Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Very high working memory!

Hello! My son's Wisc 4 shows he has subtest scores of 19 for digit span, 19 for block design and 19 for matrix resoning. Everything else was average or slightly below (8 for comprehension and coding).

I normallu hear of gifted kids having low working memory. Does anyone elses child here have a wmi that hit the ceiling?

The psych said he had never come accross such a difference in wmi and comprehension, infact it was found in 0% of the wisc reference group.

What does this mean! He has needs but no one can diagnose him with anything.

Hope you can shed some light.

Sorry I made a mistake. He got 19 in letter number sequencing, average in block design.

No they didnt do extended norms, the psych had never heard of extended norms!!

My son has comprehension issues but because he us average in comprehension they will not help him.

He has had autism tests but did not meet criteria. Could high wmi mask/compensate for a disability?

I don't know how old your son is, but those are the kinds of scores that may be associated with a strong (i.e. genius level) math ability.
We've just discovered through a variety of language tests (screened for 2e) that a gifted working memory doesn't translate to strong comprehension. My DS didn't hit the ceiling but he got an 18 in letter/number sequencing, and his language tests put him at the ceiling (19) for auditory recall.
Comprehension was good on the WISC (95th percentile) and much lower on more sensitive language testing.
Hmmm...and granted I may very well be projecting my own situation, but my DS was just diagnosed with an expressive/receptive language impairment. Has your DS had a thorough speech screening? I think this aspect of development was overlooked in my son because he has some extreme strengths. We're having a lot of lightbulb moments around here, as it becomes clear that he is 2e with average to low average social and abstract communication.
For what it's worth, my DS's PRI wasn't as strong as your DS's but still gifted. He far prefers math, and discrete challenging (non-wordy), tasks. Will solve math problems without batting an eye, years over grade level. Will have a toddler tantrum over age appropriate language homework.

I'd like to put in a gentle note saying that very high scores on segments of an IQ test don't equate to genius. Genius is a trait that's poorly understood, but it's certainly complex and not measurable with a simple set of tests.

I react a bit to this type of phrasing because it can end up putting a lot of the wrong kind of pressure on kids.




OP, did your son stop trying or get tired on the parts of the test where his scores were average? Does he have a learning disability?

Not the Wisc but both my kids had working memories above the 99.9th percentile.

I am replying to these but its not showing up?

What type of needs? Can you tell us a bit more about the types of things he struggles with (if there are things he struggles with).

Although not quite as large of a discrepancy, my dyslexic dd's strongest score (and it's super-strong) is working memory. Yet she has a challenge (and relatively low score on a different type of memory, measured on the WJ-III Cognitive - associative memory). She also has scores that bounce around all over the place on ability and achievement tests - and the best we've been able to figure out from the uneven scores that don't seem to mesh to mean anything is that the lower scores are tied to difficulty understanding the questions related back to her challenges with reading. For instance, she's very *very* good at math but doesn't test well on standardized tests. When she's doing math homework and has a question - 9 times out of 10 the question is due to not comprehending what the problem has asked, not a lack of understanding the math. That might not sound like it makes sense... unless you're parenting a child who struggles with reading

Best wishes,

polarbear

Testing you can see this?

Ok! So he is 8yo. He was tested for asd twice but did not meet criteria. His theory of mind score was high - which shocked us as he appears to lack social understanding. He was tested by a salt who said inference probs but not bad enough to be a disability.
He has been diagonsed with sensory processing issues & tic disorder. He is rigid, needs everything to be "just so" according to the rules in his head", anxious if things are not right, doesnt understand social etiquette, addicted to computers, delayed with imaginative play.

Top set at school in maths but went unrecognised for years. Seen as bright but not amazing by teachers..

Seeks praise from authority to the point where he gets angry if he doesnt get it, perfectionistic, overly critical of others, obsessed with dates & time