Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Help with Scores Re Learning Disability?

If all of the Subtests of the WJIV that were administered are already listed, then you don't have enough subtests for the Gf-Gc. The GIA is derived from one Subtest from each of the core cluster areas, while the Gf-Gc requires two from each of the Comprehension-Knowledge and Fluid Reasoning clusters, which are currently represented by Oral Vocabulary and Number Series, respectively.

The BIA (Brief Intellectual Ability) has only the first three subtests (verbal knowledge, fluid reasoning, and verbal working memory tasks), without the speed and long-term retrieval tasks that you've observed are among his lower scores. That's probably the closest you can get using existing data. The GIA is generally considered a more robust measure, but comparing the BIA and GIA could be an exercise with some utility, at least for you and your child. I'd be hesitant to call it a strong argument with the school, though, since it's essentially a cognitive screener.

The Gf-Gc would need two more subtests.

Ahh I see. Okay thanks. One more question, do you think I should request an IEE given these scores?

Depends a bit on your state regs. If you're required to state the defect in the school's eval, it might be a bit more challenging, since there isn't definitively an obvious thing to point to. If you're not (i.e., you can generically dispute the findings) then that would be something to consider.

Also think about what you hope to obtain as a result of the IEE, in terms of specific accommodations, specialized instruction/services, etc.

I'm in PA ( I think you know a little bit about PA)

I definitely know what accommodations and services I would want. Honestly, I think a 504 would probably be fine. Not sure if schools offer that, even when a kid does not qualify for special ed but has a weakness or if I would need an IEE to even get that.

Update! So, reassured by AEF, I took my son's full evaluation report with the data to a private neuropsych and paid her for her expert unbiased opinion (this neuropsycologist is also a certified PA School psychologist (she used to be a school psychologist and is now in private practice). She called me yesterday and also opined that the eval report and data indicate a learning disability (albeit not as severe as I am used to with my older son) and that the school psych who wrote the report is not taking in to account and basically dismissing his giftedness as well as the discrepancies that exist in the data due to that. I have a meeting with the school psych on Thursday. I plan on telling her about the outside independent consult and that two other psychologist, both certified PA school psych as well, say there is an LD and her report is not taking into accounted his gifted iq and that is why she is saying there is no LD. I may end up requesting an IEE as a result. Thoughts? Advice? Insight?

You already have a connection with a specialist in your area, so if you don't get anything out of further conversations with your district personnel, the IEE conversation might be one you could explore a bit with your consultant, in terms of what she might recommend as an approach. It might not require a lot of additional testing, since you already have multiple formal and informal consults stating that the existing data are supportive of an LD.

Okay so this is getting weird. So the child at issue in this post/thread was identified as gifted in 2nd grade via IQ and brief achievement testing) aand then just recently evaluated for a needs based iep because I thought his writing and spelling were extremely poor (he is in 5th grade) and when I found out he was 2 grade levels below in spelling. School evaluates and says no iep needed. He has significantly discrepant scores in spelling, writing, PAL. You can see his scores posted above. School denies IEP and the reason they are denying is that he is fine in school and performing on grade level "mostly." He is currently getting intervention in spelling and writing mechanics but he is "fine." Okay, now the school OT in the eval report said this kid couls use soem OT intervention. I ask about this at the ER meeting today and they tell me oh he will call you. OT just called and says he recommends that my son be pulled out for some OT sessions for a "tune up" to give the "teachers a break" So basically they denied he needs an IEP, that say he is operating on grade level but now he needs an unofficial OT tune up? for letter formation? Seriously???? This is making me very suspicious. I already requested an IEE and have not heard back yet, of course, but they knew it was coming. I just think this is a lot of unofficial help and intervention for a kid who is supposedly fine and on grade level. I told them I had to think about the OT pulling him out. I want my kid helped but I am not sure if agreeing to 'unofficial,' off-the-record help that they are officially denying he actually needs make sense and would hurt in the long run.

Does this make any sense to anyone? What should I do? I am really at a loss.
Maybe I should move this to Twice Exceptinal board?

So in this case, my alarm bells mostly go off on behalf of the district's interests. If I were in their place, I would be very concerned about opening oneself up to compliance issues, as this is taking an officially-general ed student out of the general setting (hence losing time on learning and access to the general education curriculum, and illegally putting them in a separate setting for an undocumented pull-out related service).

There is actually a legal, official way to do this, which is to write a 504 for accommodations and related service provision. They would, however, have to acknowledge the existence of an educationally-relevant disability. You might ask for clarification; are they proposing a 504 for related services?

Thanks, aeh. I specifically asked if they were offering a 504 and they said no.