The report provided was nearly 100 pages long, and long on observation, but fairly short on concrete data...
I would absolutely want data to support the judgments in the report. What standardized assessments were done?
The neuropsych said that the word generation score pointed to a potential narrow band of executive function deficiency. Specifically, poor executive control and initiation. No idea what that means.
Task initiation is getting going on a task; very hard for people who have ADHD, not usually impaired in people with anxiety AFAIK. People who have impaired initiation often show a frustrating gap between the time they are given an instruction and the time they actually acknowledge it or start to complete it. It can make a child look oppositional even if it's really a processing glitch.
Executive function issues (often associated with ASDs and ADHD) show in a lot of ways, but the gist is that it's the skill set that lets you stay on task from start to finish without wandering off, lets you bring yourself back to your task if you are temporarily distracted, etc. It's the command-and-control center for getting things done.
He said that administering the math was difficult, and that they stopped well short of dd's actual demonstrated ability because she was becoming unmanageably resistant. He noted this in the results.
IME, EF-challenged people do find standardized tests exhausting and annoying. They require a high level of attention and control of one's own brain. To get accurate results, your DD may need tests chopped into smaller pieces over more days.
The screeners that were given to teachers and caregivers came back with significantly elevated scores for Autism, Aspergers, PDD-NOS, ODD, Anxiety-NOS, Social Anxiety, Sensory Integration, ADHD, Conduct Disorders, and Mood Disorders...
The EF stuff can look baffling and be very aggravating to adults in a school setting, who spend tons of time giving instructions and expect immediate compliance. Here is a kid who has the brains to comply, and yet she doesn't comply, so it can look like conduct disorder etc. Also frustrating for the kid, because even if she wants to comply her get-going skills may not be letting her do it, and she lands in trouble all the time.
I wonder if you can find someone (sometimes called "educational therapist") to work on the EF problems specifically and see if the other things improve.
What is he suggesting for the anxiety?
Did he do any testing that would reveal deficits in perspective-taking skills? (ADOS?) I wouldn't be eager to do a group social skills class for this kid unless it was clear to me what skills were lacking and that these were the precise skills that would be addressed.
DeeDee
