Duhhhh, It just dawned on me that she would not be administered the WAIS-II. It is for adults. (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale)

I struggle with aphasia, mostly in word finding. I sometimes struggle with comprehension, especially if the speaker has an accent. My brain can either decode the accent or decode the sentence, but not both. One of my work-arounds for word finding is to look around the room. The visual images sometimes trigger my brain into the right word pathway. Otherwise, I often get stuck and can become sort of obsessive in trying to find the word.

You mentioned that you are her teacher. Do you work at her school or do you homeschool her?

I have had to stop a lot of recreational reading. I cannot read fiction. I cannot keep the characters and story line in memory.

I love to read factual information. It is the only reading that I am successful at. I can put the facts together like a jigsaw puzzle. This linear like use of the information allows me to keep the facts in an indexable memory. I may need to read something many times for later recall but at least i can process the reading the first time through.

I read gobs about how the brain works and the latest discoveries, etc.

As I have looked back at my academic life, I have realized that I lost a lot of my verbal skills after my injury at 10 years old. I was never able to score very high on the verbal SAT. My vocabulary recall is problematic. I always did fabulous on the Math portion. In fact, I increased my score from 650 a year after my sophomore year concussion induced struggles to 710 another year later, even though I had not had a math course since my sophomore year.

My friend appears to have trouble with verbal processing. His brain likes to twist words into strange meanings. His visual skills are much better than mine. He is fast as a bullet with backgammon. His math skills are also very strong.

I use my computer to organize my thoughts because I get lost trying to organize them to speak audibly. One of my friends in brain injury support group has severe aphasia but is unapologetic in her attempts to communicate. I sometimes refer back to the old excuse that " I get my merds wixed up." Or, "My tongue got caught around my eye tooth and I couldn't see what I was saying. " This recitations tend to help me get my brain back on track.

It helps to develop a sense of humor about or foibles. If you smile after mixing up your words, others will laugh with you rather than at you. It also helps to tell those close to you about your struggles. Then they can be much more supportive. When others understand, they are not left feeling awkward and embarrassed.

My IQ was measured at 128 to 140+ post injury. I know that it was much better prior to my last concussion. Much of my difficulties are due to a very low digit span. Sometimes, it is only 3 or even 2. On my best days now, it can be as high as 12 or 13. Before, it was probably up near 18 or better. I had a photographic memory. Now, I am either out of film or low on available Flash RAM.

Yet, I am highly functional as are many of my severely injured TBI friends. The next year will likely have as much or more improvement than the last year. As she learns to work with the new brain she has, she will likely find new ways to do the things that she wants to do. Many TBI or mTBi subjects develop a completely new sense of compassion and awareness of the needs of others.

I can see when someone is struggling mentally just by the look in their eyes. Been there, done that, know what it is like from the inside looking out.

As her teacher, I encourage you to throw out the calendar. It only adds undue stress. Then, the accomplishments will appear to pop up out of nowhere. Being anxious for the future tends to dull the value of the future accomplishments. Don't worry about whether her glass is half empty of half full. Choose to use a smaller glass until she can handle a larger glass. It will come in time.

btw, I have a cousin who is a year older than me which would make her 56. She was severely brain damaged from a delayed birth. The doctors said she would never be able to take care of herself. She has been running her group home for the past 20 years. She may have some academic struggles but she also has abilities that outshine the 'normal people.' She has been very productive with her life even though at 15 years old, the specialists said her IQ was equal to a 3 or 4 year old.

Your daughter will accomplish much, just be patient.

My best to you.