Hello everybody. My 8yo recently received a full neuropsych evaluation. As we expected, he received an ADHD diagnosis and began medication which has been absolutely life changing. As part of the assessment he was given the WISC-V and his FSIQ scored as 145, with some indices higher and some lower. (In particular, he was at ceiling on the verbal index, and around average in processing speed which represents a very significant relative weakness, common with ADHD.) While this is absolutely no surprise to us, we didn't pursue testing with the goal of entering any gifted programs - it was a desperate bid to get his ADHD recognized and treated when so many people have said he's fine since he's such a high performer. (THEY don't see the misery at home.) Anyway, it seems that a FSIQ score of 145 is the cutoff for DYS, so technically he's eligible, I think. Is there any reason not to apply with a score so close to cutoff? I would love my son to have a community and our family could definitely use some resources (our 3yo seems veeeeeery much like her older brother), but I don't want him to feel out of place in a context where the whole point is to feel supported!

Welcome, sciviom!


Short answer:
YES, you should apply to DYS for your 8yo, if the offerings sound like they may be of interest in the near term or throughout the next decade (children age out at 18).

Longer answer:
With a score at the cutoff on an approved test instrument (https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-programs/young-scholars/admissions/eligibility-and-testing/), I encourage you to apply to Davidson Young Scholars (DYS). It cannot hurt to apply, and over the years your child, you as the parent, and ultimately the whole family may benefit from the knowledge, insight, support, and potential camaraderie you may have opportunities to engage in with other DYS and DYS families.

You probably saw the DYS application process online, and I will link it here, for convenience of yourself and also future readers of this post who may wonder what DYS is, and how to apply. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-programs/young-scholars/
There are many related webpages... follow the links... be sure to click on each one to get all the detail available.

Thanks so much. I think we will apply. Can't decide if we should include anything in the portfolio, though. I can't tell if he's an "edge case" or whether FSIQ 145 is definitely fine. I feel like we could definitely use the resources DYS offers.

My kid hit the ceiling on all 3 verbal subtests and the verbal index, and was within 1 point of ceiling on 2 more subtests. I suspect extended norms should have been used in multiple cases because the examiner said she got all the way to the end of almost everything. She said she usually tests children with intellectual disability so may not usually use extended norms.

That is quite possible. If she usually tests the other end of the curve, the ExNorms probably aren't part of her daily practice. If you want that documentation, she already has the data for it, so you could request that she re-calculate using the extended norms, at least for the VCI and the resulting FSIQ. (There are only two subtests in the VCI, so this wouldn't take much. The third verbal subtest would have been supplementary, and would not impact any of the index scores, other than the VECI, which can't be calculated anyway, with only three subtests. A VECI of 145+ would also have been a qualifying score for DYS.) The ExNorms are freely available in a technical doc from the publisher.

But I doubt the absence of ExNorms will keep your child from the appropriate resources!

Thank you. I did request that she recalculate, but she hasn't gotten back to me and it's been weeks. I got the Extended Norms myself and recalculated his VCI, which should have been 164. He wasn't given the Information subtest (or if he was, I don't have the score - I wasn't allowed to be in the room), so he doesn't have a VECI. Oh well, it doesn't really matter much, just a bit frustrating.