WISC IV: High VC and Working Memory, relatively low PR, PS

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I have a child on the spectrum who has an unusual test of subtest scores on the WISC. I'm wondering if anyone here has this pattern, and if so, what it is like for you. What tasks/subjects do you enjoy, and what do you hate? Are there things you've done that you feel have helped improve areas of weakness? These are all big questions, I know.

My son has an overall IQ in the superior range. He scores in the superior to very superior range in all subtests of Verbal Comprehension and in Working Memory. His perceptual reasoning score is average, with a relative weakness in Picture Concepts. Processing speed is also average, with a relative weakness in Coding. His verbal skills are significantly higher than his non-verbal skills. He tests very poorly on direct tests of pragmatic language.

I know this is an ASD pattern, but whenever I read online, I often see that weaknesses in working memory is associated with ASD. WM has always been an area of strength for him. In addition, when he was younger and we had him tested, it seems that his visual-spatial skills were stronger, but now we're seeing high verbal development. He loves building things, but I don't see the him as a kid who "thinks in pictures" the way Temple Grandin describes herself. I don't see the kind of careful visual-spatial reasoning and planning that might make him, say, a great engineer or artist (he likes to draw, but he tends not to plan well).

Anyone here have insight into an ASD brain like this one?

To me it appears a typical Asperger's pattern in the sense some studies and stereotypical descriptions suggest it.

WM is not typically connected to AS or any other ASDs. There's a more typical connection (reverse correlation) to processing speed, but far from the level of a strong diagnostic indicator. The single most valid indication is a relatively high scatter of the subtest scores.

My (adult) test showed the following pattern: PR > VC = WM > PS, the highest being block design (17), the lowest being symbol search (7).

I don't know much about my development regarding IQ patterns, although I believe I've gone through a significant improvement in the language department throughout my childhood and teenage years, yet my mind is more capable of natural sciences than arts.

WM is something that can be improved by practice (arithmetic) and learning techniques that come around certain difficulties in this area (digit span), e.g. using multiple forms of short term memory simultaneously. Perhaps this is why I scored relatively high at it.

Many smart scientists probably have IQ profile similar to your son's. Average PR and PS are not really major weakness.

Thank you for the input. I do wonder about the natural sciences. Compared to my NT son, my AS son tends to "miss" more things when there is a lot going on. In that sense, my NT son is more observant, more likely to pick up salient information. They are still little, but my NT son just seems to like hands-on science a lot more than my AS son. That could change, of course. They are still young.

On the other hand, my AS son has great powers of concentration once his mind is focussed on something. (He is only 9, but he taught himself programming from a book and is hooked on it like a little addict )

Some days I wish I could just be him for a day, to see what the world is like. It can be hard to teach a child when your mind works differently.

I wish more people with AS would go into teaching at specialized schools. I do not think it would take great powers of theory of mind or perspective taking to teach my son, only someone who naturally falls on his wavelength…

Thank you again!

The differences between your NT and AS son could be differences found between NT and NT or AS and AS, they are not NT vs. AS differences. Some people prefer and understand bester natural/physical sciences, while others computer or math.