Yah, to be honest, the whole thing was just screwy. So was that a waste of time? Probably not. We confirmed ADHD and anxiety. That really was what I was going for. But I know this darn thing is inaccurate. It didn't cost anything - was picked up by insurance. There wasn't an academic evaluation... just the WISC-IV subtests. This woman was a bit of a tart. I wish I could get my hands on a WISC and just administer it myself. :p I thought the accent thing was strange too but didn't want to come across as prejudiced. It wasn't a judgment ... I just couldn't understand her! And I am from California where there are a great many accents to grow up with!!!!

So, this evaluator had a really thick accent and seemed misinterpret so many things when we were talking to her. I feel strange about these results...

Yah, I did have the impression that she thought I was being a pain in the butt about needing them. But you know what? I have a flipping undergrad in elementary ed and a graduate degree in secondary ed. Good grief, lady! (I felt like saying to her!!! But I didn't...) haha Outside perspective is good, but this woman straight up told me that I was 100% right on in my suspicions... so that was validating in the way that I was on the right track, you know? It helped me realize that I do know my kid and that the gaps in his output ARE real... not hormonal, not lazy, not poor education... genuine issues that he needs some help with. I can modify lessons with some guidance now, and that is good. :) (In case you're curious, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, ADD up the wazoo, and slow processing speeds). I'm glad we did it. My son needed an answer too. I'm just really curious what the subtest scores are so I can see his strengths and weaknesses. That seems so obvious to me but.... whatever, right? :P

No, I went to a private place to have the testing done, as per our pediatrician's referral. Honestly, the reason I was testing him was to confirm what I suspected... and I did. Even if it's not accurate; even if it was done somewhat unprofessionally... even if this woman can't seem to add correctly... I at least have confirmed my own suspicions and cleared up some mysteries. :P

So frustrating. I finally got ahold of the evaluator today and she said they don't typically send subtest results with the report...except to schools. She asked why I needed them. I said because I teach him...we homeschool. She said oh yes!!! I will get those out to you. Give me some time to make copies...they are in a different system.... Which means I wont see them for two more weeks, right? I don't feel this was an accurate evaluation. Wish I could just administer it myself!!

I know the tests they did...I just didn't get those numbers. I'll give them a call in the morning. I'm not thrilled with this evaluator, to be honest. What a disappointment!

Is this normal, or should I call to request them? It's very frustrating that, after a month of waiting for results, I don't actually have the subtest numbers to see my son's actual performance on this evaluation. :-/

Thank you! I'll re-read the comments in the morning and research some more. They are mailing the report and scores, so I can post those when I get them.

PS - Can you tell me more about your child's seizures? I have no experience with this... any research jumping off points that I should be exploring?

Thank you, Ottakee. I will follow your suggestions! The reason he is off of the Ritalin is he was diagnosed by me and his pediatrician with basic questionaire and behavior that I observed in homeschooling/home life. I knew he had anxiety, also. Now that he is in 6th grade, the academics seem to really be worsening instead of improving, and I was concerned. I wanted to find out, officially through an eval, what was going on. So we went off the Ritalin to get a more "raw" look, if that makes sense. I'm certain his eval would have been very different with the Ritalin. ;)

Just chiming in here - I see everything spoken in words, as well. I have some control over it, but not always. I've never found it to be a hinderance. My auditory process stinks though. As in, if you read me a phone number to write down, I will not "understand" what numbers you spoke until I recite them in my own head. Slow processing - same with spelling. As a child, I was a fantastic speller, so I was put in the spelling bee. When I went to spell a word orally, I would mix up all sorts of letters and just couldn't process. Put it on paper, and I'm great! In fact, I still mispronounce a lot of words. My syllables and the flow... my husband cracks up. It's become a quirk, I guess. I've never really put that all together though. My oldest son is going through some evals and his processing is wonky. I guess he comes by it naturally... ;)

