Anxiety and IQ?

[Paige]

Does anxiety have a suppressive affect on IQ? I finally got the written report from DD's evaluation and while the tester said her scores were "very good" and "no problems" she has an overall average score with several low average subsections. She has a couple superior subsections, with a range of about 60points between her highest and lowest score.

 

The tester said the results were an accurate reflection of DDs abilities, but since her highest score was 30points lower than my average, it feels somewhat disappointing. Don't judge- I feel badly enough for being disappointed. But, I know that parent IQs are generally close to their kids' even if regression to the mean is considered, and anxiety is related to higher IQ, and she did have those superior sections. I'm wondering if her overall score is lower than it should be. 

 

If her overall score really is a reflection of true low average to average IQ, then maybe I'm just expecting too much based on my own experiences and adding to her anxiety. If anxiety is suppressing her scores, however, I should expect her to do much better when she has it under control. I want to put her in school for at least 2 classes to help her with the social anxiety part of her anxiety. I had planned on pushing to get her in the class that would have her take Algebra in 8th grade. That is behind mine and DS's timeline, and I think she will be perfectly ready for Algebra next year. I didn't feel that was a highly gifted track. The school, however, says only the highly advanced students should do that and want to put her on the track to take Algebra in 9th grade. With these scores, I'm not sure if I should trust myself and push for them to let her in the "advanced" class, or if I should listen to them and put her in the average class. FWIW, despite math being the class she has had the most problems with, that was one of the areas of the WISC that she scored in the superior range for. I can't think of why she (or anyone) could possibly need 2 years of Prealgebra, but the teachers made it seem like a big deal because "you skip a year of math." 

[EKS]

Yes, it does.  If you're anxious you're essentially having a fight or flight response to something that isn't actually a life threatening emergency.  That response shuts down everything that isn't necessary for survival--and thinking about IQ test questions is one of those things.

Edited August 26, 2016 by EKS

[EKS]

I should also mention that I have a friend with a son who is profoundly gifted and ended up starting college after 8th grade who had a 60 point spread between high and low subtests due to anxiety.

[Paige]

Yes, it does.  If you're anxious you're essentially having a fight or flight response to something that isn't actually a life threatening emergency.  That response shuts down everything that isn't necessary for survival--and thinking about IQ test questions is one of those things.

 

That was what I thought, but the tester seemed unconcerned and said her tests were reliable and valid even though in some of the tests in which she scored the worst there were notes that said DD showed significant signs of being nervous and uncomfortable. 

 

Maybe, even though it's not a school psychologist, the tester was happy with any score within the normal range, and did not care if her score was really accurate as long as she was at least average. We were looking for LDs or brain damage from her premature birth and early medical history and the tester excluded those. I know DD was very anxious during testing because she came out of it every day furious and tired, but I didn't know if they do anything to control for that. 

[EKS]

My opinion is that if the scores don't match what you know to be true about the child in front of you, then there is something wrong with the scores.

Edited August 26, 2016 by EKS

[Arcadia]

Anxiety lowers all test scores and even study/work productivity. Some testers do put in more effort to get the child to be at ease before testing including play sessions before.

 

I have congenital defects partially due to being three months premature. However being on oxygen mask and premature does not make brain damage a given. The only people I know diagnosed with brain damage were diagnosed by neurologists.

 

How would the teacher treat her if she takes algebra in 8th and is anxious? Would the teacher be helpful and calming or would the teacher just assume the math accelerated track kids can take care of themselves.

 

What are her strongest subjects, is math her strongest or would it be better to go to school for other subjects?

 

 

Was your son tested as well? When we had DS10 tested, we purposely had DS11 tested as well because we didn't want DS10 to feel like something is wrong with him.

 

There is inherent anxiety which my dad had and took medication for on exam days, and anxiety from feeling behind which some of my ex-schoolmates had, and some have both.

 

You can't take WISC again within two years but the problem here with your child's algebra placement is the anxiety rather than the IQ score. Does the school has a placement test for her to take to show she is ready for 8th grade algebra?

 

I would also be more worried about test anxiety for SAT, ACT and any other exams in high school than the IQ score.

 

When my oldest place into algebra 1, the public school admins basically wanted a stack of work showing he can complete algebra 1 homework unaided showing all working. So he was basically self studying halfway through algebra 1 before they allow him to take it early. They did not need or care about IQ scores.

