WAIS - Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Lexicon [Measures] - WAIS 

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV) is an IQ test used in adults (ages 16-90) to assess cognitive abilities across different domains. It can take around 60-90 minutes to complete

Limitations in the context of autism:

• Language and communication challenges can impact performance on subtests that heavily rely on language abilities.
• Sensory sensitivities and attentional difficulties affect their performance on tasks requiring sustained attention or visual processing.
• Social and contextual factors/aspects of intelligence relevant to autism not considered as the test focuses on cognitive abilities.
• [Also see post on why IQ tests problematic in autistics] 

WAIS-IV has 10 core subtests which are organized into four index scores.

1. Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI):
• Similarities: verbal reasoning and concept formation.
• Vocabulary: ability to define words and understand their meaning.
2. Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI):
• Block Design: visual-motor coordination and spatial perception.
• Matrix Reasoning: non-verbal reasoning and problem-solving skills.
• Visual Puzzles: ability to analyze and synthesize visual information.
• Picture Completion: visual perception and attention to detail. Presented with incomplete pictures and are required to identify the missing part or detail.
3. Working Memory Index (WMI):
• Digit Span: attention, concentration, and working memory by assessing the ability to repeat a series of digits forward and backward.
• Arithmetic: mental arithmetic skills and working memory.
4. Processing Speed Index (PSI):
• Symbol Search: visual scanning speed and processing speed.
• Coding:motor speed, attention, and visual-motor coordination.

Scoring and interpretation

Index scores are derived from specific combinations of subtests and provide an overall assessment of an individual's cognitive strengths and weaknesses in those domains.

The Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) is the combination of the index scores. It represents overall intellectual functioning and is calculated based on the combined performance across all subtests.

Interpretation involves comparing an individual's performance to normative data (percentile ranks, confidence intervals, and descriptive categories), considering the person's age and the index and subtest scores obtained. 

History
WAIS was first developed by David Wechsler as an adaptation of his earlier intelligence tests, the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale (1st Ed 1955, 4th Ed 2008).

Equanimity is the steady hand that guides us through life's ups and downs

Towards a more humane society. #MentalHealth. Contemplation, one line a day.

 

The Neurotransmitter Showdown: GABA v Glutamate in the Courtroom.

The Neurotransmitter Showdown: GABA v Glutamate in the Courtroom.

GABA: Good day, Glutamate. How do you plead today?

Glutamate: Not guilty Your Honor. My actions were justified.

GABA: Oh, please. You know that you always overexcite the receptors and cause chaos in the brain.

Glutamate: That's simply untrue. I only activate the NMDA, AMPA, and kainate receptors as needed.

GABA: Needed? 

Your excessive activation of those receptors leads to seizures and neurotoxicity and not to mention hyperactivity, mood swings, social communication challenges, and sensory dysfunction in autistics. 

You are totally implicated in the Excitatory-Inhibition Imbalance theory in autism.

Hari: You Said It, GABA!! Tell it like it is. 

Judge (pounding table with mallet): Order in the court! The audience is not allowed to speak. 

Hari: Your Honor, I was not speaking out loud. It was all in my mind. 

Judge: But we are in your mind so everyone here can hear you. 

Hari: Oh, Ok. Then I'll go off and take a nap. 

Judge. Thank you Hari. 

(Pounding with mallet) Order! Order!I call order in the courtroom!

Executive and Contextual Control Theory (ECCT)

 

While no single theory fully explains all aspects of autism, each attempts to provide insights into different cognitive and behavioral characteristics.

• ECCT posits that individuals with autism have difficulties with contextual control, which is the ability to modulate behavior based on the context. This can be related to challenges in executive function and flexibility.
• Implications: Difficulty in adjusting behavior to suit different social contexts, rigidity in thought processes, and a tendency toward repetitive behaviors.

Read more on [ECCT Theory]

Posts on other [Theories of Autism]

27 Genetic Variants Linked to ADHD

 https://neurosciencenews.com/genetics-adhd-22476/

"imbalance in dopamine in the brains of people with ADHD is partly attributable to genetic risk factors"

"7,300 common genetic variants that increase the risk of ADHD. It is particularly interesting that the vast majority of these variants—84-98 percent—also have an influence on other mental disorders, e.g. autism, depression and schizophrenia"

Serenity is the harmony that comes with being in balance.

Informal Removals

This is so deja vu for me. 

Never mind even the struggles involved in getting access to general ed classrooms, 

even special education classrooms only want the Good Patients. 

=================

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/09/us/students-disabilities-informal-removal.html?fbclid=IwAR36fyuIXrWPV7QZMxdeHt_HPxYJy9___BwxYS0k7YIEKBarCdHdrxEAW4U


"During her son’s elementary years, Ms. LaVigne was called almost daily to pick him up hours early because he was having “a bad day.” By middle school, he was only attending an hour a day..."

"...tactic that schools... use to remove challenging students with disabilities from class. The removals — which can include repeated dismissals in the middle of the day or shortening students’ education to a few hours a week."

"In a report last year, the National Disability Rights Network, a national nonprofit established by Congress more than four decades ago, found informal removals occurring hundreds and perhaps thousands of times per year as “off-the-book suspensions.” The report said the removals also included “transfers to nowhere,” when students are involuntarily sent to programs that do not exist."

"The removals largely escape scrutiny because schools are not required to report them in the same manner as formal suspensions and expulsions, making them difficult to track and their impact hard to measure."

"continuation of the practice sends a terrible message to students and to school communities about which students deserve an education.”