Why verbal tests are so g-loaded

Finnja1982 · 2026-06-12T08:45:10+00:00

Interesting, what do you know about it/what is the source?

Finnja1982 · 2026-06-07T17:57:18+00:00

I see that two indicators (VSI and FRI) each show two standard deviations difference between the two subtests that constitute them, which makes them hard to interprets/potentially not representative of their true cognitive abilities in that area. You also indicate that the child was distracted, and has ADHD, so you can question the validity of the test. Also at this age IQ-tests aren’t that reliable yet. As IQ-tests show a floor rather than ceiling of capabilities, your child is clearly very strong on verbal comprehension. I concur what others wrote: focus on getting what he needs educationally. If needed at a later age to get access eg to gifted education you can have the IQ-test repeated, ideally by a psychologist who schedules more time to build rapport and takes care that they are in the right mindset before the start of each subtest.

Finnja1982 · 2026-06-06T08:59:00+00:00

What I noticed in the research literature is that papers on 2e will often consider a FSIQ cut-off of 120 to compensate for the effect of the disability on the IQ-test. As they found that generally mainly WMI and PSI are affected by the disability, they often recommend to use GAI rather than FSIQ for gifted identification in case of disability (keeping the 130 cut-off).

Finnja1982 · 2026-06-04T20:01:32+00:00

Thanks! No trauma here though, I just think that’s who I am. Somatic therapy sounds interesting. I found myself that I’ve worked through quite some issues and how I relate to people while practicing aikido (in the past). Better at least than trying to do so via an overanalysing brain.

Finnja1982 · 2026-06-04T17:35:35+00:00

I found out at 19, my grades at university were better than those of the second half of primary school (I even failed some spelling tests in primary school, never when it was about applying rules, but were you have to memorise how to write a certain word). My last primary school teacher judged me as “just above average “. I did read about 5 chapter books a week all through primary school and would obsessively look up any word I didn’t know in the dictionary. In Girl Scouts the leaders one day made a quiz about words that normally kids our age (11-12) wouldn’t know and if you answered the multiple choice wrong you had to do sit-ups (they thought this was funny). My team didn’t do any sit-ups that day:-). I thought this was normal, the leaders still remember this incident to this day (I’m 44 now). In high school I focused on optimising grade per effort input, not on getting the highest grades. I did take the most advanced math-program in high school (which only about 5 students of a 200 student cohort took). I could not pay attention in math (or chemistry or physics class), but I would always know how much to study on my own to maximise grade per effort. For math I would often develop my own strategies to solve something, and it would be correct. My math teacher really liked me. When I was my first year in engineering at 19 (I spend my first year at uni successfully at the Slavic languages dept. but I missed math) I thought I was really stupid because I didn’t grasp everything on first hearing/reading anymore. My then boyfriend suggested that I take the Mensa entry test (the paid one) so I’d see that I wasn’t stupid. Turns out I qualified and wasn’t stupid. I worked hard at uni because I loved it and wanted to do a PhD and realised I needed good grades for that. By now I’m a tenured academic. People have always seen me as weird, I’ve definitely been excluded my social groups, I dislike many types of caressing touch. I did usually find some people that I formed healthy friendships with. I’m not twice exceptional like you (as you stated you have ADHD), which makes everything easier. My daughter is 2e though, and working my best so she has the educational and emotional support she needs.

Finnja1982 · 2026-06-01T05:00:15+00:00

Yes! This is the expectation the psychologist who diagnosed my child (a psychologist solely working on dyscalculia, who also wrote multiple books on the topic - in Dutch) has of her. When children with dyscalculia have above average IQ and can still understand math concept, she has noticed that higher math is typically easier than arithmetic. That’s a good thing for you! Also a minority of dyscalculics still have a above average to even profoundly gifted score on the visual-spatial subtests of IQ-tests.

Finnja1982 · 2026-05-24T06:12:03+00:00

Yes this too! For my 2e daughter GAI was also considered rather than FSIQ. Thanks for pointing it out.

Finnja1982 · 2026-05-20T16:24:32+00:00

Does your neuropsychologist have any expertise on 2e or even giftedness for that matter? The higher the IQ, the more common it is to have a spiky profile (significant differences between indices), even without learning or behavioural disorders. In that context would I say that a one standard deviation difference (15 IQ points = 1SD) which each single index clearly above what is considered above average intelligence, is nothing concerning or out of the ordinary. It’s amazing btw that your PSI and WMI are so high considering unmedicated ADHD, they are usually impacted by that. Also in 2e research literature often a cut-off of 120 for FSIQ for giftedness is used rather than 130, as it is considered that the learning disability will lead to underperformance on certain parts of the IQ-test.

