Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Any last minute tips for DYS application?

Hi Mia,
I really appreciate the tips. It does seem that we are in a very similar situation. Good luck to you, too.

Hi Gratified 3,

Thanks for the advice. Just for clarification, only the WPPSI requirement is 150, the achievement tests are 145 or above, so for my son, he has met the achievement part. I would like to hear from others that were accepted without the 150 score on the WPSSI and what else you included.
Thanks

I think that they look at the scores if they're close on the IQ scores, at least -- that's what I've heard on other boards. That's why they ask for the entire score report, and not just the single numbers -- they look at the scores in context.

I'll use ds's scores, to show why I haven't given up hope even though his WPPSI scores were below the cut-off. His FSIQ score on the WPPSI is 148 -- just two points below the cut-off. However, that includes his coding score, which was in the 50th percentile. This is a score that can vary greatly, especially for advanced children; it depends partially on fine-motor skills. And if you sub out a low score for a different subtest in the same category, that makes a huge difference on results. That category is Processing; his other subtest in that category was one of the ones he ceilinged.

His WIAT scores were, according to the report, much higher than expected for his IQ score. That, coupled with the test ceilings, means that he likely would have scored higher on a test with a higher ceiling.

So even though one score isn't quite there, don't give up hope! I've been lead to believe that they *do* look at how individual subtest scores and ceilings factor into the scores.

But maybe there's someone with a success story?

About those WPPSI scores... This particular Wechsler has a fairly low ceiling, and many kids who take it when they are at the older end of the age range have artificially LOW scores due to the test not being able to measure anything higher.

On the other hand, I have heard professional test administrators say that they take the WPPSI with a grain of salt, as it can also produce artificially HIGH scores due to the age norming. How many four year olds can actually decode and not just recognize a few sight words? Not very many, and that makes the child who reads a bit look extraordinary.

The WPPSI essentially can give the same sort of scores to kid A, reading Dick and Jane, and kid B, reading Ivanhoe. While it is unusual for a four year old to read at all, it is FAR more unusual for a four year old to be reading novels. I think this is why Davidson wants more than just test scores. They can be so ambiguous! Unfortunately, we don't really have anything better at this point.

Questions-

Sigh... I think it can be very tough for kids who do not have any "product" to show. Maybe you can think about what it is that makes your child different: deep thoughts, perceptive abilities, the kind of questions asked.

In an interview I once spoke about how gifted kids are different from the norm. I talked about how any four year old might like dinosaurs, but the gifted child will go "deeper" into the subject, memorizing not just a handful of names, but dozens of them. He will want to know what each one ate, what precise period they lived in, and more. For PG kids, of course, this is the same, but their interests tend to be even more intense. This intensity is what you need to show.

I'm not sure if this is helpful after all, but it's hard to be very specific.

best wishes-

Lorel,

Thank you! You make me feel so much better. That's exactly what I've been doing - compiling lists of stuff. And the intensity is clearly there. I just wanted objective sources so they'll believe me - but there aren't any. Frankly, when my son speaks science, it sounds a lot like what I read about Dottie's son speaking math (but he doesn't have the top achievement scores to prove it - well he does in comprehension and oral language, but there's no science test on the WIAT). And because I don't have proof, I'm providing a bunch of anecdotes re: his questions and answers, etc. I was even thinking about a video, as if the application was by portfolio instead of scores, but I don't have a camcorder. I suppose I could offer to add it later once I find one I can borrow. I'm very eager to get this off for Friday's deadline, in case the rules change for 2008. We definitely need the help - but no matter what, we're already better off than when I first started this process about a month ago, thanks in particular to so many of you here.

Thank you.

Yep, I was there for both the WIAT and the WISC, a silent observer. I guess it's a good thing the WISC doesn't require reading b/c at the time, that was "school work" and he pretty much refused to do or at least refused to try on anything he perceived as work. No phenomenal scores for him in reading!(Nothing like testing a kid who hated school over vacation...) But we got the answers we needed (we were testing for learning issues, not for YSP, which I never heard of until about a month ago when I started research based on what I was hearing in parent teacher conferences) and life has improved for all of us.

I just wanted to support you. I completely identify with you here. I want the objective, safe sources, too. There's security in that. But it's just so hit-or-miss with the tests available right now. Surely the committee at DYS has to know that, right?

I wish I could loan you my camcorder! I'm utterly convinced that video is the way to apply to DYS with a young "product-less" child like yours (and mine). When you see one of these kids in action, you absolutely know it!

What about a tape recording? That would be better than nothing, right? At least they could hear him talk, hear the intensity. It might be worth a shot...

Good luck!

Thanks, Kriston. Here I am at the 11th hour and still working away at this. I've tried all sorts of sources but I can't prove what he's done. I might try the video route, as my new phone has video on it. Still, I have to figure out if maybe I can video and copy to a dvd (that part I've been able to do) and convert it into some sort of format they can read. (They say in the portfolio section that it has to be a full-size dvd or vhs cassette.) Good luck to you - and to all of us!

I'll be thinking of you!

I think if we moms can figure out the technology and all the intricacies of the application process, it ought to prove that our kids have sufficiently gifted genes to get them in to DYS! LOL!

Let me know what you include in your app and how it goes. Best of luck!