Neuropsychological significance of children's Wechsler intelligence scores.

Abstract

The relationships of Wechsler test scores (WISC and WISC-R) to 6 neuropsychological conditions in one sample of children ( N = 120) were compared to those of a second sample ( N = 36). Only 6 of the 84 IQ-diagnosis correlations showed comparable relationships in both samples. These consistent correlations were: Arithmetic and Digit Span scores with auditory perceptual dysfunction; Block Design with visual perceptual dysfunction; Verbal IQ with speech and language disability and with auditory perceptual dysfunction; and Performance IQ with visual perceptual dysfunction. The notable lack of consistency of most correlations obtained across the two samples for the test scores to diagnoses of minimal brain dysfunction, hyperkinesis, and learning disability suggests that (a) these diagnoses need greater specificity and definitiveness if they are to relate meaningfully to cognitive dysfunction or that (b) the Wechsler subtests are not sufficiently sensitive to these neuro-psychological conditions to have diagnostic significance for children of average intelligence.