I.Q. Testing

[Guest guest]

I wanted to follow up on the I.Q. testing issue that I brought up in

another chain of messages. A couple people had stated that they had

not thought about I.Q. testing. It is a decision all of us have or

will have to make for our children. The schools often think it is

an " all important " part of evaluations. But when you ask them the

reasoning they often stumble on their own words. There is only one

reason to I.Q. test a child and that is to place yet one more label

on children that already have enough negative labels. I.Q. results

are often used as a judge of a child's potential or capability. If

a child tests well (normal to high level)then they may overlook

their autism and say, " we know he is capable of so much more " . If

they test low (in the mental retardation level) then of course they

would never expect them to perform with their peers, no matter what

part of their Autism might be affecting their ability to take the

test or the score itself. If the results of the test are not good,

I can guarantee you that you will lose leverage in demanding

services and high expectations for your child. After all you are

just not accepting that your child has mental retardation, even if

you know the test is false.

I had stated in my message that I would not allow I.Q. testing for

my typical child either. My reasoning is a personal one but may

make sense for others.

When I was a child, I.Q. testing was common, repeated every few

years throughout schooling and scores often announced shamelessly to

everyone. My test results were considered very high, but my best

friend was told her I.Q. was only 98, and they told her this

was " below normal " . As a grade school student her interpretation

was " mental retardation " . We were told these numbers could not be

altered or changed it is the intelligence level you are 'born' with.

So, she followed their lead and struggled through school, while I

skated, easily making straight A's throughout my life. She managed

to keep her grades at a C level so she could play sports which

eventually led her to the olympic level. No matter how much I told

her that she was just as intelligent as me, she would never believe

it, the tests told her otherwise. I knew the tests were wrong or

they were testing the wrong questions with her. We were the closest

friends and still are to this day, it just would have never worked

out that well if we were that intellectually mismatched. She was

offered a sports scholarship and almost didn't go to college because

she was sure she couldn't handle the academics. Plus, she had to

get my Mom to forge her own mother's signature as she was only 17

and her alcoholic parents refused to sign for her stating " you are

too stupid to go to college " .

My friend did go to college and called one night in tears, she had

made straight A's and B's. She went on to graduate with her teaching

credentials, but ended up starting her own business. The bottom

line, she is now a multi-millionaire, very successful and gives to

charities that give kids that others have given up on a second

chance.

I skated through school, never took much effort to make straight

A's, and I was never in my life told I couldn't do something. My

I.Q. tests alone told me I could do pretty much anything in the

world I chose. While I did get a college degree, I have constantly

been stuck in jobs working for others and seldom getting paid

anywhere close to what I think I am worth.

There are many factors at work here, but I firmly believe that those

I.Q. tests had horrible affects on my friend in those young years,

but mine had just as negative affect on me in the long run. I high

I.Q. did not equate to great success.

I.Q. tests have absolutely no value whatsoever. They tell us

nothing about potential and are not a measure of who will succeed

and who will not.

Every one of our children have a potential of some level, but what

that potential is will never be determined by a number from an

obscure test measuring who-knows-what as the standard of

intelligence, given by individuals that often lack any real

knowledge of our children's challenges.

You can send written letters to your school making it very clear

that I.Q. testing of your child is not allowed. At my school they

have a letter from me refusing I.Q. testing as well as all their

school run health screenings for hearing, vision, dental, etc. where

untrained personel can easily misinterpret the results from our

children. Our health screenings are more in-depth and done by those

expert in my daughter's condition.

Everyone must make this decision for your own child, but it is

always nice to see a perspective that you may not have considered.

Kendra

[Guest guest]

Kendra,

I couldn't agree more with your feelings about IQ testing.

A score of 98 is definitely not in the low range and your friend

should have never been lied to about that. Thankfully, she was able

to overcome her own self doubt and become such a successful business

person. Public schools are nothing but an extension of governmnet

bureacracy....sickening.

I know a couple that has a non-verbal highly medicated child

with " autism " . They sought out IQ testing so hopefully it could tell

them what their severely disabled child knew or was capable of

knowing. They couldn't believe an IQ test would give them anything

but a practical picture of their child's ability. Needless to say he

did not produce what they have wanted him to. IMO they set the stage

for the school system to essentially give up on their child. They can

wave those results anytime the school fails to do it's job- blame the

kid's cognitive ability- works everytime.

>

> I wanted to follow up on the I.Q. testing issue that I brought up

in

> another chain of messages. A couple people had stated that they

had

> not thought about I.Q. testing. It is a decision all of us have or

> will have to make for our children. The schools often think it is

> an " all important " part of evaluations. But when you ask them the

> reasoning they often stumble on their own words. There is only one

> reason to I.Q. test a child and that is to place yet one more label

> on children that already have enough negative labels. I.Q. results

> are often used as a judge of a child's potential or capability. If

> a child tests well (normal to high level)then they may overlook

> their autism and say, " we know he is capable of so much more " . If

> they test low (in the mental retardation level) then of course they

> would never expect them to perform with their peers, no matter what

> part of their Autism might be affecting their ability to take the

> test or the score itself. If the results of the test are not good,

> I can guarantee you that you will lose leverage in demanding

> services and high expectations for your child. After all you are

> just not accepting that your child has mental retardation, even if

> you know the test is false.

