Thanks!

RTI = Response to Intervention. I think

RTI stands for Response To Intervention, and it's part of the new IDEA (federal special education law). I think it's a good thing, in that its purpose is to catch kids before they fail, and really get more "fixes" in place before it comes to that, but unfortunately the RTI mentality is really only good for kids more in the norm. GT kids rarely "fail" until it's almost too late for appropriate help. The short answer is that without a cognitive/achievement discrepancy entry point (which I believe they can still use....but it's not popular these days), it's hard to identify learning disabilities in highly gifted kids.

Did your evaluation identify learning disabilities? Will that writeup buy you any discussion with the school? Have you pursued a special education evaluation through the school? You have to specifically ask, in writing, to get that ball legally rolling. If you just say "I have this report...", they'll talk you out of it every time. Once it's in writing, it's a more formulated process, that varies from state to state, but is still all covered under the federal umbrella.

This time I didn't even see your post there Cathy, but surely it didn't take me 19 minutes to write my response!!!

Hi,

I have a meeting scheduled onthe 14th oct to discuss options which include a 504, or special education services. I want to have substantiating information to support that my son needs concessions under the category emotional and behavioral disoders. Due to multiple diagnosis ranging from ADHD and ODD when he was 7 to anxiety and OCD as a 13 year old, we are not totally sure what to ask for in the way of services. We think he has some LD in addition to the anxiety and we are not sure how to get support on this. I was working on the GAI worksheet last night.There is a 13 point discrepancy between GAI and FSIQ. I am having trouble deciphering on the interpretation of what the discrepancy means. Based on the score discrepancies the Asbergers autism spectrum pops out the most as a possible LD in this case. Am I reading this correctly on the Wisc 1V dscrepancy graph? BB

I'm no expert, but I didn't know you could see/diagnose stuff like autism spectrum disorders from the WISC. That doesn't seem right to me. It doesn't seem like there's enough to go on from the WISC. Am I just betraying my ignorance?

Even if you can see such things in the WISC, a 13-point spread between GAI and FSIQ wouldn't seem to me to be big enough to make that judgement.

Am I way off base here?

Hi Kriston,

The WISC1V technical report which is an overview of the GAI doesnt diagnose anything but does show what other cumulative percentages of various Special Groups are getting as median discrepancies and how your own numbers fit in within the categories they list. I am trying to take the GAI/FSIQ discrepancy and analyze it based on their own equation. I am having a hard time with the numbers right now since it is mathematical and I suck at math! BB

I'd start with your goals in mind. If your son is generally happy with school, socially, it should be no problem helping with academic supports, either formally with an i.e.p (special ed requirement in NJ) or informally. That may mean giving him extra time for testing. Ask the school psychologist what he/she thinks the scores mean. Processing speed may be slowed down due to memory problem. Memory is not a hard one to fix.

Ambi, how do you suggest fixing short term memory issues? I find that to be very difficult with my 9 year old