LD or not...

Sure, IQ scores can change. But it would be easier to comment if you posted all the subtest scores from both test dates. Something had to go down if one of the visual subtests came up to end up with a 99.

Janis

many times a “disorder” label is based on an incongruity (which makes sense). If those scores have leveled out, they’re not seeing an incongruity.

But yes, a key questions is, what specific abilities failed to develop as one would expect? (which subtest scores went down?)

Thank you for your replies. From what I can interpert, he “scored” less on all the subtests especially for verbal? To give you examples, coding (under proc. speed) was 13 now 8 - Verbal: similarities was 11 now 9 - vocabulary was 16 now 14 - comprehension was 17 now 11 — verbal IQ overall was 119 now 106.
The academic achievement tests such as WJ-III, GORT-iV, etc. he’s still scoring in 70th, 80th & 90th percentiles. His sensorimotor under NEPSY is 30% & verbal & visual memory is 16 & 5%. My son has always said: “I have the memory of an elephant with amnesia” So we didn’t really need a test for this :)

On this testing report there isn’t much analysis like there was in the previous - previous one had strengths/weaknesses - what this could mean academically, etc. so I could really use it - this one just leaves me with a lot of questions & guesses…
I’ve put a call into the dr that tested him but he has not called back.

I feel like if there can be such differences then either- 1)one of them is wrong or 2)this is really not scientific & they don’t really know what they’re talking about & they’re just guessing too!

IQ is not static. A big change like you see could be due both the his age and to the fac that he did not receive proper interventions. At younger ages, speed in coming up with answers is not such a factor in IQ. For older kids, however, you need to be quick to get the bonus points. If your child is a slow processor, this could be what happened. Also, the Matthew effect is probably at work (from the proverb that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer). If you have a deficit and don’t address it, it gets worse. More scores would help, but this is likely to be a factor.

I agree. A change in IQ scores is not that surprising.

But if the academic achievement is from the 70-90%ile, then it looks like your child is achieving very well.

Janis

Coding is a test that is easy to do badly in, and I could see confidence being an issue as well as speed. All it takes is a bit of a “choke” and suddenly you’re sure you’ve screwed up (it’s timed, it requires good eye-tracking skills and motor skills … probably half a dozen ways to screw it up and maybe none of ‘em happened the first time). THat Comprehension dive —ouch! — is interesting since it’s a test of social comprehension — do you know the “socially correct” answer to questions? Part of me wonders if he didn’t simply get annoyed at the questions… especially if he simply caught vibes that this tester wasn’t as bright & interesting as hte first one (and yes, it’s as much art as science). I had one kiddo score very low on Comprehension because she was far more sophisticated than the test and didn’t give the ‘simple’ answer — her life was more complicated than the test and the “correct” answers didn’t always work. When it came to her true abilities in that area she should have been at the ceiling.
We got used to seeing kids’ IQ scores go up after a couple years at our school, because they had an overall better attitude about their abilities and tests… it sort of seems like the reverse has happened here :( IMO you got a very bright kiddo — work with his strenghts.
HOw oldis he now? And does he have dreams of his future?

Have you considered getting a developmental vision evaluation? With those kinds of scores, that would be my first step. See http://www.childrensvision.com for more info, and http://www.covd.org to find developmental optometrists in your area. Developmental vision delays are very real problems that are not assessed in regular eye exams.

I would also recommend some cognitive skills training. PACE (http://www.processingskills.com ) and Audiblox (http://www.audiblox2000.com ) are two very good programs. Short-term auditory and visual memory, along with many other cognitive skills, are responsive to training.

In terms of the drop in IQ score, I consider that it is theoretically impossible to score higher than one’s actual IQ while it is very possible to score lower than one’s actual IQ (bad day, bad tester, whatever….). Therefore, it would seem to me the first testing is highly likely to be more accurate than the recent testing. Over time, however, slowed development of cognitive skills can result in declining scores. This is why many children, after going through a program such as PACE, will show 20-point gains on tests of IQ. It’s not that their inherent ability has changed, but rather that problems interfering with the test have been removed.

Nancy

Wow - thank you all for your replies - I really didn’t expect such support (being a single parent I’m used to the latter :))
The doctor who tested him called me back & got somewhat defensive but did agree to meet with me. I explained that I had to understand all of this before I can send all these results to the school.
Sue - your response as “part of me wonders if he didn’t simply get annoyed at the questions…” very insightful - that’s my kiddo. (He will be 12 in August - going into 7th grade - 6th grade was a struggle!)
And thank you Nancy for your suggestion for memory training possibilities - I didn’t know this was responsive to training.

Welp, don’t be surprised if both you and your son are smarter than the tester :-( (Ii’d probably tell the kid, too…)
I do wish our kiddos understood how (unwisely) major judgmenets are made based on those tests — but understood in a way that didn’t make ‘em nervous.
Verbal scores are, though, the most likely to drop off with kids with mild LDs because the effect is cumulative. You can sort of make up for a lot of verbal stuff with raw intelligence at first, but after a while knowing more words helps more and more.
Please, if you can, find an academic interest to help give him some confidence and something to build on. Hopefully this has nothing to do with your situation, but in teaching middle school I watched too many basically good kids get disillusioned at all the stupidity in middle school, and the tolerance of it — and even the encouragement of it. (Choose the “stupid” thing of your choice from a teenager’s perspective, sigh, but generally they have a point). Channeling that disillusionment into a positive harmless form of rebellion of one sort or other can work — but it really, really helps to Be Considered A Bright STudent.
What are his interests? Can you encourage writing, art…?

couldn’t agree with you more. I actually got him into a “magnet” school - it’s an arts school. He got in through the lottery through visual arts - hated it but has been privately taking guitar lessons - next year at the school he will be taking guitar.
He lacks discipline & motivation (caused to a degree undoubtedly by some of his past teachers) but he is very intelligent - he never liked social studies in elementary school - this year he had a great history teacher & he consistently got A’s & B’s in her class - the teacher thought it was because he liked the subject so much :)
At this point, I want to find something that will motivate him - like the guitar perhaps - & get him help (if I can) in the areas he needs it.