Q:Are there any tests that schools routinely
perform that may help us pinpoint where my son's inability
to process information correctly lie?
We are requesting that the school district
that my son lives in tests him again for learning disabilities.
Last year, when we requested the same, the school did the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - III, The Bender
Visual-Motor Gestalt Test, the Wechsler Individual Achievement
Test - Screener, the Peabody Individual Achievement Test
- Revised, and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The
psychologist we are seeing (YES, we finally found someone
that can *SEE* the attachment difficulties my son is having!)
has recommended some IQ tests, but are
there any other tests that schools routinely perform that
may help us pinpoint where my son's inability to process
information correctly lie?
A: All tests are just instruments,
tools of the trade. Some are better than others, e.g. WJ-R appears
to be more relevant to reading problems than, say WISC-lll. Nevertheless,
all testing procedures remain instruments that provide you with
some data: it is up to the professional who uses these instruments
to give an interpretation and explanation. There is no "magic
test" that will find the "sure" answer to your
questions, "why?' Reading is a complex psychological and
socio/cultural activity; in fact, it is a blend of many processes
and abilities. I do not know your child's age, but I assume he
is older than 7 (otherwise the WISC-lll could not have been used
last year). How long has he been in on English language milieu?
His Russian is probably wiped out at this time, but how deep has
English been embedded into his cognitive abilities and skills?
A couple of months ago I posted on this list some information
about "communicative fluency Vs cognitive language mastery"
in older adoptees (older than seven years at the time of adoption).
It may help to understand why reading problems "suddenly"
emerge in children who speak English seemingly freely at home
and on the street, but become "blocked" when they are
required to apply English for academic subjects.
