What size gap in WISC subscores suggests issues/red flag?
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Anonymous
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30 points? 50 points? Does it matter how low the lowest one is, or does the size of the spread itself have significance?
I'm just wondering if there is a standard that suggests further testing be done. My child had most scores in the 130s but a WM of 105. She clearly gets very frustrated with certain tasks, and I didn't know if the WM score had significance since it is so much lower than the others. |
Anonymous
| Our child was a smaller gap (120 for Verbal and PR, 100 for WM and Processing) and it turns out he has ADHD. |
Anonymous
| 15 points is 1 standard deviation. Beyond 15 it is therefore worth noticing discrepancies and beyond 30 (2 SDs) it is a major red flag. I would say there is definitely something there worth noting. Your child scores is the advanced range for overall IQ, but WM is average-still great, but for a child scoring in the 130s it indicates some working memory issues. Yes, ADHD can be one explanation, but not the only one. It's certainly worth exploring with further memory testing, etc. |
Anonymous
| For a discrepancy of 2 SDs or more, would it be noted somewhere on the report as being a red flag? Does it get mentioned - to the parents - by the school system IF a significant deviation is uncovered? Is that their responsibility or is sending the report, left to interpretation of parents, all the school system is required to do? |
Anonymous
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Some look at 1 1/2 standard deviations, others say 2 SD. So, I would at least look into it. Did they give a GAI too?
Our DC's sub scores ranged from a low of 6 to a high of 19, so there was no question that we were dealing with something. |
Anonymous
The school is required to conduct testing to see if there are obstacles to accessing the curriculum. They don't diagnose medical issues (e.g. ADHD). A school psychologist tested our then-7th grader and found him to be in the 7th percentile for processing speed, with more than 3 SDs between scores. The report didn't suggest ADHD or further evaluation. The report concluded that he 'may require additional time to process information.' We decided to do more testing on our own, and DC received both an ADHD and anxiety diagnosis. |
Anonymous
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I'm OP. Range for raw scores were 9 on a WM and 17 on a fluid reasoning. FR was 137 and VS was 135. Processing Speed was 116. Verbal was in the 120s now that I remember, but FSIQ was in the 130s. Private tester did not calculate GAI but mentioned it would be above 135.
Maybe I should follow up with the tester... Child cries frequently in frustration, and i wonder if she's exhausted from coping all the time. |
Anonymous
| OP again. Tester said attention was great during WISC and she had no concerns about attention. I've never seen ADHD-type issues, hyper or inattentive type. |
Anonymous
Yes, ask the tester if you should have additional testing done, to look for things like learning disabilities or consider other indicators of ADHD. OP - what do her teachers say? Does she cry there or at home? Also keep in mind that results are also more reliable the older the child is. |
Anonymous
What other tests did the evaluator do to tease out the discrepancies? |
Anonymous
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Overall, teacher says she's great. Yes, sometimes cried at school, mostly at home in third grade. Back in first, she cried in school more.
Teacher did mention child frequently had to come up and ask her to repeat instructions. Child claims she has poor memory, and legitimately seems to remember almost nothing from preschool experience, etc Only WISC has been done, for AAP entrance. |
Anonymous
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There is inattentive ADHD - it's not just hyperactive. My child's ADHD presents as mainly inattentive and fidgeting.
My child had a wisc done and the psychologist commented on the lower processing speed / working memory scores (one of them was two standard deviations - I don't even know why that means) as an indicator of ADHD (the wisc was part of a full psychoeducational eval). My pediatrician subsequently commented (in passing) that he didn't think there was a connection between working memory and ADHD. |
Anonymous
I'm not trying to say your kid has ADHD but that teacher comment about repeating instructions could be a sign. |
Anonymous
| Yes, I mentioned above that she shows no sign of inattention. She doesn't space out, start daydreaming, anything like that. I've been her Girl Scout leader for years, so I've been able to observe her (and compare to other girls her age). |
Anonymous
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Not remembering preschool has nothing to do with working memory. It like RAM and impacts how much information you can hold at one time. Examples include not being able keep complex directions in your head or not being able to keep track of a storyline in a longer book or not being able to add in your head when there are multiple digits involved or carrying.
Some people with great long term memory have terrible working memory and vice versa. |