Is this a good approach to testing?

[reezley]

DS1 is 7.5.  We are finally deciding to do testing for him this summer, possibly this weekend.  There are so many aspects of why we'd want to test, that I'm not sure why exactly we should, or if we need to, but for years there has been this feeling that he's wired a bit differently, quirky, probably gifted, and that there's some key to understanding him better and helping him better- maybe just the giftedness, maybe sensory issues, maybe (probably not?) ADHD, etc.

Anyway, one local professional that I sought advice from (who won't be doing the testing) recommended that we first just do a cognitive/learning/academic assessment, and then if necessary, move on to a more comprehensive sensory/add/etc.-type evaluation.  (I only have a general sense right now what that entails.)   Does this seem a good approach?  I would be glad to know the results of academic testing soon, as we plan for the coming school year.  I'm about to make the appointment, just doing a little reality check here in case anyone has thoughts on this.

[lauren]

That generally sounds like a good approach. Typically in a school system I think it's done in the order of whoever has time first gets in there first. I've never heard of parents being given the option of which testing first, second, etc, but perhaps it is different where you live. Either way, you'll be looking at all of it and trying to develop a plan.
 

[reezley]

Thank you.  I'm not testing in consultation with the school - there is no problem as far as they're concerned. I just want to get a handle on his strengths/weaknesses/level so I can better advocate for keeping him appropriately challenged.  We just personally have certain issues with him at home with regard to suspected sensory issues, etc., and I think getting him tested for that could also be helpful.  I just didn't know if doing all the testing at once is best, or if it's ok or even better to do the academic/cognitive testing first, and then at a later time move on to the other kinds of more extensive (I'm assuming) evaluation if it seems necessary.   Doing this way (first just seeing where he is cognitively, IQ, etc.) was recommended to me but I'm doublechecking.   Hope this clarifies!

[lauren]

That helps. I think it can be really helpful to know IQ and other cognitive/academic strengths and weaknesses because you'll know (regardless of sensory) how to help your child learn best. This is a piece that I regretted not doing sooner. The sensory eval we got was very helpful but I felt at a loss to help with some of the academic stuff. I am guessing you probably have already visited the Hoagie's Gifted pages, and learned about divergent thinking and all that stuff. If you haven't I'd recommend that as well.
 

[Geofizz]

I think you need a more solid reason for testing in mind before you make that call.

We did a full neuropsych exam for DD because we were suspecting dysgraphia and depression. That is, we had both academic and emotional/mental health concerns. We came out with dyslexia, dysgraphia, anxiety, sensory processing disorder, and prosopagnosia. Had we just done the IQ and achievement, we would have missed a lot of this, and we would have been left with questions as to the origin of the issues. Having the prosopagnosia (face blindness) diagnosis, for instance, gives us a lot of insight into why her response to school is what it is. We also ended up with a lot of information on her visual vs oral processing strengths and weaknesses, which help inform how to best address the dyslexia.

If ADHD is something to eliminate for you, then you might see hints of it in the processing speed vs general abilities gap, but ADHD isn't the only source of this disparity. Then again, not all types of ADHD have this gap.

I don't think we would have done any IQ&achievement testing alone unless we were applying for giften programming or other access to academic accomodations. DS had just IQ and achievement this year because the school wanted him to skip a grade. They did the testing, the testing supported it, and it was done.

[Linda on the move]

this question might get different answers on the special needs boards. A couple of the moms there are testing experts.

I'm not ;-)

My dd is 2E, both gifted and on tand autism spectrum. It wasn't until she was 13 that she could complie well enough with testing to show how high her iq is. At her last neuro-psych veal, her iq was tested in 6 areas by some one with experience with quirky kids. I don't think that the run of the mill iq test, such as my other dd had to qualify for a gifted program, would have told us much.

I would find out who is the best person in your area for full neuro psych eval, and ask them about the specif testing you are considering. It might be something that would have to be redone in more detail to get helpful information.

It can be very difficult to figure out what is really going on with a 2e kid, their intellect can mask their struggles, and their struggles can mask their intellect. My advice to a parent who thinks their child may be 2E is to get a full neuro-psych eval.

[dkorovikov]

[deleted]

Edited by dkorovikov - 11/12/12 at 2:55pm

[reezley]

THanks for all the thoughts here.  It helped in trying to focus in on why we want to test, what we're trying to get out of it.   We did end up doing just IQ/academic testing this week with someone who specializes in gifted testing.  One nagging question has been whether we should push for a grade skip, especially as ds is the oldest in his class.  We haven't gotten official results yet, but we did get a clear recommendation that he would benefit from a grade skip, that all his skill levels are there or way beyond.  I am positive the school will be more likely to hear our case for it with testing behind it.  Or even if they don't go for it they should still at least see that significant accommodations will need to be made in a 2nd grade classroom, and it will be easy to point to what areas and how much.  I am doubting that we will go with any full neuropsychological testing at this time, though she said perhaps an OT evaluation would be helpful, adding aspects of a sensory diet. etc.  And, she said she sees nothing spectrum-y about him.    It wasn't that kind of test, but again, things I suspected, but good to hear from someone who's seen lots of gifted kids and has the perspective to make that kind of general observation.    I don't mean to babble on - just giving an update and a thank you for all your input!

[lauren]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move 

It can be very difficult to figure out what is really going on with a 2e kid, their intellect can mask their struggles, and their struggles can mask their intellect.

This is a great concept. I will remember that!
 

[lauren]

Originally Posted by reezley 

THanks for all the thoughts here.  It helped in trying to focus in on why we want to test, what we're trying to get out of it.   We did end up doing just IQ/academic testing this week with someone who specializes in gifted testing.  One nagging question has been whether we should push for a grade skip, especially as ds is the oldest in his class.  We haven't gotten official results yet, but we did get a clear recommendation that he would benefit from a grade skip, that all his skill levels are there or way beyond.  I am positive the school will be more likely to hear our case for it with testing behind it.  Or even if they don't go for it they should still at least see that significant accommodations will need to be made in a 2nd grade classroom, and it will be easy to point to what areas and how much.  I am doubting that we will go with any full neuropsychological testing at this time, though she said perhaps an OT evaluation would be helpful, adding aspects of a sensory diet. etc.  And, she said she sees nothing spectrum-y about him.    It wasn't that kind of test, but again, things I suspected, but good to hear from someone who's seen lots of gifted kids and has the perspective to make that kind of general observation.    I don't mean to babble on - just giving an update and a thank you for all your input!

That sounds like it went about as well as you'd hoped! I've heard of so many struggle with that question, about whether to skip a grade, because of the social aspect of school. It's a tough one. It's a shame there isn't a multi-age, learn at your own pace option (everywhere).  I guess it depends how he is doing socially. This may be the only thing that matters to him (whether he is with his friends).