British Ability Scales - what do the results tell you?

[incywincyspideragain]

ds had a test today with the educational psycologist who gave us an indication that he (Ed psyc) was 'very excited' about his results so what does this test mean? I know its to assess ds's ability but if its 'good' what does that show? I'm a bit confused!

It means he's very clever

thats great but what does that mean?? 'clever' doesn't really tell us anything, he isn't suceeding in School, I have no idea what you do with a 'clever' result... I know I should stop worrying and wait for the report, which I know will have strategies but its hard to send an unhappy boy to School and I have no idea from googling what the test was and what the results mean in terms of how they classify him - do they make a dx from it or is it a tool to help them understand him?

I think we've chatted before Indigo I think sometime you pm'd me about ASD/aspergers which had been suggested by School - Ed Psyc doesn't want to now persue this, he also has ruled out PDA and is looking at APD traits and doesn't think he's dyslexic - he's gone away to look at all the data and School reports to figure out the best strategies.
The BAS test threw me because I've never heard of it and I'm trying to work out how it fits into the picture

You don't have to know what to do, you aren't the psych interpreting the test results and coming up with strategies for the child.

You should get a report with suggestions as to how he can be better supported in school. If they don't share the report with you, ask school for a copy.

Are you getting the opportunity to sit down and discuss the assessment with the ep?

Should add, a straightforward achievement test probably isn"t great in isolation, as it won't show you any spikes in overal profile, will just show academics (if it's the test I think it is). A wider test (not just academic performance) will show range in working memory etc, which can have impact on actual school based performance, and give clues towards a child not achieving potential for whatever reason in class.

Ie ADHD, asd, or gifted and bored out of skull/ sensory issues/ overexcitabilities etc etc.

One test in isolation for a non achieving child isn't going to give the full picture, probably.

Was it def the achievement test btw? There is also a behaviour assessment tool used that is sometimes referred to as BAS, but it wouldn't explain why the ep was excited lol....

Well, you probably know what I think :)

I don't think 'strategies' from an EP report will help at all - or at least they'll help a little bit, but what they won't do is help the problem.

ie if it says he has a poor memory and so needs a visual reminder - well the visual reminder might help him get stuff done, but it won't improve his memory.

I don't believe dyslexia exists at all - some EPs dish out dx of dyslexia like candy, some never give them at all. But if your child isn't learning to read and write, then he qualifies for a label of dyslexia. (There is no single defn of dyslexia, it's up to each EP which defn they choose to use)

Or at least then he has underlying problems which cause him difficulties with reading and writing, and these problems are normally labelled dyslexia.

The underlying problems he is likely to have (and sorry, I don't remember our previous threads) are:

• vision problems (eye tracking problems / convergence insufficiency)
• auditory problems (distorted hearing)
• dietary problems (leaky gut / candida)
• neurodevelopment problems. (which also cause sensory issues)

All of those problems are totally curable. Cure them, and all his ASD / PDA / ADHD / Dyslexia / Dyspraxia symptoms will go.

He's very bright. You must continue to believe that because he's very bright he can and will do well at school. And never buy into the 'compensating strategies' school of thought. Or the 'SEN' school of thought.

Don't accept that work arounds to compensate for his poor memory etc are good enough. They aren't.

Nor can you afford to believe that school or the EP or the NHS know best, or even know what they're doing. They don't.

Nor do they have his best interests at heart. None of them have his long term interests at heart like you do.

And none of them can advise anything that costs any money. Whereas you don't have that restriction.

You however can achieve miracles. You just have to do everything you can for him. Including becoming an expert in his problems.

Dual diagnosis and misdiagnosis of gifted children - can't remember authors. Might be useful.

The British Abilities Scales is one of two IQ tests that are commonly used by educational psychologists in the UK. The other is the WISC. Some EPs will do all (or a core number) of sub-tests and consequently will come up with an IQ score and show how this score compares to the rest of the population. However, other EPs will not do the whole battery of tests but instead will use particular sub-tests to test out theories they have about why a child isn't learning. If they do this, they should be able to report the results in terms of percentages. For example, "X's performance on this occasion on the digit span sub-test placed him at the 75th centile. This means that if 100 children of the same age took this test, it would be expected that X would perform better than 74 of them." In his / her report, the EP should give you some indication of what each sub-test is attempting to asses. Whether it does or not is the topic of many, many debates.

As others have said, IMO an IQ test is unlikely to give a full picture of why any child is not achieving, but it might give part of the picture.

Thank you for your replies

I can't remember our other threads indigo but interestingly ds is CF/GF and on suppliments (also read Brain food with interest), he does have audiotory problems due to glue ear and fluctuating hearing. I think I know when his hearing is down because he becomes more sensory seeking, no idea about visual but he does have glasses for a lazy eye.

I don't know if the test was behavioural or ability although I agree 'very excited' is an odd response if it is behavioural unless it gave an 'answer' to something they were thinking of

ds isn't struggling academically but behaviourally - meltdowns, slow processing, messing with others on carpet time, poor concentration, defiant, arguing, strong sense of right/justice - he's difficult for the teacher to manage, although he is socialable and has good language skills.

Understanding what they are doing to test him is our way of trying to become an expert in his problems, although we don't really know what they are! I have to engage with Ed psyc, the School really listen to him and will follow what he suggests.

It's a very long slow process. Sounds like you're on the right path......

Also sounds like he has developmental delay syndrome as described/defined in the brain food plan :)

You do need to get all the EP reports etc - you have to use them as a starting point rather than an end point......

I'm so frustrated by the process, I'm very sad and ds has his own file where I keep IEP's and reports, its a useful way of gauging if the person in front of me has accually read them - I was very impressed with the Ed Psyc, he didn't have obvious notes but did refer accurately to the previous reports.
I know I need to wait for this next report but it'll take 4 weeks so next term before I can question or action anything.... in the meantime ds struggles, today I had note he lost his temper when he didn't want to do a piece of work and was told he had to do it, he was able to tell me that he lost his temper because he didn't know why he had to do the work and then no one would listen to him,he asked me what was in the book he did well, nothing only he stayed in at playtime....

The EP report isn't going to help him. EPs are only able to recommend educational stuff. They are looking through the wrong lens.

The only thing that will really help him is therapies which cure his underlying problems.

Without a label it is very hard to know where to start - so start by looling at his symptoms, and how you cure them.

If you found Brain food plan interesting then you could investigate Tinsley House, which I have had huge success with.

But there are many, many therapies that would also help. Retained reflex therapy (INPP, hemispheres.org, sound learning centre) would be another sensible place to start.