Hi there! I have been following this forum for quite awhile, and doing a lot of research - waiting, waiting for our test results for my son. My 11yo DS is incredibly bright. His abstract comprehension is off the charts, but school work is below where he should be. Conceptually, he is in the high school level. Writing and math skills are below. As in, can barely write a sentence - can't retain math facts. Yet, can write incredibly well thought-out stories/reports (typed) and can solve algebraic equations, right? I have read about stealth dyslexia, dysgraphia, working memory, processing speeds, etc. He has anxiety and ADD (the H is questionable. He is HIGH energy, but not impulsive...). I decided to take him in to be evaluated because something is missing. He is too smart and too mature to have the output he does in school work. He could not succeed in a classroom right now and he knows it. It's beginning to crush his self-esteem. The test had to be split into 3 sessions because after the first one, he zoned out. The NP stopped testing because it's like his brain hit his max. I think it was a blood sugar thing. She said it looked like a seizure. Weird, huh? I have seen this at home, but would not say blood sugar. It's more like....... a brain shut down and it impacts him physically. It's really hard to describe. But I was glad to have a witness! After waiting and waiting, we finally had the results yesterday. She says anxiety is off the charts - even higher than I realized. She doesn't want to label him with panic disorder, but it's right up there. She said she is diagnosing general anxiety with panic symptoms. And of course, attention issues. She said they are so intertwined, it's hard to untangle them and tell what is doing what. His working memory is fine, she said - which shocked me. I'm glad though! But she said his processing speed is slow. As in, low low... almost to the point if impaired. I am not sure what to make of that. If his anxiety and ADD is so severe it's clouding his ability to think... that would make sense on the processing speed, right? When this child takes a Ritalin (he was prescribed in the past), it is night and day. He can think. He can retain. He can remember the next day! He can work through problem solving and it's like he is able to work to his potential. I don't know how to describe it. Do you think his processing speed is seriously that slow... or is that just in testing? With his anxiety and ADD in full bloom? His IQ showed in the normal range, which again, is incredibly surprising to me. The kid started talking at 4 mths and taught himself to sight read at 2... real reading at 3. I'm just not sure what to make of it. Oh, they also want him to get an OT eval. He was late, late in learning to tie his shows. He has a hard time forming letters and writing anything in general. It's like torture and causes a seizure-like quiver of frustration and angst. Anxiety and frustration. It's getting better as he matures, but she wonders if there are some fine motor skill issues. My husband is supportive but not very nurturing, and not terribly "emotional" about my son (stepdad)... so I'm feeling a little isolated processing through all this information. My husband is a huge source of anxiety for my son - yet in other areas, his anxiety seems to be improving so much? I am so perplexed with all of this.... Thanks, all! I would love to hear your insight. I am so new to this - having answers stuff. He has been such an amazing and frustrating child to raise and teach. :)

I wonder, too, if it has anything to do with how they learned to read? My son taught himself to read when he was about 3. He has always just known words and language... it has always been intuitive for him. But now, it's things like "banana" and other very simple words. I am not certain it's a knowledge of spelling thing so much as a lazy thing? I have no idea. His handwriting is also incredibly messy... like a kindergartener's. It's disconcerting and does not seem to be improving...

Wow, I clicked on this because my son - also 11 - has the same thing going on! Off the charts reading and comprehension, but spelling is atrocious! However, on his ITBS in 3rd grade, his spelling was high school level. So he can recognize misspelled words, but cannot free-think how to spell. What on earth is up with that? To the OP - Sorry for the hijack... you all seem so knowledgeable and I hate to start a new thread for the same issue. It has been bothering me for some time. Emails and texts from my child make me cringe... ;)

Oh gosh, I knew early on that mine would be trouble. One particular moment was when my son was in a time out - it's hard to articulate, but... he was no older than a year, sitting on his little "naughty stool" and counting along with the timer on his fingers. 1....2.....3.....4....5...with this little grin on his face. He was so amused with himself. Placating me. ;) The expression on his face was hysterical. In fact, I had to hide behind the corner because I couldn't keep from laughing. He had a great attitude about it, was completely unfazed by the "punishment" of it, and was giggling as he counted. I don't know - it just was so, him! "You're cute, mom. Sure, I'll sit here for you." I knew when he was 6 mths old, and would crawl over to my bookshelf to bring me one of my books. He'd flip to a random page, point to a word and have me read it. Then another, then another. He was obsessed with letters and language very early on. People accused me of forcing him to learn the alphabet. I don't know how you force an infant to learn the alphabet! ;)

What my son is lacking is adapting and thinking. Using prior knowledge to solve future problems. I believe this stems from HATING math when he was younger and a sense of rebellion toward math. If there is not a direct path to an answer, he throws his hands up in the air and gives that "I don't know" answer, which drives me batty. He doesn't like to think about math. We have been working on (non-math) logic problems and puzzles alongside our math work so that he can start thinking in terms of nonlinear conclusions. Getting creative with new ways to answer questions - even if they are nonsensical. It really loosened him up! Now, my boys and I are working through a math book together just for fun. We sit on the couch and each topic has a Level 1, 2, 3 and Genius set of problems. They are having fun just learning and thinking about math - this is a big milestone for my oldest. :p I do not actually have them solve the problems ... I just have a discussion. How *can* we solve this? What steps would we take? What are other ways to solve it? They collaborate together and discuss, but there is no pressure so it feels informal and less like thinking. Then, after we have had our little math party, my boys do their regular math lessons.