[Paige]

Her anxiety makes her perform poorly in all academic areas and in all social settings involving people she doesn't know well. Her twin has CP, with an MRI that confirms brain damage, so we thought she may be acting strangely because of damage to a different area of the brain. The psych sees no evidence of that, however. She said that all her strange behaviors and learning patterns are anxiety related. DD was definitely an anxious baby and toddler and has a history of panic attacks. While it's not a huge shock, I never knew that anxiety could affect a person so much and in so many different areas. I thought it must be comorbid with something else to be so bad! The psychologist recommended medication and CBT.

 

She's 7th grade this year, so Algebra is a year away with my plan and I am hoping/expecting her to respond well to the treatments. She would like to take math and art at school this semester- those are her best subjects. If you asked her last month, she'd say math was her worst, but 2 different tests have shown it to be her best area. It's made her happy and more confident about herself. I know she would not do well on a test the school gives right now because we haven't had time to get her any treatment. That doesn't mean she wouldn't do well in a class, though- especially with an IEP giving her extra time and a quiet place to test. I would also be able to tutor her at home until she's doing better. 

 

DS was tested several years ago, but not as extensively and just by a regular psychologist. Other DDs have not been tested. I think her twin is similar to her, and little sister is more like DS.

 

The scores are actually better than I expected- she tests terribly! She often refuses to answer questions, and will frequently say something she doesn't believe is true because she thinks if she thinks it's true, it must be wrong, because she doesn't think she can ever be right! My thoughts are if anxiety is really all that is causing her to struggle so much, then maybe she will be capable of much more if we can get it under control.

 

 

[Arcadia]

My oldest can be totally silent when he just refuse to answer. The psych substitute a subtest for him because he just didn't answer.

 

Does she test better written compared to verbal? My oldest had his test all written from K except for reading fluency tests. No oral exam because he won't talk anyway.

 

I did let the psych know so that she is aware of his idiosyncrasy before admistering the WISC.

 

My youngest was allowed to run and play/eat for a short while after each section.

 

Anxiety with an IEP is better than without an IEP. Some admins we talked to were anti subject acceleration even though the teachers strongly supported.

 

You have a year's time so it really is not so bad as medications are really trial and error sometimes to get the best possible benefit.

Good luck with medication and treatments.

[Heathermomster]

I don't know... it seems that if anxiety had set in during a specific test, then that test and all sub-tests immediately following would have been affected. It seems the only way to figure that out would be to know the test order and discover immediate drops in numbers due to anxiety.

 

I'm interested to know what portion of the IQ looks at mathematical calculations. My son scored high on both perceptual reasoning and verbal comprehension and is diagnosed dyslexic and dyscalculiac.

 

Geodob is the best person to answer your question. I think it is common for preemies to grow up and struggle with math. The severity of the issue will depend on how early they were born. The same goes for sensory issues. As kids grow older, the sensory turns to anxiety.

Edited August 27, 2016 by Heathermomster

[Janeway]

Are you saying your child's scores are significantly lower than yours and you expected them to be about the same?

 

I am experiencing this too. My IQ was measured with a psychologist..twice..as in, the real, all out testing, at 160+ in 1987 and then 146 in 1993. One was a Stanford Binet and the other was a Weschler..don't recall which one and I don't want to dig up the tests right now. 

 

The highest IQ any of my children who have been tested as has been quite below this. I am unsure if this is because of their ages or if scales have changed, or if I have done something wrong in parenting that has affected this. 

 

Only thing I found that might explain something is, I read that having stress and pressure actually raises a child's IQ. Well, my children have such a cooshie, stress free life. Me, on the other hand, I had a very stressful childhood with constant changes in custody, parents who hated each other and fought like crazy, moving, etc. My children's biggest stressor this week was not getting ice cream last night. I used to run free and explore the country (rural area). This meant lots of sensory development. I also was always trying to learn things. My children, on the other hand, live in an urban area and can go days without going outside and prefer to be glued to a computer screen, followed by the TV.

[wapiti]

Anxiety can definitely affect scores for IQ and for performance/achievement.

 

IMO, go with your gut sense of where your child is at for ability and performance, processing issues and all, and fight for what you know your child needs.  For example, unless there are particular issues/needs going on, I would not recommend two years of prealgebra.

Edited September 15, 2016 by wapiti

[wapiti]

I'm interested to know what portion of the IQ looks at mathematical calculations. My son scored high on both perceptual reasoning and verbal comprehension and is diagnosed dyslexic and dyscalculiac.

