Low Verbal but High NonVerbal on IQ

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

Hi all -

I am new to this group and my son was just diagnosed as having a learning disability after taking an IQ test through KU Med Center. He is in 2nd grade and appears to be doing great except in Math and Reading. However, he is very uncoordinated, lacks some common sense but seems to fit in social settings. He scored a low verbal IQ of 88 and a high nonverbal of 121. Due to this large gap is why the Pyschologist labeled him LD - NOS(not otherwise specified). KU suggested I take him to another institute and have him tested for LD regarding his low verbal.
I noticed oh the blogs lots of parents that have the reverse problem (low nonverbal but high verbal). Has anyone else experienced this type of IQ outcome? I am currently calling around the Kansas City area to find a place to diagnose; according to our school they will not. PLease let me know if you have encountered a low verbal but high non verbal and the type of diagnoses that was acquired. Many, many thanks in advance.
Liz

Submitted by dhfl143 on Sat, 04/09/2011 - 10:31 PM

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Liz R welcome to LDonline. Have they been using Response To Intervention (RTI) to help your child? If so what tier of instruction has he been receiving?

Are you wanting a specific diagnosis in order to qualify him for an IEP?

Submitted by chiaroscuro on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 1:57 AM

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Hi Liz R,

My son(7) was given the WISC-IV at school due to difficulties in reading, spelling and writing and also had an uneven Cognitive profile(Verbal-95, Nonverbal-129). The significant scatter between them made his FSIQ “uninterpretable”.

Information is difficult to find with scores like our son’s have, but from what I can gather it usually points to some sort of Language based disorder/disability. It also could mean your son is a strong visual/spatial learner.

My son had a history of Language delay and is currently in the process of being evaluated by a developmental Audiologist to rule out CAPD(Central Auditory Processing Disorder) and with a Speech Language Pathologist for Expressive Language Disorder.

I do not know if your son has had any issues with speech but it might be a good idea to look into having him evaluated in these areas.

I wish I had more advice for you but I am new to this as well. I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.

Good luck to you and your son,

Chiaro

Submitted by Patti Schneider on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 2:13 PM

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Liz,
While I am not a certified psychologist, so I can’t say for certain, it sounds like your son may meet the criteria for Nonverbal LD.

Check out [url]http://www.nldontheweb.org/home.htm[/url]l for a wealth of information. LDOnline also has an area you should check out [url]http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/nonverbal[/url] .

I sincerely wish you and your son all the best!

Warmly,

Patti Schneider

Submitted by Patti Schneider on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 11:08 AM

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Liz,

Please disregard my previous post - I misread and reversed your son’s scores (there’s a little dyslexia in all of us, I guess : )

Warmly,

Patti

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