Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy MY FIRST POST

I just got the results back from the WISC III and I am a bit frustrated with the person who did the test. The results were faxed to me & when I sent an e-mail asking for an explanantion, the response was that "he was in the highest category of intelligence for his age and they saw nothing to be concerned with" and "what more did I need to know"? Is there something out there that can help me decipher all the various numbers? Should I even be concerned? His teacher told me that she felt his scores would be a lot higher than they came back and she also asked about age equivalent. I did not see anything about age equivalent on the results. I have read a little about this test vs Stanford Binet. I am wondering if the teacher is referencing the Stanford? I am also wondering if I should have him tested with the S/B? I read that if they score 19 on 2 or more sub sets (he did , they should be tested using the S/B. Any thoughts? Thank you,
Brenda

I have read that children who have very large vocabulary do very well with the WISIII.Children that do not should avoid this test.

It is vitally important to find the right individual to test you child. Many intellegence tests are used to identify child with learning disabilities and mental deficiencies in addition to high intellectual abilities, and testers tend to specialize in one area or the other. A good WISC tester is one who has tested many gifted children and "gets them." My tester, for example, has a full questionnaire that parents complete and turn in prior to testing to give her a feeling for the child. She also includes an introvert versus extrovert scale, as this is a common defining characteristic for gifted children. In adition to providing results, she also evaluates them and provides a full list of recommendations. These can include appropriate schooling situations, organizations to pursue, and specialists to see regarding areas of concern.

A gifted child is rarely gifted across the board. One of the hallmarks of gifted children is their asynchronous development. Understanding the areas of relative strength and weakness will help you as the parent guide your child and his or her teachers.

If this were my child I would be very tempted to find a new tester. I would also have the most recent WISC (the IVth edition) administered. Before bringing my child in I would agree on what will be provided by the tester. I would want results broken down by subtest, recommmendations for home and school, referals to appropriate specialists and a face to face consultation.

I found that there was a section in the book Upside Down Brilliance by Linda Silvermann that discussed the WISC subtests which I found useful.

Good luck.

Hi Jaxmom - Welcome. Raising gifted kids has lots of pleasures, I'm assuming you know all about that, so lets get down to the worry and anguish, ok?

This IQ testing business is very confusing. Do you have a Gifted Association in you state? Perhaps other parents there can start to give you some answers? (Be a bit cautions here because there is a large range of gifted, and what works with most gifted doesn't fit so called, "highly gifted/profoundly gifted.")


You don't say how old your child is, but if you are dealing with, or are planning to, any school what isn't totally familiar with kids like yours, then I would strongly reccomend going to "The Assessment and Counseling Clinic (ACC) of the Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development is dedicated to providing clinical, outreach, and consultation services for gifted individuals, their families, and schools,"

(From their website at http://www.education.uiowa.edu/belinblank/clinic/)

because your child's test scores indicate that you really need to be at one of the top 5 centers in the USA.

- It may seem like a lot of money, but my experience is that you will end up there anyway, so you may as well save your self some tears and frustration.

I can't believe that you tester faxed you the results. Hopefully you didn't pay hundreds of dollars for this. If you spent less than 250$, pat yourself on the back for a good first step and go on from there. If you spent more, it's unfortunate, but I reccomend you not waste anymore energy on the rip-off, most of us adults "pay tuition at the school of hard knocks," from time to time.

And yes, I would guess that your teacher is referencing the old Binet LM. Basically, your child "ceilinged out" on the WISC III. You do have ample cause for concern. You are at the begining of a long learning process. For me, it's been a lot more fun and effective with support, so good for you for joining in with your arms open to gather up some!

Sending you Love and Luck - Trinity

Thanks for all your input. This whole thing is really so confusing and a bit scary at times. I have seen too many kids that I know get bored & drop out. On the other hand, I am energized to see him grow & get excited in his learning. My goal is to give him every opportunity to avoid that scenario of dropping out.

I guess a proper introduction would help.........My son is 7 years old & in 2nd grade at a small private school (individual attention at the childs level is the marketing, but I do not think anyone has the ability to work with him). I am a single mom & he is an only child. He has been fascinated with numbers, books, & puzzles from early on. I have know for a long time that he had some pretty special abilities, but now having the test results, I have confirmation Once I had the test results in hand, it seemed like the school paid a bit more attention & believed what I have been trying to tell them.

I also know that where he is is not the ideal place for him. I am in a position that I may be relocating & I am thinking that finding a proper school should be a major consideration. Currently we have been leaning towards Virginia, but I really have not looked into what they might have for his ability. Now that I have the test results, I think I better check a bit more

I only paid $15 for the test (insurance covered the rest), but I am a bit frustrated at her lack of communicating with me on this. In hindsight, I probably did not ask the right questions. My intent in doing the test was to see if he would score high enough to apply for the Young Scholars (he did . Now that I have the scores, I have a million other thoughts/concerns/questions.

It is so nice to have found this forum to talk with others.

Thank you

Oh Jaxmom!
I'm so glad for you that the Young Scholars Program will be availible! ((((smiling heart picture))) 15$! You Go Girl! Stop regreting right now, if you can.

You have so many possibilities, so much flexability! Don't worry about a retest until after you start up with Davidson, ditto about choosing a new school, as soon you'll have lots of inside info.

What to do for now?
1) Think about what you need for youself in the rest of your life - I mean the part of you beyond being a parent.
2) Read up on Profoundly Gifted - just let it all sink in. Also Homeschooler Sites, thoses moms know a lot.
3) Think about what kinds of enrichment activites you can do with you son at home, just for the pleasure of each other's company. We here will have plenty of suggestions.

(((smiles)))
Trinity

Hi Trinity,

Gotta tell you that I am smiling after reading your post I am praying/fingers crossed/lighting candles/and anything else I can think of that he gets into Davidson. I have his application ready to mail today.

You have given me some good food for thought- especially the part beyond being a parent??? LOL is there more .

Sounds like you have been around giftedness for a while? Care to share your story? Are you in Davidson?

Congratulations on the good score - and the cheap test! Wish I could have gotten someone to chip in on ours.

Check out hoagies -
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/highly_profoundly.htm
as a starting point on understanding the scores.

Davidson is great. We have been in for almost a year now.

It takes time for it all to sink in. Do lots of reading online and in books. Use bulletin boards to get the perspective of other parents.

I've had DS's IQ scores for over a year - and it is still sinking in.

Mary

Thanks Mary. I have been obsessed this week with exploring the Davidson site & Hoagies. It is truly overwhelming! I have talked with a couple of educators & shared his results & they have both encouraged me to get him OUT of the school system and explore home schooling. It is so sad to me that our school systems can not support bright kids He is definitely not getting much support for his talents at his current school. In fact one teacher made a rather negative comment about him doing Stanford EPGY math!

It is sad.... but it is reality.

We homeschooled for a semester before finding a private school that was able to accomodate better than the public schools.

Davidson can be very helpful in identifying some appropriate sources for material for homeschooling.

Mary