Gifted and Talented - Learning Disabled Test

What diagnostic instruments might be used to identify a learning disability when a child is also gifted?

This file includes information about the use of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) to identify learning disabilities in gifted students. Services for children with learning disabilities are covered under P.L. 94-142 and IDEA. However, those Acts do not address giftedness, and there is no federal legislation that addresses the rights and responsibilities of children who are both gifted and disabled. Services provided to gifted children vary from state to state, and often vary among school districts within a state. For information on policies and regulations in your state, contact the person responsible for gifted education at your state department of education (http://ericec.org/fact/stateres.html) or the gifted education advocacy group in your state (http://ericec.org/fact/stateres.html).

WISC = Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

Many psychologists use the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), third edition, to identify learning disabilities. The WISC is an intelligence test that can be administered only by a licensed psychologist or tester. The scores may be interpreted in several different ways by specialists and nonspecialists alike who understand the significance of the numbers. A WISC score is derived from the scaled combination of two sets of subtests, Verbal and Performance. Each of these two categories has its own total, which is derived from the scaled combination of 6 subtest scores. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children(r)-Fourth Edition, which added several new subtests and eliminated others, has recently become available. The WISC-IV comprises 10 core and five supplemental subtests, which are grouped into four indices-verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed. Scores from each index, based on the core subtests only, are combined to create a child's total score, or Full Scale IQ (FSIQ).

The following information relates to the The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) Third Edition.

Verbal

Information - fund of general knowledge
Similarities - verbal abstract reasoning
Arithmetic - numerical reasoning, attention and short-term memory for meaningful information
Vocabulary - knowledge of word meanings
Comprehension - social comprehension and judgment
Digit Span - short-term auditory memory for non-meaningful information

Performance

Picture Completion - attention to visual detail
Coding - visual-motor skills, processing speed
Picture Arrangement - attention to visual detail, sequential reasoning
Block Design - visual abstract ability
Object Assembly - part-whole reasoning
Mazes - graphomotor planning, visual-motor coordination and speed

Each subtest delivers a scaled score, which may range from 1 (lowest) to 19 (highest).

Gifted students typically have very high scores in the abstract subtests and somewhat lower scores in the concrete subtests. Gifted students with disabilities typically have a wide "scatter" or discrepancy within either or both the verbal and performance sections. They might demonstrate much lower scores in digit span, which tests a student's ability to hear and repeat-forward and backward-a meaningless string of numbers, or coding, which tests visual-motor integration. Students with weak visual memory, anxiety, and difficulty with concentration or pencil manipulation may score lower than typically expected. School districts typically use a discrepancy between the verbal and performance sections as an indicator of a learning disability, although they might not provide special services unless there are additional indicators. Yet, gifted students with learning disabilities might not demonstrate the typical discrepancy between the verbal and performance sections.