Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Hi from NZ and test result advise please (v long)

Hi everyone,

Now that I�ve got to the point where I�ve read every thread here and have had the pleasure of hearing of all your experiences I thought it time to say hi. So hi from me, DH & DS (6yr, 8mo), originally from the UK now living in New Zealand.

We often suspected DS was �different� but with no one to compare to put a lot of his behavior down to his many life threatening food allergies which were not diagnosed until he was 2.5yrs. So everything started for us as soon as he started school (on 5th birthday here). After a few weeks we had major problems getting him to go there, and then were met with a request to see the school - they thought there was something wrong with him. His class teacher thought ADD/ADHD but his principal thought Autism. (did we know he could already read? Errr no, thought he had a really good memory though when he �read� his books to us). Anyway we mentioned this to his pediatrician who referred him for a psychological and psychiatric assessment. We saw both at the same appointment and they seemed quite amused when DS had a go at them because they hadn�t marked the calendar up to date! (he puts circles round the day starting and crosses it out when its done). They basically dismissed ADD/ADHD and Autism there and then and in effect said �we reckon you�ve got a very bright lad on your hands and the psychologist will see him again and run some tests�. All that happened (very quickly we thought) and she reported back the results (I�ll share these below). She was great � came to the school when we were struggling to get them to accept her recommendations and basically told them to move him up a year. Wow, it was awesome to watch, we are no shrinking violets but I could really see how without support parents can get railroaded by schools. Anyway the school did agree under duress to move him up and it was great in many ways, DS was at least then happy to go to school but when we had conversations with his new teacher we were met with comments like �my boys (DS obviously not considered a member of the class, more an extra) are finding it hard to make friends with him because he is a bit of a cry baby� and �I don�t know what else to do with him he is already reading and spelling at the highest level in the class�. It was clear DS was not going to be accepted here so we were given a recommendation for another school, not local, so I have to drive into town but small price to pay because in the space of one school term our sullen, bad tempered, argumentative, disruptive, cry-baby turned into some kind of �wunderkind�, it was amazing. The new school has a reputation for catering to GT kids and seemed to understand everything we had been through. They immediately put DS into a year 3 class (a 1 yr skip), (USA grade 2) at age 6ry, 3mo. We thought that was great and he seems so happy until we recently discovered that about 50% of his class are considered GT (some PG). So now we are worried about whether or not he is going to be able to keep up with it all. You might think - why should we worry if he�s happy etc. Well to be honest ignorance can be a great thing, then I started reading this forum and found out about test results etc so I asked his physch (clinical) for his actual scores, then panicked. From what I can see (he did not get a FSIQ because of significant degree of scatter but a GAI � placing him in 92nd percentile), he does not qualify as GT at all. So I guess now I�m looking for some guidance/reassurance/explanation from all the knowledgable btdt folks on here.

DS was tested a year ago on the WISC IV and something called the WRAT3 (Wide Range Achievement Test), which I cannot find any information about on the web. His scores were:

WISC IV taken at 5yrs 8mo (comment from report � normally administered to children age 6 and over, deemed more appropriate in this case even if it resulted in a slight underestimation of true ability, due to probable ceiling effects with the Preschool assessment).

VCI: 130
Similarities: 16 98%
Vocab: 14 91%
Comp 15 95%

PRI: 108
Block: 13 84%
Pict Conc 14 91%
Matrix Reas 8 25% (comment in report � �unclear why he gained such a low Score. It may mean he has trouble seeing the overall �gestalt� of things or he may have misunderstood the task.)

Wkg Mem: 104
Letter/No. 13 84%
Digit Span 9 37%

Proc Speed: 91
Coding 8
Symbol 9

WRAT3

Reading 153 99.98 percentile
Spelling 139 99.1 percentile
Arithmetic 124 95th percentile

So do I have a Cheetah or maybe just a Cheetah Cub or is it a Leopard? Do I sit content at the moment that he is happy and worry about him if/when he gets out of his depth � at the rate he churns through work that may not be for a while but then what - do I hold him back a year? Or should I pay and get him retested at some stage?

He does have motor skill problems � his writing is still atrocious but improving, can't catch (oh and as first school pointed out in objecting to moving him up he can't jump rope or skip ) and he can�t sit still, he needs heaps of proprioceptive input, he does most of his school stood at his desk. He can do long multiplication but can�t watch The Lion King (too scary) and don�t start him on justice in the world!

Sorry its so long � so much to share and no-one to share with�

Hi and welcome!

