WISC assessment?

[BerylSilverstone]

Hello,
I have a 6 year old little boy and CAMHS have suggested that school organise my son a WISC assessment via educational psychologist. I was wondering if anybody here has experience of this, what to expect etc?
My son’s school are generally very helpful on these matters, and my son has been seen by an Ed psych before aged 4, he does not currently have any diagnosis. When my little boy started in year 1 it became apparent that he was falling behind in all areas compared to his peers and I did suggest that perhaps school could bring the educational psychologist in again but at the time they did not pursue it, I suppose I am wondering now that CAMHS have suggested it are school likely to comply and get this assessment done for my son?

Thank you for reading x

I think it really depends on the school and the SENCo, and also on whether lockdown/any covid absences are affecting who's around to do these things.

A proactive SENCo might go ahead an organise it on the advice of CAMHS, but IME it's just as likely that they won't and that you'll need to chase it up with them again and again.

Is CAMHS writing direct to the school? With ours, they tend to write to the parents and the GP, then the parents have pass the letter to school and push push push!

I would first work on making sure the SENCo receives the recommendation and then keep chasing them.

I didn't sit in on my DC's actual test, but I think it was just the usual which 'picture goes next' and 'make this shape out of bricks' type tests covering various areas of IQ (working memory, comprehension, processing speed, etc).

Ed psychs aren’t currently permitted to work in schools, however guidelines released yesterday indicate we will be back in from Sept. However we do now have a huge backlog, particularly of children who have had an EHCP assessment during this time and haven’t had a full Ed psych assessment due to the restrictions. I would anticipate that if you ask now, the school may have a short waiting list but it’s probably more likely you’d be looking at Spring term 2021 at the earliest.

Yes a wisc is essentially an IQ test. It sounds like it would be a useful next step for your son so I would push with the SENCo on this. Of course, the alternative is to get it done by a private EP.

Thank you both for your replies.
@LonginesPrime yes my letter from CAMHS states that they have sent a copy of the letter directly to school. The SENCO is generally quite proactive. I am making an appointment to speak with her, but, as you say, I am prepared that I may have to keep chasing this up for a while, especially on the current climate!

@SkeletonSkins thank you for your insight. I suspected that it might be the case that Ed psychs may not be in school at present. I will pursue this with my son’s school/SENCO and hopefully as soon as it is possible my son will be seen. I think it would be beneficial to my son. School are well aware that he is struggling in almost all areas so this would seem to be a logical next step.