DD10 recently went through a psycho-educational assessment to address our concerns about her potential ADHD/anxiety/OCD symptoms (getting worse since the start of remote learning). Fortunately, she is considered only borderline ADHD, but unfortunately Generalized Anxiety Disorder (DSM-V 300.02) and OCD (300.3) are diagnosed and confirmed. The psychologist recommended to join Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG) to seek help for gifted/2E kids like DD. I think DYS program would be a better choice and it is close to home.

From the assessment report, DD�s FSIQ is 138 and short of the 145 requirements for DYS. However, the psychologist mentioned that DD was very anxious, and her hands were sweaty throughout the assessment. She also has score gaps in all VCI/VSI/FRI/WMI/PSI. Two subtests of each category are almost always one for 84% and another 98-99%. Can anyone give advice as to whether it is possible to substitute one subtest, say Symbol Search for Coding, to improve her FSIQ/GAI/EFI/etc.? Or did the psychologist make a mistake in calculation? Thanks a lot. Really appreciated. Here are her scores:

VCI: 124 95%
VSI: 122 93%
FRI: 144 99.8%
WMI: 125 95%
PSI: 129 97%
FSIQ: 138 99%

GAI: 137 99%
QRI: 139 99.5%
NVI: 135 99%
AWMI 125 95%
CPI 132 98%

Subtest scores:
Similarities: 13
Vocabulary: 16
Block design: 15
Visual puzzles: 13
Matrix reasoning: 16
Figure weights: 19
Digit span: 16
Picture span: 13
Coding: 13
Symbol Search: 17

Complimentary Subtests:
Information: 19
Picture Concepts: 11
Letter Number Sequencing: 13
Cancellation: 14
Comprehension: 14
Arithmetic: 14

Thanks again.

Welcome back, Eyl!

I'm bumping your post so that it may get noticed. A member's first 5 posts or so are held for moderation to help prevent spam and bots. After you reach that threshold, your posts will appear instantaneously, and be seen on the list of "Active Topics" for 7 days, garnering more attention.

As you may have observed, aeh is a forum member very generous with sharing knowledge about test instruments... hopefully aeh may have great insight to share (as per usual).

I hear my name...
Nice to "see" you again!

It is allowed to make one substitution in the FSIQ (such as SS for Cd), but only when there is reason to believe the standard subtest is a flawed measurement in some way. In any case, making that substitution here would not result in the outcome for which you hope.

I didn't check every Index score, but generally they appear to be in the right ranges, so I don't see any specific reason to doubt the accuracy of this administration. (Of course, you are reporting some emotional/mental health reasons that we might not have seen optimal performance.) It may be that these are underestimates of her ability, but documentation of that will probably need to be secondary to working on her mental health.

Your DC's results are very strong (uniformly so, by and large), with a bit of additional personal strength in fluid reasoning, and no particular patterns of weakness that stand out. It does look like she's a bit more comfortable with verbal knowledge (Voc, Inf) than verbal reasoning (Sim, Comp), but the reverse with nonverbal, with slightly stronger abstract nonverbal skills than concrete (visual spatial) nonverbal skills.

I also suspect that she may do better when working out details starting from a pattern or concept (whole to part--MR and FW are the relevant subtests), than when naming the concept, or making connections, out of bits and pieces (part to whole--Si and PC are the relevant subtests). Notice how this can interact with the rigidity of OCD. If starting from a rule, it's relatively straightforward to work out the rest of the pattern--it's all unidirectional motion. If starting from bits and pieces, you have to be able to think flexibly, try various possible solutions or approaches on for size, and be able to back out and try a different way pretty easily, instead of getting stuck--it's three-dimensional motion, with many unexpected twists and swerves.

I would encourage you to follow the recommendation of your evaluator and connect with SENG, as well as your state NAGC affiliate. While DYS is an excellent resource for GT learners and their families, it is not the only one, and those organizations who cast a wider net with their target population are not necessarily inferior in their support offerings for any given child.

Depending on your child's needs and educational circumstances, you may also wish to look into requesting an initial evaluation for a 504 accommodation plan or an IEP from your local public school district, as in-school access to mental health supports and any other appropriate accommodations could make a difference in her school experience.

Thanks a lot and sorry for the late reply. I just had a meeting with the psychologist and got a list of recommended therapists for OCD. My DD's mental health issues are the foremost concern and need to be addressed first.

I'll try with the whole-to-part approach recommended by aeh, especially for math. My DD struggles with the current overly-repetitiveness-and-excessive-assignments way of learning at school.

I don't post a lot but do check the forum regularly. It's been very helpful. Thanks again.