The stakes are high: diagnosis for better self-understanding, test adjustments for more meaningful scores, program eligibility for treatment and services, college admissions, and employment accommodations. These benefits could be available to adolescents and adults with learning disabilities or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. In deriving such diagnoses, professional ethics and federal legislation require high standards, especially when testing special populations. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS-R; Wechsler, 1981) is the most commonly used and well-respected adolescent and adult intelligence test (Spruill, 1987). However, not enough discussion and research have centered around test accommodations when assessing individuals with mild disabilities using the WAIS-R. The purposes of this article are to provide an overview of the WAIS-R, present ethical and legal issues, discuss the schism of standardized testing vs. modifications, provide assessment alternatives, summarize practitioner guidelines, and suggest further research.
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