Just got back the WISC-V scores for my 10 year old 5th grader who is being re-evaluated for an IEP, which he got for a history of meltdowns at school related to anxiety (and for speech delay way back in preschool). I wanted to see if anyone could help me interpret his results because I'm not sure if these results are suggestive of a problem. Based on his WISC-V and the WJIV Achievement results (results of that ranged from low average to superior on the different tests), the special ed coordinator hinted that he might not qualify based on academics.

Here are his WISC-V results:
Verbal Comprehension: 113
Visual Spatial: 129
Fluid Reasoning: 126
Working Memory: 117 (Digit Span: 11, Picture Span: 15)
Processing Speed: 135
FSIQ: 126
Nonverbal Index: 132
GAI: 127
CPI: 130

My question is this: Do his scores indicate that he may have some auditory processing or language problem? It seems to me that the tests on which he scored the lowest involved auditory information/verbal comprehension. He definitely has always shown a preference for visual cues and directions and I do know that sometimes his anxiety is triggered when he does not understand verbal instructions (can definitely see the panic coming when he starts to say 'what do you mean?!!?). Was wondering if I should get more testing done outside of school and if so, what might those tests be? I think the speech therapist's testing indicated that he was 'fine'. I'm also concerned since if there is a problem, I don't want to let my guard down just because he is doing 'fine' in school now in 5th grade. Want to avoid making the anxiety worse if he's not understanding verbal instructions as things get more complex in the higher grades....

Thanks so much in advance for any advice!!!

Really just bumping for AEH. But the difference is only 1.5 SD (less if margins of error are used - ie the high score could be 5 less and the low score 5 more). Statistically I wouldn't say it was that significant. If you are seeing something though...

It is a statistically significant difference (just over 1 SD between VC and VS, and just under 1.5 SD between NVI and VCI), but not necessarily rare--that is, more people than you expect might have this difference. puffin is correct that the more important question is whether you see IRL differences between his ability to process language and his ability to process visual spatial information (which you are reporting). It tends to support your suspicion that his working memory subtests split out on the same lines; the auditory working memory task is lower, and the visual memory task is higher.

If there is some kind of auditory processing concern, the speech therapist may or may not pick up on it, as the kind of testing they do is usually focused on language, rather than auditory processing. For the latter assessment, you would need an audiologist (although some speech language pathologists are also audiologists), usually attached to a hospital. I should point out though, that there is limited evidence-based intervention for auditory processing disorders. Mostly, one implements accommodations, many of which are good practice for a large variety of conditions, such as anxiety and inattention. For instance, pairing visual cues with verbal directions, establishing a listening set prior to directions, keeping oral instructions clear and concise, repeating/rephrasing, checking frequently for comprehension, preferential seating (distraction-free, proximal to instruction). An auditory trainer/FM system is one of the few accommodations that is specific to auditory processing (and hearing impairment).

I'm interested in the low average achievement scores, though.

Thanks puffin and aeh for your replies! I do believe that his visual memory and attention to visual stimuli are much stronger than his auditory/language skills and I wasn't sure how the school could help him out with accommodations aside from the ones that aeh was so good with pointing out!

I too was perplexed by the low achievement scores (in passage comprehension and reading recall on Woodcock Johnson). The tester did make note in the commentary that he was extremely preoccupied with giving the correct answers during the comprehension test and I only have to assume that anxiety probably played a role in the retell/recall testing too. However, upon reviewing his WISC-V scores again, maybe there is some difficulty with manipulation of language because on the VCI, he got an 11 on the Similarities subtest and a 14 on Vocabulary. Seems to me to be statistically significant...percentile ranking was 63% vs 91%. What is the standard deviation for the scaled scores?

SD for subtest scaled scores is 3. A difference of 3 scaled score points between those two subtests is on the line of meaningful difference. I wouldn't focus on the percentile difference too much, as percentiles bunch up in the middle of the bell curve. I don't have my reference in front of me, but if I recall correctly, 3 points is statistically significant, but, again, not rare. In any case, the meaning of score differences should always be with reference to actual function.

So both core reading comprehension scores were lower. That tends to make the generally lower reading comprehension more believable as a real result, and not just due to test anxiety (which you would think would affect other subtests, as well--so even if there was some score depression due to anxiety, it still means something that he had that much more anxiety about reading comprehension than about other academic tasks). This finding is a bit more suggestive of an underlying language deficit, rather than an auditory processing deficit only.