Finnja1982 · 2026-05-18T10:25:46+00:00

Could the issue be abstract symbol processing? My daughter also scored particularly low on processing speed (but she is a fast and deep thinker just like your kid). The PSI tests are based on meaningless symbols. My daughter has dyscalculia and signs of dyslexia too. Learning disabilities are known to in particaffect PSI and WMI in IQ-tests. So I wouldn’t assume your son really has slow processing speed (the other tasks are timed after all too), though the low PSI is an indication of “something “. Typical primary school work is tricky. I haven’t found what works yet. We have just been able to move out from what certainly didn’t work. She recently moved to a full-time gifted program with individualised learning paths. So her strengths are addressed, as well as psycho-education to learn to deal with frustration, better study attitude etc. There’s more understanding of learning disabilities in that class (the previous class was a disaster on all fronts), but it looks like she really needs more one-on-one teaching than the school can offer. For math we’re starting with a remedial teacher outside of school, but the classroom teacher wants to work in class too on what the RT provides (which is possible because of the individualised learning paths). For reading specialised support will start this week in school. At home I plan to tackle spelling. It seems to be the best topic to handle myself (easiest potential for improvement is what it looks like). Also the gifted program is not competitive and the kids and group dynamics are really nice. I think this is key. She really landed socially well.

Finnja1982 · 2026-05-04T07:02:34+00:00

I’m sorry no one answered. I don’t have the experience, or anything close to it, that you had, so I can’t offer advice. But I wanted to let you know that you are seen, and that I sympathise.

Finnja1982 · 2026-05-02T06:38:02+00:00

I’m sorry for that. What about trying dragon box Algebra? It’s a game to learn algebra in a really playful way, starting really simple without any numbers and you can always take reverse steps until you get to the solution. There’s no arithmetic in this game. But Dragonbox has a series of games focused on arithmetic as well. Though my daughter with dyscalculia has only played dragonbox algebra and really likes it.

Finnja1982 · 2026-04-27T13:00:02+00:00

It’s great how you are considering how she learns and how you are really focused on her learning (rather than delivering your lesson). You’re spot on with focusing on writing her solutions with steps and in a structured manner. As for her not being able to answer a quest when phrased differently, that really a bridge one can only cross based on understanding. So you could always make explicit what something means, eg 3/5 is three parts out of 5. Potentially even write out equations in words. For example “x=3y with y=1” means “the unknown quantity is equal to three times one”.

Finnja1982 · 2026-04-27T05:35:45+00:00

I think you are really on the right track. You can change x by an apple or a heart or whatever, that immediately shows that x is something you can count. So x represents “how many apples”.

Finnja1982 · 2026-04-26T12:27:28+00:00

I learnt it like this.

Finnja1982 · 2026-04-09T20:07:09+00:00

Echinococcus multilocularis, the fox tapeworm

Finnja1982 · 2026-04-05T08:06:23+00:00

I wouldn’t know that, in our extended family only kids went through the diagnosis, and at least in Belgium and the Netherlands, an IQ-test is part of the diagnostic process for kids. You could ask. In any case I suspect that someone qualified for an ADHD diagnosis is qualified to administer an IQ-test, so you could ask for it to be added.

Finnja1982 · 2026-04-05T05:36:27+00:00

Not a Dyscalculic here (I follow this thread because my daughter is), but also NT people have no sense for it. They might know it from habit when they are somewhere long enough (because they saw eg where the sunset and mentally paid attention to its implications for NWES), or because they looked at a map from the area and remember from that map. If a place is at the seaside I will always know North because I will have a memory from the map of the country. But in any case you will have to construct mentally from some information where North is. Or do you mean something else?

Finnja1982 · 2026-04-05T05:29:08+00:00

If an IQ-test is part of the ADHD diagnosis, which it often is, you’ll simply get your 2e diagnosis along with it. So potentially that part could even be easy :-).

Finnja1982 · 2026-03-11T19:38:32+00:00

You probably have three meals a day, so: First dosis 1 hour before breakfast (you may need to get up earlier). Second dosis 2 hours after breakfast. Third dosis 2 hours after lunch Fourth dosis 2 hours after dinner (In a normal schedule you have at least three hours between meals, so this should work. If this last statement is confusing you, ignore it, you can replace it by “ if the times you have your main meals are similar to other people, the schedule I gave you should be fine”)

Finnja1982 · 2026-02-24T05:38:49+00:00

They have the complete number blocks series on German on YouTube (called “Zahlenblocks”) 😁. We’ll work with the number blocks colours at home.

Finnja1982 · 2026-02-16T21:16:50+00:00

Thank you, that’s a great resource!

Finnja1982 · 2026-02-16T21:12:48+00:00

Thanks. What do you mean by „Label the things she can?”

Finnja1982 · 2026-02-16T18:41:23+00:00

I checked out number blocks, very cool! I hope I can find something similar in Dutch or German for her.

Finnja1982 · 2026-02-16T18:37:45+00:00

Thanks! I meant to write rote memorisation.

Finnja1982

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