 

Geodob is the best person to answer your question. I think it is common for preemies to grow up and struggle with math. The severity of the issue will depend on how early they were born. The same goes for sensory issues. As kids grow older, the sensory turns to anxiety.

 

If we're talking WISC, I think PR would be the math angle.  I think mathematical calculations are only on the achievement tests?  Maybe geodob will come explain how a high-PR kid can be discalculiac - guessing that's what I'd call some sort of sequential weakness.  What I've never thought about is where spatial and sequential fit into WISC sections - I assume PR subtests are kinda spatial, but what about sequential, where does that fit.

Edited September 15, 2016 by wapiti

[Paige]

Are you saying your child's scores are significantly lower than yours and you expected them to be about the same?

 

I am experiencing this too. My IQ was measured with a psychologist..twice..as in, the real, all out testing, at 160+ in 1987 and then 146 in 1993. One was a Stanford Binet and the other was a Weschler..don't recall which one and I don't want to dig up the tests right now. 

 

The highest IQ any of my children who have been tested as has been quite below this. I am unsure if this is because of their ages or if scales have changed, or if I have done something wrong in parenting that has affected this. 

 

Only thing I found that might explain something is, I read that having stress and pressure actually raises a child's IQ. Well, my children have such a cooshie, stress free life. Me, on the other hand, I had a very stressful childhood with constant changes in custody, parents who hated each other and fought like crazy, moving, etc. My children's biggest stressor this week was not getting ice cream last night. I used to run free and explore the country (rural area). This meant lots of sensory development. I also was always trying to learn things. My children, on the other hand, live in an urban area and can go days without going outside and prefer to be glued to a computer screen, followed by the TV.

 

I don't really expect them to be the same as me. I think they should be somewhat close, or at least near the average of DH's and mine.

 

I thought that given my score, the fact that anxiety is associated with higher rather than lower IQs and her anxiety is very high, and that she scored quite high in a few subsections, that it would be unusual for her to have an overall lower than average IQ. When I sat down with the psychologist who tested her, I didn't have the actual scores, or I would have asked her. She only said that DD did "very well" in all areas despite showing high levels of anxiety throughout the testing process and that based on her scores she shouldn't have any problems. 

 

I was surprised by the large range between her highest and lowest scores. And, also, that she scored so highly in an area that I see as more of an area of weakness in her daily life. The doctor even said that in the areas she excelled she was "scarily good." I see that in real life too. Most of the time she walks around like Phoebe from Friends- kind of spacey and out there (ADHD has been excluded), and not really getting what's going on. But sometimes, it's like the fog clears and she does or says something really astonishing. 

 

My twins have had a lot of stress. They had a lot of medical problems when they were little, but are mostly better now. I, on the other hand, had a very comfortable, easy life as a kid! 

 

[wapiti]

From what you just wrote, 2e sounds like a possibility (or maybe "only" anxiety plus high ability).  I also get a vibe that this psych may not be particularly experienced at analyzing 2e-ish scores.  If there's more you can't figure out and you need further analysis, you can always take scores to another psych for a second opinion.

Edited August 27, 2016 by wapiti

[Arcadia]

My kids have about 20 points difference for FSIQ and for GAI scores. So even for GAI, their scores have a gap.

 

I agree with Wapiti about taking the results to another psych. We purposely asked about experience with 2E when asking about psych because of this board. The first psych my kid saw for ADHD and autism screening was less experienced. His conclusion was that my kid was easily distracted due to boredom and not ADHD, which help for his teachers who were wondering about the cause of distraction.

 

I also get a vibe that this psych may not be particularly experienced at analyzing 2e-ish scores. If there's more you can't figure out and you need further analysis, you can always take scores to another psych for a second opinion.

I think psych being humans also have an inherent bias depending on what you say the testing is for. My hubby told the pysch he wanted testing for DYS. When I chat with the pysch, I told her it was for advocacy as oldest wants to go back to B&M.

 

I am the only premie out of almost 40 cousins. No difference in math or language abilities among cousins other rhan my younger brother suffering in both areas. I was born at 28 weeks gestation, 2lb baby. My cousins were full term more than 8lb babies. A male cousin and I are left handers.

[wapiti]

A male cousin and I are left handers.

