she was tested at 4 but not diagnosed with ADHD / medicated until 7. I'm sure the medication MUST make a positive difference!

I'm not sure what's normal, but my daughter was recently IQ tested and her WMI was 148, which seemed shocking considering she's bee previously dx with ADHD and has benefited a great deal from Adderall. This is one of several reasons she's scheduled for a comprehensive evaluation with the same tester in June.

I will say that her overall score is higher now, at age 8 after nearly a year on meds, than it was when she took the WPPSI around age 5, before meds. Her FSIQ was more than a standard deviation higher. The tester who did the WPPSI has commented that she though DD would test higher in the future because she was so clearly not playing along with the test at 5 and pre-meds.

As a more recent datapoint, she took the CogAT through our school district 6 months before meds and 6 months after, scored at <97 %ile age rank before, and 99 %ile age rank after.

My first post since registering! A great community! Interesting topic that I was only just recently pondering myself. Our DS tested at 127 FSIQ at age 6 prior to diagnosis. He re-tested at age 8....having been on medication, but not on medication the day of the test. He scored 136 FSIQ. That was 12 months ago. He recently took the ACT Explore test and his composite score as a fourth grader was 20. Focalin has been very effective for him.

I believe Pearson Corp did a study on this topic, if memory serves me correct, their conclusion was about a 5 point higher score on average while on medication. I will look for that link and try to post later. Other discussions I have found seem to point to a 5-8 point differential.

My first post...just joined the community. What a coincidence as I have just been doing research myself on this very topic...our DS9 is 2E. At age 6, as part of a diagnostic process for ADHD, he scored a 127FSIQ. He was in fact diagnosed and has been on Focalin. We had him re-tested 1 yr ago at age 8, he was still on medication, but did not take medication the day of the testing. His FSIQ score at that time was 136. The second test was administered to confirm the ADHD diagnosis, not for being gifted, hence he was not on medication that day.

A side note, we just got his results on the ACT Explore exam designed for the 8th grade, he took it as a fourth grader...his composite score was 20. Based on this, we are now considering re-testing for IQ while on meds...

Most everything I have read elsewhere indicates a possible 5-10 point difference when not on medication

Added later...sorry for the duplicate post...not aware of how long the 'delay' was (4hrs?)

Thank you all for replying! I'm curious about Dabrowski's OEs vs. ADD/ADHD and if IQ scores can help differentiate between the two. Since my son's scores came in without a significant spread, it has me wondering. I have ordered a copy of Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis and am patiently waiting its arrival. I'm also still waiting for the full report from the tester. I have found a few older posts where parents saw no increase in scores after starting medication. So it seems so far that results can vary significantly.
JAH823- I would love to read the article if you can find it.

If anyone else has opinions/experience with this, please share! I've become very intrigued with this topic.
Thanks again!