Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional 99% MAP to 16% MAP

My son, who is very intelligent scored in the 99th percentiles in reading and math on his MAP test last year in first grade. Because he was in first grade, the test was read to him.

He has ADHD and SID and anxiety (though hasn't seemed to have any test anxiety). This year he just took the reading MAP test and scored in the 16th percentile! It was not read to him. I asked him about it and he said he was really frustrated, skipped a lot of words and guessed a lot.

He has a 504 and we are in the process of getting him evaluated at school to see if there are any learning disabilities because his teacher says his written expression is vastly different from his expressive language.

His teacher also says she feels his IQ is "probably sky high."

Would this possibly indicate a reading disability? Or could it merely be a child with ADHD who was frustrated and didn't want to put forth much effort? He breezed through the MAP test when it was read to him. Like I said, he scored in the 99th percentile and actually several points above the 99th percentile cut off.

His therapist thought the writing was probably due to his ADHD. When his reading was tested earlier in the year it was about grade level, maybe a bit under by month, but not much. He doesn't really like to read, but will do it. Getting him to write is like pulling teeth - it seems almost as painful for him.

Any ideas? I knew his MAP test scores would go down since he had to read it and doesn't like to read, but I didn't think they'd go down this much!

Oh, btw, he consistently scored high on his MAP tests last year. In the winter he scored in the 97th and 98th percentiles and in the spring he scored in the 99th percentiles. I don't know if he took it last fall, but we weren't given a score, if he did.

My dd9's MAPS scores have fluctuated wildly btwn the upper 90s to the low 50s. She is a 5th grader now. Unlike your situation, her school told us that they didn't believe the IQ scores from a testing she did at 7.5 that put her IQ above the 99th percentile and told us that the IQ scores and the higher MAPS scores were due to good guessing.

We are still seeing crazy fluctuations on her MAPS scores although I can't say that we are certain of the cause. As best as I can figure it out, I do think that dd probably fits the criterion for ADD. She also has self confidence issues and a low frustration tolerance and tends to guess when something isn't immediately obvious rather than try to work it out. That coupled with a very divergent manner of looking at things seems to impact her test score consistency.

I, too, have wondered about a reading disability with my dd, but I'm not sure at this point. If she does have one, I think that her wandering mind (internal distraction) is presenting a bigger issue for her now than any reading issues.

My dd, too, does not like to read. She has too many other thoughts running around in her head and when she gets part of the way through a paragraph or even a sentence, she gets mentally distracted by something it brings to mind. It makes reading very slow for her.

What, if anything, are you doing for the ADHD at this point?

He's been on the Daytrana Patch since last March (I think). He was on 10mg, and we just raised it to 15, which seems to be helping his behavior and focus. He was diagnosed with ADHD in October.

Attention difficulties can reduce reading scores, and reading disabilities and ADHD are often comorbid.

Given his additional troubles with writing (and yes, this could be attention, language based LD or both), I would refer him for testing. If there is an issue, research has shown that 90% of kids that are caught early and are given specialized reading instruction by grade 1 will learn to read at grade level. Those caught in 3rd grade or beyond often never catch up. Early intervention is best.

You might find this article helpful: http://www.ldonline.org/article/Is_It_a_Reading_Disorder_or_Developmental_Lag%3F

If your child is in a public school make a referral in writing to your principal for a full educational evaluation with emphasis on literacy skills. The district MUST evaluate within approx 60 days and hold a meeting to discuss the results and special ed eligibility. Don't take no for an answer.

The school may offer specialized reading instruction to see if they can get him up to speed without labeling him special ed. Take the instruction but insist they do the testing in parallel.

My son is dyslexic and has ADHD. Certainly the ADHD impacts everything he does, but the reading difficulties are distinct and should be addressed in a specific manner.

BTW - guessing a word based on the first letter and context clues is a very common trait of a reader with dyslexia.