My ds with issues (twin b) and my oldest, both having their share of sensory and anxiety as mentioned above and with major VSL strengths, are both lefties. I have a brother lefty who didn't do very well in school, was probably some sort of 2e (now wildly financially successful)

[Arcadia]

My ds with issues (twin b) and my oldest, both having their share of sensory and anxiety as mentioned above and with major VSL strengths, are both lefties. I have a brother lefty who didn't do very well in school, was probably some sort of 2e (now wildly financially successful)

My male cousin who is the leftie is a retired investment banker and graduated from mechanical engineering :lol:

 

My DS11 with a very high perceptual reasoning score is a mixed bag in terms of VSL strengths. DS10 is slightly lower in score but more even in VSL strengths.

 

My dad who is the only one (out of almost 100 paternal relatives across 4 generations) with anxiety bad enough to be diagnosed and treated is right hander and born during World War Two.

 

My entire paternal family have VSL strengths and my paternal grandfather is talented in metalwork. Most of us are car tinkerers. So genetics plus all the ewaste (VCR, cassette player, portable TV) we were allowed to dismantle.

 

What my parents were told by many pediatricians was that preemies would catch up by six and any milestone that is behind is worth an evaluation to determine the cause.

[Janeway]

I don't really expect them to be the same as me. I think they should be somewhat close, or at least near the average of DH's and mine.

 

I thought that given my score, the fact that anxiety is associated with higher rather than lower IQs and her anxiety is very high, and that she scored quite high in a few subsections, that it would be unusual for her to have an overall lower than average IQ. When I sat down with the psychologist who tested her, I didn't have the actual scores, or I would have asked her. She only said that DD did "very well" in all areas despite showing high levels of anxiety throughout the testing process and that based on her scores she shouldn't have any problems. 

 

I was surprised by the large range between her highest and lowest scores. And, also, that she scored so highly in an area that I see as more of an area of weakness in her daily life. The doctor even said that in the areas she excelled she was "scarily good." I see that in real life too. Most of the time she walks around like Phoebe from Friends- kind of spacey and out there (ADHD has been excluded), and not really getting what's going on. But sometimes, it's like the fog clears and she does or says something really astonishing. 

 

My twins have had a lot of stress. They had a lot of medical problems when they were little, but are mostly better now. I, on the other hand, had a very comfortable, easy life as a kid! 

LOL..well then, I will skip my idea of stressing my children in hopes of raising their IQs. LOL

 

Seriously, I have no idea why my children's IQs are so far off from mine. All I can guess is in this day and age, doctors do not take prenatal development seriously. I was often on medications and had c-sects and so on. I have no clue if that affects things either. It seems as if the tests are not supposed to be scored so different. But, my testing was done as a teen and older, so maybe it was maturity? One last thing, my children spend tons of time playing on the computer, something I never did. I suspect that might play a role too.

 

Sorry I could not help you. I just commented because I wondered about the IQ difference too.

[Arcadia]

I can't copy-quote from the study "The Relationship between Intelligence and Anxiety: An Association with Subcortical White Matter Metabolism." so this is from the description

 

"Patients with GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) exhibited higher IQ's and lower metabolite concentrations of CHO in the subcortical white matter when compared to healthy volunteers"

 

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnevo.2011.00008/full

[MistyMountain]

My one kid who took one the scores do not reflect what I see. People who get yo know this child say they are brilliant. I guess I will never know if it is accurate or not. There was a huge spread in scores from the highest and lowest areas. If I had subsection scores I think the spread would be even higher. I notice the scores got lower as the testing went on. Maybe focus was gone by then. Who knows.

Edited August 28, 2016 by MistyMountain

[geodob]

It appears that the Tester hasn't read the 'instruction manual' for conducting WISC tests??

Where it highlights the importance of putting a Testee at ease and making them feel relaxed, when doing the Test.

It also explains some ways that this can be done.

But it also states, that when a Testee is anxious when doing the Test/s?

Then this will invalidate the test scores.

As the anxiety will effect their ability to demonstrate their IQ.

 

Though the WISC Test can be repeated after 6 months.  Where doing the Test again, where she didn't feel anxious?

Would show the impact that anxiety has, on demonstrating her IQ.

 

This highlights a broader issue with these IQ Tests?

Where Testers often still don't provide Testees, with a suitable way to demonstrate their IQ?

A common example of this, are IQ Tests of children with Speech Apraxia.  Using sub-tests that require oral responses.

 

But we are coming from a situation, where Blind children used to be given the same IQ Tests as sighted people.

With no consideration, that they couldn't see the tests?

As a result, being Blind, was also classified as 'Mental Retardation'?

