Expert: Carol Bainbridge - 9/10/2009

Question
I had my son tested by a Registered Psychologist who works with children at the hospital.  He also does private testing through his office which he shares with my Pediatrician.

My son is 5 1/2 and has taken 2 yrs of preschool.  He is currently enrolled in kindergarten this September.

In August, I had him tested and the results were that he was gifted and ADHD.  The Psychologist did the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales-5th Edition (SB5), Wide Range Achievement Test-4th Edition (WRAT-4), Conners' Parent Rating Scale-Revised: long Version, Conners' Teachers Rating Scale-Revised:Long Version and Behaviour Assessment System for Children- 2nd Edition.

On the SB5, he earned a Full Scale IQ score of 137, classified as Gifted/Very Advanced and ranked 99 percentile. Nonverbal IQ is 132 and ranked 98 percentile classified as Gifted/Very Advanced and Verbal IQ 139 and ranked 99.5 percentile as Gifted/Very Advanced. His Fluid Reasoning Factor Index score 132 is 98 percentile and classified as Gifted/Very Advanced.  His Knowledge Factor Index score is 143 is ranked 99.8 percentile and classified as Gifted/Very Advanced and Quantitative Reasoning Factor Index score is 130, is ranked 98 percentile and classified as Gifted/Very Advanced. His Visual-Spatial Processing score is 126, ranked 96 percentile and classified as Superior. His working Memory is score is 129, is ranked 97 percentile and classified Superior.

He scored well on the SB5, but I'm not sure if I understand all the testing, but on his WRAT-4 test, which is an academic achievement test, he didn't seem to score that well.  Here are his results: His level of academic readiness was found to be with the Upper Extreme (Gifted/Very Advanced) range on the Word Reading subtest(99 percentile)-equivalent to grade 2:8 level_, Spelling subtest (73 percentile) was found to be Average range-equivalent to Mid-Kindergarten grade level.  His Math Computation (81 percentile) subtest was found to be with the Above Average range - equivalent to Mid Kindergarten grade level. His Sentence Comprehension subtest (66 percentile) was found to be within the Average range- equivalent to Grade 2:1 level and the Reading Composite (96 percentile) was found to be with the Superior range.  However, it should be noted that Justin's scores on the Sentence Comprehension subtest and Reading Composite were only able to be compared to other 6 yr old children with one year of formal education.

Does the WRAT-4 indicate that he is pretty much a slightly above average to average student?  My son can read pretty well for his age, but he is not that good with math.

Compared to other questions that you have answered about gifted children, he doesn't seem that gifted.  Should he really be considered a gifted child or just smarter because he can read.

Also, in your experience, how often are children misdiagnosed with ADHD when they are also gifted.  

Thanks for your time.  

Answer
Hi June,

I have to tell you that I'm not an expert at interpreting test results. That said, I can tell you that the test scores you provided look to me to put your son at least in the moderately gifted range. Don't be fooled by his not being so good in math. Most gifted children are not gifted in every area.  It's more complicated than that. So your son doesn't do well in math. That's not his area of strength then.  You say he reads well for his age.  He would have to since most 5 year olds don't read!

When you get all those test scores, you're getting a good picture of your son's strengths and weaknesses. That's always helpful.  Look at those percentiles.  Most of them are quite high. I do have a question about the testing. Does the tester have experience with and knowledge of gifted kids?  That can actually make a difference in how the testing goes.  Was the testing done all in one day or over the course of two days?

Also, giftedness doesn't exhibit the same way in all children so comparing your child to other gifted kids isn't going to get your very far. :> It's usually more useful to compare your child's development against the development of average children.

Gifted kids are misdiagnosed with ADHD all the time. I recommend the book _Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults_

Here are some articles that might help:

Is My Child Gifted?
http://giftedkids.about.com/od/gifted101/p/how_to_identify.htm
(This article includes a link to information on typical developmental milestones.)

Testing Basics
http://giftedkids.about.com/od/testing/p/testing_basics.htm
(Some of what is in this article won't be useful to you at this point, but much of it will be.  In addition, it has links to articles that you will find helpful.)

ADHD Misdiagnosis
http://giftedkids.about.com/b/2007/09/23/adhd-misdiagnosis.htm
(This is a very old blog entry, so the links to the news reports don't work anymore.  However, there is also a link to a useful checklist for distinguishing ADHD from giftedness.  There is also a link to a great poll. It asks parents of gifted kids if they've ever been told their child has ADHD.  The results of the poll should tell you something about how common misdiagnosis is.)