Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional ADHD diagnosis- updated scores

....received yesterday of DS8. It's not particularly surprising given the feedback we've received from the school this year. DS has also been diagnosed with a social language impairment that may actually be an impairment or may be the ADHD. I'm just at a loss- DS's scores are all over the place. He toke the WISC V and received results similar to the WISC IV (from two years ago). By the way, I like the WISC V soooo much better. Much more nuanced. I'll remove scores later

WJ IV was not nearly as high as last time (WJ III in 2014)- the tester noted that DS seemed quite impulsive and careless during the written language and reading sections. Math scores were still exceptional, especially applied math (99.9th) and math calculations, but not as remarkable. Other tests of memory, language, visual perception, visual motor, etc. ranged as high as the 99th percentile and a couple of the language scores as low as the 25th percentile.

I'm not sure what to ask - we're going to start behavioral therapy so that homework isn't such a blooming nightmare. DS is complex. Anyone going through this that can offer insight, experience, commiseration?

Thanks.

I don't know much about the WISC V but those results don't seem all that over the place to me. There are some discrepancies, but nothing glaring. DD did the WISC IV and matrix reasoning was 22 (with extended norms) while coding was 8. She just did the WJ and there was a gap of over 30 points between math fluency and applied problems. She was diagnosed with slow processing speed and has other processing issues.

I'm not sure what to say about the lang. scores in the 25th percentile--that does seem odd.

cammom,

Just a few thoughts for you, and definitely a bundle of commiseration!

Although we aren't dealing with exactly the same issues, our ds' have a few things in common. I wouldn't assume that behavioral therapy is going to be the *full* answer for helping with turning homework into a non-nightmare. I'd look closely at the depressed processing speed score on the coding subtest and try to nail down where that's coming from. If it's merely a function of him not cooperating fully or being distracted on the WISC then it's nothing... but otoh, if you're seeing issues with homework taking a long time, refusal to show written work, other things going on impacting the homework, then it may be significant for your ds - and if so, you'd want to tackle whatever is at the root of it, not just a behavioral outcome or reaction due to a challenge.

Our ds8 also has a large gap in processing speed - for him it's related to dysgraphia and dyspraxia, but when he was your ds' age he was also diagnosed (incorrectly) with ADHD based on behaviors that were really related to his other challenges. It wasn't obvious until he was a bit older, but he also has an expressive language disorder, and he struggles quite a bit with social language as well. His scores on WJ-III Achievement tests range from way high to way low (on the subtests that are impacted by his challenges).

I'd try to learn as much as I can from the test scores, and then try to see how it correlates with what you see in real life, then go from there.

Best wishes,

polarbear

Thank you. Blackcat- I should have been more clear. The tester ran a lot of other tests to check for ADHD- . It was on those tests that we noticed variability. For instance, DS's word retrieval on a test called the DKEFS was 98th percentile, his category fluency (same test) was the 50th percentile.

His memory and learning for a real world task (e.g. a verbal grocery list) on the CVLT- C was low, but his narrative memory (information presented in a strutted way) was the 99th percentile. There are a lot of examples of this kind of variability.

DS's IQ scores were stable between the WISC IV and WISC V. For that, we're grateful, but clear that DS is using his intellect to compensate for poor planning, attention, and organization. The psychologist noted that DS started his tasks without a plan, but was using superior reasoning and visual spatial abilities to achieve a good result.

...and we have it all at homework time, carelessness, refusal to take feedback, check work, correct errors, show work...

I like the WISC-V better, too. Combining VS and FR under PR has always bothered me. The CPI has been available for quite a while, even on the WISC-IV, just not in the standard scoring software. (Needed a separately-purchased interpretive handbook for it.) It does make the value of the GAI much more noticeable, as you can now see the contrast between GAI and CPI more vividly.

Your overall cognitive results are good, with strengths just where I like to see them. The only really significant relative weakness is in processing speed, which makes sense when combined with the DKEFS results. Academically, it is not surprising that some inconsistencies will begin to show up with a child diagnosed with ADHD. Multi-step math operations, inferential reading comprehension, and extended writing are some of the places that are particularly vulnerable to the deficits in sustained attention and organization.