WPPSI on Monday, dc has a cold, should I reschedule?

[Anonymous]

From what I've read, perhaps lettingg dc take the test when she's sick is not a wise decision. Would you recommend she reschedule. She's 3 1/2 and since it's winter, most children in her preschool have colds. So I knew it was only a matter of time before she caught one.

[Anonymous]

Definitely reschedule! You want her to perform at her optimal level! And a cold will likely make her very uncomfortable, thereby hindering performance. And you certainly don't want to have to reapply should she not make the score cut off. It's too time consuming and emotionally draining.

[Anonymous]

Testers really get booked up, especially this time of year. So you may not have a choice but to go with the test on Monday. Reschedule if you can get an appointment such that the results still reach the schools on time. Some schools need WPPSI scores by mid-January. Others don't need them until late January or early February.

[Anonymous]

It depends on how sick your DC really is. If a cold, which doesn't seem to be interferring with her test taking abilities, keep the date. If the scores are not super high, but high enough, you can explain away the lack of super-highness by the cold. I believe the test administrator will also note that fact in the preface to the score summaries.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thank you. She seems much like herself but it just started last night and she's all congested, sneezing out large green mucus. I'm worried this may be worse by Monday. I know they said if she got sick, we could reschedule but I'm not sure how much this will effect her performance and thus her score. Thank you all for your suggestions and opinions.

[Anonymous]

YES!!!

[Anonymous]

If they said they would reschedule in case of sickness, do it! Not only is it unfair to DC to test when she is ill, it is unfair to the tester, who has to sit in a small room handling the materials DC just touched. If you wouldn't send her to school, don't send her to an evaluation.

[Anonymous]

OP here: besides being congested and sneezing out some huge green snot mustaches from time to time, dc doesn't have a fever or cough. She's not sitting around in discomfort. I'm worried b/c I don't want to give her medications to help with her congestion such as Triaminic decongestant as it has benadryl (could make her drowsy) and pseudoephedrine which could make her jumpy. We've been giving it to her now and that may be why she seems OK but I'm afraid of giving it to her on monday as the medications may make her performance worse. I guess the problem is depending on when they can reschedule to, what if she's even more sick next time? It seems like only a matter of time before their catch another cold. It's like 2 weeks of a cold then 1-2 weeks of being fine before they are sick again with another cold. Ughhh, knowing she has her test coming up in Monday, it made me cringe to see her walk into her class and hearing classmates do a wet cough. Ughhh all I could think was this child is going to get my dc sick and sure enough. So it sounds like most of you would reschedule even with no fever and cough but just nasal congestion and huge snotty sneezes? I would definitely ask the psychologist first, as you're right I wouldn't want to expsoe them to her virus as well. I'll be sure to bring along some Purell and tissues in case they recommend testing. I would even offer to come in and wipe her snot. However I don't want to disgust the tester against my dc b/c of her green snot mustache when she sneezes. She otherwise is fine. Advice??

[Anonymous]

OP, reschedule. It is true that you might have to reschedule again. That is what rescheduling is for: for when your child is sick or an emergency comes up. I think re: schools you have until late January to take before you start to delay applications, so you have a lot of time for finding a break when your child is not sick. Explain to the tester and she will understand of course. They do not want to see children who are not feeling well. And if your child does NOT do well, there will always be a lingering doubt as to whether she was just a little cloudy that day from the cold.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. Again this morning, and almost evey hour i keep reassessing whether or not she is well enough to take the test. Hopefully they can reschedule as Education Assessments required that we send the full amount when we scheduled her exam a month ago.

DH keeps insisting she's well enough to take the test, that her nasal congested is to be expected during the winter from all 3 year olds.

[Anonymous]

OP, what did you decide? How did it go?

[Anonymous]

OP here, we went ahead and took the test. The examiner called the night before to confirm and we got a chance to chat about dc having nasal congestion and mild cold. She was very understanding and flexible. We decided to proceed. Dc had a good time. Examiner said dc only coughed only once. Since the WPPSI is only 30 minutes long, it was fine. The examiner gave us hints that she did well. The office administrator commented on how self confident dc was. So I guess her cold didn't effect her too much.

I highly recommend Educational Assessment Associates, I thought they were very friendly receptive and understanding. Dc just walked right in following the examiner and came back out smiling and happy. They rewarded dc at the end of the session with stickers, which my dc really liked, as did we. We're so glad that's done. Now we just need to complete the essays and playdates.

Thanks again for all your support. It was a difficult decision and I appreciate everyone's input.

[Anonymous]

That's great. Good luck! (BTW, my child was getting over a cold when she took the WPPSI, and the tester noted in her evaluation that she was congested but in good spirits, also that in the last section of the test she may have been tired due to her recent illness and therefore perhaps performed slightly more slowly than she might otherwise have done.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's great. Good luck! (BTW, my child was getting over a cold when she took the WPPSI, and the tester noted in her evaluation that she was congested but in good spirits, also that in the last section of the test she may have been tired due to her recent illness and therefore perhaps performed slightly more slowly than she might otherwise have done.)

OK, minor reality check here. Are we all crazy? Illness=performed more slowly? We are talking about three year olds! I took my own two weeks ago for the WPPSI (still waiting on results), so I am not criticising the PP or the OP. Didn't face the illness issue, but every once in awhile it hits me that we may all be nuts! Of course, I went to public school and just showed up for Kindergarten when I turned 5 (no preschool), so maybe that has something to do with my feeling that we are all completely mad for taking three year olds off to IQ testing...

[Anonymous]

The comment was relevant because the section of the test she was describing evaluates processing speed (or some such--don't remember the exact term). (My daughter was 4 at the time and probably took a different version of the test.)