Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional how much does medication help with testing?

The school district has agreed to retest my DS, and he is now taking medicine for anxiety and his tics (and it helps his inattentiveness a bit). If you did treat the disability, what kind of results did you see on a retest?

I can only speak to ADHD, but there seem to be big differences in scores medicated vs. unmedicated, or even depending on time of day and how concentrated the med is in the bloodstream. DD took a math fluency test in school and her score practically doubled after we increased her med dose (just as one example). Nothing else changed in the meantime. Was it the meds? Who knows, but depending on the condition and how much the med helps, it can be a big factor.

DS12 (takes stimulant medication) took his last IQ test unmedicated and scored significantly lower in the PRI portion than he has in the past, but it may be an apples v. oranges situation because it was the WISC-V and previously he took WISC-IV.

I have friends whose child has an ADHD diagnosis and took WISC-IV both on and off medication and processing speed increased something like 20+ points higher when he was on a stimulant medication.

I've wondered same thing. When enough time has passed, I may have him retest since he has a good medication regimen now.

Anxiety is frequently cited as a possible influence on test scores, so it stands to reason if it is successfully treated, you would be looking at a more accurate picture. I think, anyhow.

With ADHD, I see pretty marked differences in some (not all) students on/off psychostimulants, both on cognitive and achievement testing. Because of its impact on attention and persistence, anxiety meds can also affect performance. While working memory and processing speed (including fluency measures) tend to be the most sensitive to medication, other areas I notice (anecdotally) effects include visual organization and extended writing.

BTW, some psychotropics have psychomotor retarding/blunting effects, especially some mood stabilizers and antipsychotics, so you may see lower scores on meds, too.

I can speak for my 4th grade 10 yr old (not identified gifted) ADHD combo type kiddo. He started Quilivant xr at start of 3rd. His tics and anxiety went away after starting meds and he went from a B-C student to all A's and is representing his grade at the Science Olympics this year. No formal testing as of yet but SAT 10 scores went up from low to middle average stanines to stanine 8-9's and solid 99% in reading area.
He has much higher self esteem and confidence in himself.

I've always been intrigued as to how DD would score medicated. It was at her WISC testing that ADHD was flagged up as a possibility. A year later we started medicating after seeing an ADHD specialist.
I'm just going to assume her GAI (170 with extended norms/157 without) wouldn't change much but her PSI and WM scores would change significantly.
I guess we can use her scores as a ball park figure.

Okay, I'm reviving this thread because we tried a stimulant and it a) didn't seem to improve anything and b) magnified the bad stuff like ticcing, OCD.

So aeh- if you know, can you tell me whether non-stimulant medication (e.g. kapvay, guafacine) also help with processing speed in your experience?

The one thing I noticed immediately after kapvay was that we used to have to call him a bunch of times before he answered, but now he answers immediately. He has never had problems following directions, getting through homework or losing things (even before meds). He is also medicated for anxiety. He still does not get perfect scores on tests though, and often doesn't pay enough attention in class (he does say the teacher over-talks though).

I am hoping it will be enough, but I'm starting to worry again that we haven't done enough, especially now since the HG school I want him in is now his first pick too...