Mathwonk, I am intrigued! Can you share more, please? I really would be interested in hearing your insight and perspective based on your experiences. :)

Hi all! I was hoping some of you mathy folks would be willing to help me out. My son is accelerated across the board, but I would say in math, it is due to general intelligence ... not so much being "mathy." (He does not enjoy math - he tolerates math.) I am not "mathy" either. I just got through it in high school and college. Enjoyed it. Understoond it. Move on to other interests, kwim? I am reading many posts here about math and I see this phrase alot: "Going deeper into math." I think I understand this theoretically, but not practically. Can anyone give me some examples of what this means at various levels? Thanks!!

Just a final follow-up. My son got to attend the class on Monday (they were covering lighting) and he spent 3 hours in heaven listening first to lecture, then hanging out with a team of students who absolutely embraced him. They used him as the lighting subject and had a great time. They even showed my son some of their editing techniques and pretended to model/goofed around. ;) He already wanted to go to college... but now he can hardly wait. Sheesh!! So thankful it was a good experience for him. :)

This is a great site: http://code.org/ It's a non-profit and all of the classes are free. :)

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your insight with me! I really appreciate that. I will keep your wisdom in my head as we roll through the next few years. My son visited the local university film department a few months back and received an invitation to sit in on a course. After shopping through the "Intro to Film Production" syllabus, he chose to attend this upcoming Monday to learn about lightning. He is over the moon excited! He may or may not stick with this passion - but I think this experience is going to be one of those moments in his life that he always remembers. :)

As a side note, I'm so excited! We toured the local university film dept a few months back so ds could see what a real university film dept looked like. I wanted him to have a realistic idea of the required courses and classroom settings, etc. Instead of intimidating him, it inspired him! The head of the dept just emailed me today and said we could come sit in on any class he wanted. He sent a course description pdf and said to pick one! My son is looking through the descriptions like it is a menu full of dessert options. ;) He may not follow this path over the next 8 years... but for now, he is in heaven! And the beauty of film making and computer science is he CAN learn so much, now. And hey, he has a connection now in the film industry... right? ;) The students we have run into have been incredibly supportive. I was afraid they may be snarky toward him. In fact, one of the girls chatted with him and said, "Wow! I wish I had started that young!" So encouraging and very cute. :)

I do, too. It's a similar thing with my son. I think some kids are just eager to reach adulthood - at least, on some level. And this is consistent with my son across the board. I mean, he has always been very autonomous. Sometimes I have felt a little negligent in his upbringing because he has always done so much for himself. I just feel like a guide or a person to give the boost as he is climbing over the fence, ya know? My younger son is not this way. He is happy to be where he is, when he is there. Not in a rush; not behind. Just happy and content. My oldest - the one we are talking about in this thread - has never been content to just be where he is. He always has ideas or projects or something he is working toward. But they are his own goals. If I set a goal for him......... we may never reach it. In fact, we struggle. But when they are his goals, nothing can stop him. :)

Oh no, not at all. In fact, the commentary made me chuckle. It's hard to get to know kids through this medium, but if you met him, you'd see it's a genuine desire to learn the craft. He is seeking out a teacher with a humble heart. He knows college is where you learn...he toured the department and met the faculty. He is just eager. Kids he hangs out with don't have the same interest level. He may not have the maturity to know the reality of these things (adulthood), but I do. I was the same way as a child. I knew exactly what I wanted, and began pursuing my passion when I was 8. :) I get what you are saying but this isn't achievement-based...just general enthusiasm and a passionate personality. He was the same way learning to walk, learning to read and pretty much everything else he has ever wanted to learn. It's exhausting...but I get it because I'm the exact same way. ;) OCD plays into it, I'm sure!

This in-depth discussion is validated the confusion I had when I first posted. It really does seem complex... Luckily, I have a few years to get my plans together before we "officially" begin 9th grade. I'll read up on the high school board, and talk to a few local high school homeschoolers in person... and see what steps I can take now to ensure a smoother road ahead. Again, thanks for the discussion points! Jen