How do I get a child with attention issues to sit through WPPSI

[Anonymous]

DC scored very high on WPPSI at age 3.5. Took it again last week and did not so well. Tester said DC was highly distractable, lacking in attention, walked around the room exploring things, touching test materials, etc...She seemed frustrated with him. She said she tried her best to keep himfocused but it was hard.

We are looking for new schools for him (he'llstart KG) but we can't submit this score. It doesn't reflect his true intelligence and knowledge.

What should we do??

[Anonymous]

you may want to cross post this on private schools as some parents may have experience with this topic there as well

[Anonymous]

My DD got diagnosed with ADD due to her diffuculty with the test (they then took another follow up test/questionnaire). I'd focus more on how to help you child in the long term with his attention issues, possibly get him diagnosed, and take him to behavior therapy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD got diagnosed with ADD due to her diffuculty with the test (they then took another follow up test/questionnaire). I'd focus more on how to help you child in the long term with his attention issues, possibly get him diagnosed, and take him to behavior therapy.

I totally agree with this.

[Anonymous]

Agree with pp's. We chalked up our DDs less than stellar WPSSI performance to other factors and as a result her ADHD was diagnosed much later. When we looked back at the test results we should have been able to get some clues and get her help earlier. It doesn't mean she isn't intelligent - in fact she is well above average. But it does mean that there are other issues that make it hard to take full advantge of that intelligence without some strategies and accomodations. And it also means that not all school environments are approriate for her.

[Anonymous]

My son recently took the WISC. The tester strongly recommended that we have him tested for ADHD - said he was very easily distracted though also quite easily redirected. I've spoken to all of his teachers and his OT about the tester's recommendation - every single one of them said that they see NO sign of any attention issue. All of this is to say that if you aren't seeing attention issues in other areas of your son's life, then maybe he was nervous and it manifested itself as a behaviour issue that day. Certainly the tester we saw said definitively that she could not diagnose him based on his behaviour during the test.

[Anonymous]

Were attention issues brought up at all at 3.5? If your child had no problems testing at that age I'm thinking a year from now you may want to try a different tester. When I was that age a tester said I wasn't very compliant and I was very distractible and the results were an underestimate. I still did well, but I came out complaining about the mean tester. My type A parents had me tested a year later with someone else and low and behold with a more personable and warm/fuzzy tester my scores went up 20 points and my parents were told my attention and focus were great.

Now my own child has taken a variety of different language and learning tests and he varies in performance A LOT depending on tester. We're talking the difference between bombing a test and testing in the average or even above average range. BUT even when he does very well I still hear about distractibility AND I see it in other settings too, so we will be exploring this further.

[Anonymous]

I would wonder about any 4 yr old who DIDN'T seem distracted and interested in cool things in a stranger's office. The ones who would just sit there and answer tons of random questions by a stranger would be the ones I worry about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would wonder about any 4 yr old who DIDN'T seem distracted and interested in cool things in a stranger's office. The ones who would just sit there and answer tons of random questions by a stranger would be the ones I worry about.

Totally agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would wonder about any 4 yr old who DIDN'T seem distracted and interested in cool things in a stranger's office. The ones who would just sit there and answer tons of random questions by a stranger would be the ones I worry about.

Someone who tests preschoolers for a living, particularly someone who does a lot of admissions testing, and thus sees a lot of "typical" kids, will have a pretty good sense of what is within normal expectations at this age. I think it's fair to assume that if the examiner commented what the child did is uncommon.

[Anonymous]

I don't know how the WPPSI administrator got my son to complete the test -- I was expecting him to run out of the room. So if you find the right person that can help a lot.

[Anonymous]

Does your child have a documented attention issue - as in ADHD? Just thinking that if you do, you might be able to get the test administrator to break up the testing into shorter sessions of say 15-20 minutes at at time, and even over multiple days. FCPS recently did this with my child who attends a SN preschool because they knew it was the only way they'd capture an accurate picture of her intelligence. It sounds like you're working with someone outside of the school system, which may also give some room for that type of flexibility.

[Anonymous]

All I know is that there were 30 points differents on the WISC for my daughter between tests when she was in 2nd and 4th grades. The most significant difference between the tests besides age was that she was diagnosed with ADHD and taking adderall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would wonder about any 4 yr old who DIDN'T seem distracted and interested in cool things in a stranger's office. The ones who would just sit there and answer tons of random questions by a stranger would be the ones I worry about.

Someone who tests preschoolers for a living, particularly someone who does a lot of admissions testing, and thus sees a lot of "typical" kids, will have a pretty good sense of what is within normal expectations at this age. I think it's fair to assume that if the examiner commented what the child did is uncommon.

I agree. Not just anybody can get credentialed to administer these tests and get valid scores. I would trust the examiner's assessment.