WISC and WISC-R Profiles of Learning Disabled Children: A Review

Abstract

It has been widely assumed that learning disabled children exhibit a characteristic WISC or WISC-R profile. This paper reviews 24 studies investigating the performance of disabled learners on these instruments. Three questions were addressed in the review of these studies: 1) Is high Performance IQ-low Verbal IQ characteristic of learning disabled children? 2) Do learning disabled subjects exhibit more WISC (or WISC-R) subtest scatter than normal learners? and 3) Do learning disabled subjects exhibit a characteristic WISC(-R) profile? The evidence regarding the first two questions was inconclusive although Verbal-Performance IQ discrepancies and subtest variability may not be uncommon in normal children. The evidence does suggest that LD children, as a group, exhibit a characteristic WISC(-R) profile whereas few individual LD children actually conform to this pattern. It was concluded that WISC(-R) profiles may not be useful for differential diagnosis of learning disabled students.