Hi all-
I have a rising 7th grader who is gifted (though I won't presume to state to what degree!) He was identified as having a high IQ in a neuropsych evaluation through his public elementary school, when he was evaluated in Kindergarten as a result of substantial behavioral problems. He was then on an IEP to support him through his "clinically significant emotional and behavioral difficulties substantially impacting his classroom functioning." Thankfully, that "emotional disability" resolved. However, while he has learned and internalized some great methods of recognizing and responding constructively to frustration in the classroom, he still does experience such frustration. His IEP was pulled after his 3rd grade year, but he has since then had substantive executive function issues that hamper his classroom performance (e.g. organization, taking notes.)
This summer, he left 6th grade a day early to head up to sleepaway camp, where he is electronically disconnected. I know he will be disappointed to learn upon his return that he received a B+ in Math last quarter, when he's working on Khan Academy beyond grade level, and receiving SCAT scores that indicate extremely high quantitative achievement. He received a B+ previously, and tears were shed. On the plus side, he did not respond with anger, and instead tried brainstorm about areas of improvement! On the down side, it didn't actually work.
We are in a very competitive zip code for school performance, and as he moves ahead, I'd like him to be set up for success as much as he can be. No GT programs are offered here. Are there clues in his last IQ test that might suggest areas we might focus on outside of school to better set him up for classroom achievement? He is now 3+ years past that test, but perhaps some insights might still be gleaned by those more knowledgeable than I?
His WISC IV test scores at age 8:11 were as follows:
VCI: 155
Similarities: 19
Vocabulary: 19
Comprehension: 19
PRI: 137
Block Design: 16
Picture Concepts: 13
Matrix Reasoning: 19
(The tester narrated that for Picture Concepts, my son provided explanations for relationships as the the test items increased in difficulty, and "while his ideas were creative, and his explanations were logical, he did not always choose the most obvious categorical relationship." This may explain the state of his dresser drawers I have found as I take advantage of his absence to tidy!)
WMI: 110
Digit Span: 11
Letter Number Sequencing: 13
(The tester noted that my son performed far better on the more complicated task demands, suggesting difficulty in sustaining attention to rote verbal information.)
Processing Speed Index: 109
Coding: 10
Symbol Search: 13
The tester noted that his processing speed is a relative weakness, and such children often know a great deal more than they are able to quickly output in writing. This rings absolutely true- much of his anger as a youngster arose from frustration at being asked to write, and he continues to find that difficult. We enroll him in writing courses outside of school (through CTY), and he is game, but finds it work. Do we continue to challenge him in that way, through sheer exposure to the demands of writing, or might there be other means through which he might start to find the process of writing more natural?
His GAI on the above test was 156, and no FSIQ was offered. From what I've read elsewhere on this very informative forum, the GAI might correspond to a level of performance were accommodations offered. With no such accommodations on offer in school, what resources might we try to provide him outside of school, to help him compensate for relative deficiencies that might be impacting his school achievement?
(And for those handy with such calculations, what exactly might his FSIQ be? I'm curious, though I understand that it was given several years ago at a young age.)
Thanks in advance,
Katee