DD 6 has also never watched Lion King for the same reason. In fact it has only been this year that she has managed to watch some of the princess movies all the way through without fast-forwarding them!
And we avoid justice topics with her as much as possible also.
As for being a cry-baby, we've also heard that a lot about DD, not just from school but elsewhere as well. We were at a concert a few weeks ago and DD started to cry in the middle of it because the music was so sad sounding she couldn't understand how anyone could write something so sad, or play it without crying! A friend saw her crying and asked what was the matter, when I explained she looked at me like I had 12 heads and walked away without saying anything. So, I think you have a kid like mine who is not a cry baby but has the sensitivity OE.

I think if he is happy and functioning well in his present class then go with it. Sorry I can't help with the test scores, I'm pretty new at this as well, but the experts will be around soon I'm sure.

Hi and welcome Spook! I"m newbie to all this so I hope those with more experience join the conversation soon but here's my 1c for what it is worth!

5yr8m is on the young side for the WISCIV. The scores could be heavily influenced by his age, how he interacted w/ the tester, was the tester trained in testing gifted kids, etc.

I would say if his grade skipping is based on performance and achievement, then he should be fine. I think work ethic and motivation and personality has a larger role to play than IQ.

I say if he seems happy and teacher says he is solidly in the middle of the pack or above (not struggling at the bottom) then it sounds like he is well placed!

Just hello and welcome from me, too! I don't know anything about test scores at all, but I'm with Dazey--if he's happy and doing fine in his present situation, then roll along merrily with that, I say!

Glad you're here!

peace
minnie

PS to Kerry--I have cried my way through a lot of concerts in my time over the years--music (good music) is supposed to move you. As a sometime performer, I say three cheers for a sensitive listener!

I am no expert but my DD has taken the WRAT-III. Those look like great scores. If your son is happy and doing well then I would also think that he is fine in the present class, and definately in a better spot than the school you started with. You may opt to retest with another IQ test in a few years if you are worried about a clearer picture in that regard. As many very wise people on the board have told me, a test is only one picture of what a child can do on one given day.

Welcome!

my guess is the IQ is very short of his actual ability- you just don't get great achievement scores that young from just being a "hard worker". good luck and i'm glad you found such a great school..

Hi all - thanks for the feedback and welcomes. I think we have been so fortunate in finding a good school and a really great teacher and I guess at least for the next 3 years while he's there it should all be good. That may be the time when we need some more concrete evidence of where he's at?


Kerry
I have to say that it's seems to me that when people talk about the kids dumbing down to fit in I think although DS is HUGELY sensitive he also learnt early that tears got results and lots of sympathy and conversely that since being with older kids he is learning very quickly that tears don't cut it and he's having to learn other strategies for getting what he wants and boy has he learnt the art of manipulation. But to be honest I really love his sensitivity, makes for a lovely kid. His teacher aide loves him to bits (I think she might try to steal him when she finishes up at the end of the year)

Dazed&Confused
I smile every time I read your user name as that's how I've felt since finding out, after a 10 year wait, that I was expecting a baby boy and when he came out kicking and screaming (and didn't stop for about 5.5yrs) omg what happened!

His tester was clinical not educational and I suspect she worked at the other end of the scale normally, but was very supportive. He appears to be coping in class, parent/teacher meeting next week will hopefully confirm that. Came home with a certificate this week for "convincing argument", had to laugh at that - one thing he does't have problems with is arguing - LOL.

S

Hi all

I was hoping someone might me able to shed some light on these test results. Apart from putting my own doubts to bed I really would like to share some of our experiences and have been tempted to add my 2 cents worth to some of the threads here but have resisted the urge because I feel that at the moment we may not 'qualify' to be part of the 'club' and hence not really sharing on matters of GT, rather just my perception of living with a bright child and I would hate to impose with false delusions.

Ta S.

Spook - given your DC's skips and happiness, I dare say you belong here. As someone told me, if you find something of use to you here, then odds are you belong so chime in!!!!

And welcome to the group! It's a very supportive group.

Hi Dottie & Dazed

Thanks for the words of support - I guess there will always be that element of doubt at a young age and especially as we were so unaware of what was going on with DS because we had no family or friends while on our world travels to act as comparatives, so for a long time we assumed what he did was simply normal for toddlers/pre-schoolers and we still really have a job working out where he's at because now he is with older/GT kids! I was quite worried about his results because with the grade skip I'd assumed he must be quite up there but then when I did the sums the way dottie does them I came up with a total that said 'not gifted'. Anyway as everyone here says he's thriving at school at the moment which is great so nothing to worry about there and we can see how things go in the future. Will keep you all posted as things progress and we learn more and hopefully I can add something to the forum with some of our experiences and a different perspective from the land of the Kiwi.