[geodob]

Wapiti, the PR tests in WISC, are combined tests of Visual and Spacial thinking.

Though in future, this will no doubt evolve into separate tests of Visual and Spacial thing,

As a combined test is of limited value, as it doesn't make clear distinctions between Visual and Spacial difficulties?

 

Though you asked about Spatial and Sequential?

Where Spatial thinking is how we actually concieve of Sequences.

As it spatially locates and creates relationships, between 'points'.

To form a Sequence.

But then, multiple Sequences can them be combined, to form a Pattern.

 

What we call Comprehension, is really the formation of a Pattern of relationships.

[wapiti]

Thank you, geodob.  There are a few things I'm curious about, like Heathermomster's experience having kids with high PR but discalculia - can you describe what discalculia is, if it's not difficulty with sequences?  I am thinking back to your descriptions of using fingers on one hand to learn numbers, is that a sequential skill?

 

I'd also be interested in any comment you may have on a high PR kid who has difficulty with reading comprehension.  While it makes sense to me that sequences would be a subset of a three-dimensional pattern of spatial thinking, I don't know where language fits into this.  Is it just that verbal/language/reading comprehension involves so many other, separate upstream skills?  (I'm thinking about my kids here, strong visual-spatial but with some relative weaknesses with inference as one skill for comprehension)

[Paige]

It appears that the Tester hasn't read the 'instruction manual' for conducting WISC tests??

Where it highlights the importance of putting a Testee at ease and making them feel relaxed, when doing the Test.

It also explains some ways that this can be done.

But it also states, that when a Testee is anxious when doing the Test/s?

Then this will invalidate the test scores.

As the anxiety will effect their ability to demonstrate their IQ.

 

 

 

Thank you! She had a full 8hrs of neuropsych testing, so IQ wasn't the main focus. I am sure the tester tried to make her relaxed, but since her diagnosis from those tests are generalized anxiety and social anxiety, and DD has not had any therapy or medication yet, I'm not sure if that would have been possible this time. They broke it up over 3 days and each day DD was more unhappy than the previous day. It's not the psychologist's fault- she could not have been nicer or more approachable. 

 

I wish the psychologist had put something in the report saying that since DD was tested while untreated for the anxiety that the results may not be representative. She was some kind of resident or grad student, so maybe it reflects her inexperience with writing up reports. 

[Arcadia]

Does your daughter has previous diagnosis of anxiety? I know my doctors won't classify something as untreated unless there were prior diagnosis. For example before confirmation of my asthma, doctors would put suspected asthma pending confirmation. After that they put untreated asthma if I stop medication.

 

However, the tester can put in the report that since your daughter shows signs of anxiety while testing, there would be an effect on test results. My kids report actually has a line saying that being in a multilingual household might have lower my kids scores for any language dependent section.

[Paige]

Does your daughter has previous diagnosis of anxiety? I know my doctors won't classify something as untreated unless there were prior diagnosis. For example before confirmation of my asthma, doctors would put suspected asthma pending confirmation. After that they put untreated asthma if I stop medication.

 

However, the tester can put in the report that since your daughter shows signs of anxiety while testing, there would be an effect on test results. My kids report actually has a line saying that being in a multilingual household might have lower my kids scores for any language dependent section.

 

No- the anxiety diagnosis was the result of the tests in which the WISC was a piece. 

[Incognito]

So, for the IQ, are you looking at a Full Scale IQ score or the GAI?  If it is Full Scale, that shouldn't even be on the results with the spread you have.

 

Anxiety can lower scores, if it causes a person to not show their understanding or abilities.

 

FWIW, Algebra in 8th grade isn't an insane idea for a child who is decent at math.  No need to be profoundly gifted to do it, just need to have the foundation and be ready.  I think it is even fairly standard in some places (California, maybe?) for kids to all do Algebra in 8th grade nowdays.

[Arcadia]

So, for the IQ, are you looking at a Full Scale IQ score or the GAI? If it is Full Scale, that shouldn't even be on the results with the spread you have.

...

I think it is even fairly standard in some places (California, maybe?) for kids to all do Algebra in 8th grade nowdays.

My kids score reports does have both FSIQ and GAI. I think the FSIQ scores are always calculated while GAI is a case by case. There is a standard quote from Pearson in my kids' reports about GAI and FSIQ.

 

California has moved away from algebra at 8th with the launch of common core. Schools use the excuse that common core algebra is too hard.

