I have a 7th grader that is failing. She has done ok up until now. In 2nd grade the teacher suggested she was ADD - psycho evaluation said no - but nothing else either. The teacher had her sit with the “inclusion children” all year. I believe she lost education time because of this. Plus peers looked at her as inclusion. COGAT in 1st was 105 - then beginning of 3rd was 83. I never saw 3rd grade COGAT until a couple months ago. Went to another psycho in 5th grade - teacher insisting she was ADD - again told that she was not. But school psycho suggested trying Adderall - tried 5th, 6th increased dosage for 7th and she failed most classes. She is very upset with taking the medicine and it not working - stopped medication. Sought another psycho recently - told that she was just stupid!. She just took a K-BIT, understand short psychological was 98. But they are doing a full WISC-III today. If she has an average IQ - 98 - but struggling in class even on medication - where do we go from here?
I agree completely.
There is nothing better than a complete evaluation, although I recognize that everyone does not have access to a teaching hospital or child development clinic. It can take a lot of your time and money to go this route, but it is worth it.
This opinion is based on 28 years of reading diagnostic workups and working with both high school students and adults to plan and achieve vocational goals. It is fascinating, and sometimes maddening, to see that the search for an accurate diagnosis can take years in many cases. We are lucky that we have access to several excellent neuropsychologists in this area. When you factor in the ‘growing pains’ of the teenage years the problem of diagnosis becomes even more complicated.
John
Re: I agree completely.
Just wanted to add a third confirmation. Go see a neuropsychologist asap.
Janis
What is COGAT? What symptoms led teachers to believe she was ADHD? There are other conditions that could mimic it such as central auditory processing disorder, depression, or some other LD. It is hard to say without knowing what she is experiencing, such as difficulty reading, following directions, ect. Who said she was stupid, that is rude and uncalled for. Have you ever had a complete nueropsychological workup, I dont mean just IQ and achievement testing, but a full blown eval where they do a “system” check? Does she have good social skills, is she organized, ect. These are questions that need to be answered. I would recommend an evaluation like this. Good luck to you and your daughter.