Cognitive discrepancies in children at the ends of the bell curve: a note of caution for clinical interpretation.

Discrepancies between IQ scores on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) and scores from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) were examined at different levels of intellectual functioning in 470 normal-functioning youths (aged 8-19) from the co-standardization sample of the WASI and D-KEFS. Results demonstrated that children with lower IQ scores often had significantly higher D-KEFS scores, whereas children with higher IQ scores often had significantly lower D-KEFS scores. Similar patterns were identified for discrepancies between Verbal and Performance IQ indices. These findings are similar to those found in the adult literature. Clinicians are advised to be cautious when weighing the clinical significance of cognitive discrepancies at the ends of the bell-curve and should avoid interpreting discrepancies in isolation.