Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment JHU/CTY Testing Experiences

We are scheduled to test our DS6 for cognitive/achievement and possibly some disability screening at the Johns Hopkins center next month. They have a great reputation and were, per my reading, one of the founders of math talent searches in the U.S. They are also pretty expensive.

Before we proceed to final steps with them, I wanted to ask if any of the board members have tested there, and how they would rate the experience.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

Looks like I'm the first one on this board to test there! I'll put up a message on our experience late next month.

Thanks, fitzi. I have a friend who I have been encouraging to go there for testing for her DS - he had very superficial testing done here last year, and very little hard information results. I'll be interested in reading about your experience. Thank you

I had gone so far as to call the JHU testing center when my daughter was identified as probably 2E, although we kept putting it off because we did not see the severe academic impact due to her non-accommodated CAPD traits as predicted, especially after her grade-skip.

Eventually, she was evaluated at a local university which supported our suspicion that she has CAPD. She would have to be seen by one of their recommended audiologists for the official confirmation, which we haven�t followed up with because our local district only uses their own testers and results anyways.

I still believe JHU would have been the absolute best choice (for specific parental information) due to their history and experience with GT kids of all flavors, including 2E.

Good luck with your testing there!

I know of a YS family who was very pleased with their assessment experience at CTY. It was several years ago, but I remember the mom practically gushing about how well they did with the child.

Thanks Lorel, that's encouraging. Mostly we're doing this for our own long-term insight, but the data should also be useful in conducting negotiations with area schools.

The price tag is high, but we figure we are better off in the long run spending some money now to work with specialists in this area. If it helps us get a good educational strategy in place early on, it will pay for itself many times over in the long run. We definitely do not want a repeat of the harrowing Pre-K experience he had, in any event.

Fitzi,
Please post back with your experiences DH and I are considering having DS tested there. We have had a few different tests done with DS over the past 4 years. However, all them come back that DS is really smart but know one can determine how smart. Thankfully, our current school situation is talking about taking the approach of advancing him without good test results based on his performance last year. DS is definately some form of 2E but we can't quite pinpoint what is going on.

(Ironically, our underachieving perfectionist preforms at a level significantly higher than his FS IQ. The Special Education department loves him, the mainstream administration is going crazy...)

elh - how does his performance compare to GAI (if indeed it was the WISCIV he took)? I'm still trying to get a handle on difference between FSIQ and GAI.

His GAI comes in at 133. FS IQ was 125 on the most recent test. His performance and most recent Acheivment tests seem to imply that that is on the low side. His Psychiatrist thinks that the 2E issues deflate his IQ and GAI but at this point DS is compensating well. No one seems to be able to get a LOG on this kid although his Psych has basically said that if he didn't have the test results in front of him, he'd put DS at a GAI in the mid 140 range at least.
Unless it deals with a physical constraint such as fatigue when writing (or a personality conflict with the teacher), DS has not met an academic challenge that makes him pause either in school or in our informal afterschooling. He rarely needs much instruction other than a little guidance sometimes with Math in particular. Science is also really easy for him. His verbal comprehension is really good but his written expression is lousy.

His Processing and Short term memory scores were alot lower than his other scores. Of course this was the same eval that said he was highly ADHD, BiPolar and ODD. None of those conditions seem to be evident at the moment. That is another reason we are considering retesting him at JHU.

Somehow, I doubt if that helps with your questions...Sorry!

ELH:

Your DS sounds rather similar to mine. The WISC GAI and FSIQ are similar, and it sounds like the reasons are similar. Also, DS's memory and speed scores were quite low. I suspect a poor rapport with the tester, but also suspect, like you, some hidden 2E issue, which no one to date has been able to put a finger on. The uncertainty is a big part of what's driving us to the JHU extreme (in terms of $).