[Paige]

It's the full scale IQ. I think they just averaged the individual sections. What is surprising to me is that they used this testing to diagnose GAD and SAD but there is also a note that says something like "the scores are an accurate reflection of her cognitive abilities at this time." It's not just the WISC- there's a whole bunch of tests listed but no listing of the scores from each test other than the WISC. I have scores, but I don't know what test they came from as they are organized by category and not test, and I don't know if it is a complete list of what she did. 

 

Since it was a neuropsych test, they specifically tested math skills outside of the WISC and that was in the superior range. It's very surprising because at home her math abilities vary greatly by day. Sometimes she seems right on track to me and other days, she seems many years behind, but I'd never say she was gifted in math. I've posted many times about her struggles in math and suspected dyscalculia! She couldn't even reliably count past 100 until this year (she's 12), but the Dr says it was just poor performance because of anxiety.

 

I talked to the principal and she tried to explain their math reasoning and basically they go slowly. I think it could be a response to the elementary schools using Everyday Math until just a year or two ago. DDs are going to take 1 class a day at school this year and math will be at home because we could not come to an agreement. 

Edited September 1, 2016 by Paige

[Incognito]

Well, when we got our scores, I was told that they would not calculate a FSIQ with scores as far apart as ours (and there was less of a spread than you mentioned, as I recall).  They said it would be a meaningless number and an inaccurate reflection of anything.  They said the GAI was a better reflection, but still tinged by issues of perfectionism and anxiety. 

 

(If it's 100 C in the pot of boiling water, and 0 C in the freezer, it doesn't make it 50 C in the room - averaging things out doesn't always make sense.)

 

Also, FWIW, if a child has very high scores in an area, it is worthwhile to find out if they maxed out the test ("hit the ceiling") because this actually means the high scores would have been higher if the test went further.  This can also affect scores, and not everyone will take this into account.

 

ETA: For math, it would be interesting to consider what areas of math come easily to your daughter and what is hard.  Perhaps she has very good mathematical reasoning, but the memorizing of facts is difficult.  

Edited September 2, 2016 by Incognito

[Paige]

 

 

ETA: For math, it would be interesting to consider what areas of math come easily to your daughter and what is hard.  Perhaps she has very good mathematical reasoning, but the memorizing of facts is difficult.  

 

She is very good at the more difficult concepts but struggles with things I would consider easy. Long division was picked up easily, for instance, but "what number is bigger" or "what number comes before and after" types of questions would make her cry- at the same age! I'm starting to doubt my whole understanding of her, however, after seeing her scores. Perhaps she knew how to do her math all along but only struggled with being able to communicate it. On the achievement test she scored high in problem solving and computations. 

 

This is a kid who began 6th grade (last school year) doing 3rd grade math because we could never progress. She has made tremendous progress after we switched up some stuff and finished her 6th grade material last week, but I would never have thought that was her best area. 

[Heathermomster]

Maybe, your DD's math issues are a combo of anxiety, some weird processing glitch, and high intelligence.

 

I've always understood that arithmetic is a lower cognitive task while algebraic thinking and higher maths such as calculus involve higher order processing.  Unfortunately, arithmetic type math often keeps highly capable students from pursuing more advanced math.  For DS, studying algebra helped him understand previous math so much better, and he does great with symbolic problem solving.  It's the craziet thing.  

 

Since you are homeschooling, teach Algebra for 8th grade and work slowly with no pressure.  If it looks like she can manage the algebra at a reasonable pace, that would awesome.  If she requires more time, split the algebra over 8th and 9th grades.  You are not going to know how well she does until you start.

 

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2015/09/tutoring-relieves-math-anxiety-changes-fear-circuits-in-children.html

 

 

[Incognito]

She is very good at the more difficult concepts but struggles with things I would consider easy. Long division was picked up easily, for instance, but "what number is bigger" or "what number comes before and after" types of questions would make her cry- at the same age! I'm starting to doubt my whole understanding of her, however, after seeing her scores. Perhaps she knew how to do her math all along but only struggled with being able to communicate it. On the achievement test she scored high in problem solving and computations. 

 

This is a kid who began 6th grade (last school year) doing 3rd grade math because we could never progress. She has made tremendous progress after we switched up some stuff and finished her 6th grade material last week, but I would never have thought that was her best area. 

 

I have one of those too - the easy is hard and the hard is easy. It's very puzzling, but once you get your mind around it, quite freeing.  Higher order thinking is more fun than rote memory work anyways. :)