[blindkid] Inquiry about IQ/Gifted Testing

Tue Apr 24 18:54:24 UTC 2012

See braille test of achievement which will give you an idea of what the
child has  accomplished  thus far--:
<http://shop.aph.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_Woodcock-Johnson%20III%20NU:%20Tests%20of%20Achievement%20Braille%20Adaptation_6-66000-00P_10001_11051>

http://shop.aph.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_Woodcock-Johnson%20III%20NU:%20Tests%20of%20Achievement%20Braille%20Adaptation_6-66000-00P_10001_11051

On Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 11:34 AM, Gina Ouellette
<gouellette at csb-cde.ca.gov>wrote:

> Heather is correct in saying that there are not any current, valid tests
> normed for blind children or adults. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
> Children (WISC-IV) has NOT been normed for or with blind children.
>
> Unfortunately there is no "silver bullet" when it comes to assessing these
> kiddos as there are not really any standardized options for validly
> assessing the cognitive abilities of kids who are blind or visually
> impaired. The assessor (school psychologist?) will have to cobble things
> together and do a LOT of observations, records review, testing the limits,
> interviews, etc. to make his or her best estimates of the student's levels
> of functioning. This may include some standardized IQ testing with verbal
> portions of the test used exclusively, with the caveat that it may be an
> under-representation or conservative estimate of the child's abilities. I
> would also highly recommend that the family get the TVI on-board so that
> he/she can talk about the child's rate of learning compared to her peers.
> If the main issue is whether or not she is ready for kindergarten and
> should be granted early entrance, the TVI's observations of her ability to
> quickly pick up new information will be critical and should be a big part
> of the decision-making process. Obviously the family will know best about
> the child's rate of learning and true abilities, but some school officials
> can be leery of this, assuming that "every parent thinks their child is
> gifted..." So it's helpful to have some "neutral" (e.g., TVI) input as well
> in order to be taken more seriously.
>
> I wish there was an easier (or more satisfying) answer to this question
> but the truth is there just isn't.
>
> Best of luck,
> Gina O.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Heather Field
> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 3:34 PM
> To: Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Inquiry about IQ/Gifted Testing
>
> Hello Arielle,
> I am not aware of any IQ tests normed for 4-year-old blind children. I
> believe that the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children (WISC), which is
> now in its fourth version, may have been normed for blind children.
> However, even this would present problems as it would only have been normed
> on the nonvisual components. Furthermore, as the population of children who
> are blind, with no additional interfering variables such as other
> disabilities, is so small to begin with, and certainly the entire
> population was not included in the process of norming the test,  it is
> almost impossible to take any claims of something having been normed with
> blind children seriously.
>
> So, I would advise the parents to ask for their child to be assessed on a
> combination of her work and on portfolios and recommendations from teachers
> who work with her. The psychologist may want to give her some test of their
> chosing but it really will have no significance in deciding this child's
> ranking with her sighted peers.
>
> Regards,
> Heather field
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Arielle Silverman
> Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 11:20 PM
> To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [blindkid] Inquiry about IQ/Gifted Testing
>
> Hi all,
> This came up on another list and I think some of you will have answers for
> this mom. If you have pertinent information please either write to her
> directly using the email address provided in the header, or reply on-list
> and I will forward. Thanks for your help!
> Arielle
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: annie murphy <annabelle231 at yahoo.com>
> Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:38:53 -0700 (PDT)
> Subject: [LCA] IQ Test for blind
> To: "LCA at yahoogroups.com" <LCA at yahoogroups.com>
>
> Hello,
>
> I am trying to get Madeline enrolled in Kindergarten for the 2012-2013
> year. Because she will not be 5 until October, I have to go through early
> entrance, for which you have to be deemed gifted. They have done everything
> other than an IQ test, but at this point, they are stumped on how to do
> this. I was told today that they will adapt the IQ test by just giving Mads
> the verbal parts. Anything with a picture or graph will be not be used. My
> concerns are that for her to get early enrollment, she has to score a 95 or
> higher on the IQ test, and they are only using the verbal parts...
> Does anyone know where I can find an adapted IQ test for a 4 year old??
>
> Thank you!
>
> Annie
> Madelin 4.5 years old, gene still unknown.
>
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-- 
 Denise

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