>

> I had stated in my message that I would not allow I.Q. testing for

> my typical child either. My reasoning is a personal one but may

> make sense for others.

> When I was a child, I.Q. testing was common, repeated every few

> years throughout schooling and scores often announced shamelessly

to

> everyone. My test results were considered very high, but my best

> friend was told her I.Q. was only 98, and they told her this

> was " below normal " . As a grade school student her interpretation

> was " mental retardation " . We were told these numbers could not be

> altered or changed it is the intelligence level you are 'born'

with.

> So, she followed their lead and struggled through school, while I

> skated, easily making straight A's throughout my life. She managed

> to keep her grades at a C level so she could play sports which

> eventually led her to the olympic level. No matter how much I told

> her that she was just as intelligent as me, she would never believe

> it, the tests told her otherwise. I knew the tests were wrong or

> they were testing the wrong questions with her. We were the

closest

> friends and still are to this day, it just would have never worked

> out that well if we were that intellectually mismatched. She was

> offered a sports scholarship and almost didn't go to college

because

> she was sure she couldn't handle the academics. Plus, she had to

> get my Mom to forge her own mother's signature as she was only 17

> and her alcoholic parents refused to sign for her stating " you are

> too stupid to go to college " .

> My friend did go to college and called one night in tears, she had

> made straight A's and B's. She went on to graduate with her

teaching

> credentials, but ended up starting her own business. The bottom

> line, she is now a multi-millionaire, very successful and gives to

> charities that give kids that others have given up on a second

> chance.

> I skated through school, never took much effort to make straight

> A's, and I was never in my life told I couldn't do something. My

> I.Q. tests alone told me I could do pretty much anything in the

> world I chose. While I did get a college degree, I have constantly

> been stuck in jobs working for others and seldom getting paid

> anywhere close to what I think I am worth.

> There are many factors at work here, but I firmly believe that

those

> I.Q. tests had horrible affects on my friend in those young years,

> but mine had just as negative affect on me in the long run. I high

> I.Q. did not equate to great success.

>

> I.Q. tests have absolutely no value whatsoever. They tell us

> nothing about potential and are not a measure of who will succeed

> and who will not.

> Every one of our children have a potential of some level, but what

> that potential is will never be determined by a number from an

> obscure test measuring who-knows-what as the standard of

> intelligence, given by individuals that often lack any real

> knowledge of our children's challenges.

> You can send written letters to your school making it very clear

> that I.Q. testing of your child is not allowed. At my school they

> have a letter from me refusing I.Q. testing as well as all their

> school run health screenings for hearing, vision, dental, etc.

where

> untrained personel can easily misinterpret the results from our

> children. Our health screenings are more in-depth and done by

those

> expert in my daughter's condition.

> Everyone must make this decision for your own child, but it is

> always nice to see a perspective that you may not have considered.

> Kendra

>

[Guest guest]

I administered IQ testing for over 30 years to both kids with

issues and kids without. I agree that for kids with autism, IQ tests

rarely give an accurate picture of a child's true abilities. Tests

are only as good as the person who administers them and interprets

the scores. A child with autism is entitled to " accommodations "

during testing, like frequent breaks, brushing, swinging, or any

other sensory intervention that enhances attention, and special

seating, like on a ball, if necessary. Anyone with a slight

understanding of standardization procedures and statistics can

administer the tests. Interpretations ALWAYS reflect the biases of

the examiner. Most psychologists have little understanding of how to

interact with and maximize the output of a child with autism. Most

testers don't even score their own tests today, as they did in the

past. They enter the raw scores into a computer program, which

interprets what the scores mean. The program can even write a

report. IQ tests can be helpful if put in the proper hands. They

can help sort out how a child is processing information, and whether

they could have undiagnosed visual, auditory or other processing

difficulties that require intervention such as vision and

occupational therapy. Frequently I used the IQ test scores to show

schools that a child did NOT have a low IQ, but rather good

potential. The IQ is an average of many subtest scores. Most kids

have peaks and valleys in their scores and the bottom line is not

the right score to look at. If you allow the school system to test

your child, and you disagree with the results, you are entitled by

law to an " independent evaluation " at the expense of the school

system. You can choose the examiner and the school system is

required to consider the new information in your child's placement.

If you disagree with the school system's report, you can request to

have it removed from the child's file. Know your rights and act

upon them. IQ tests are a necessary evil of the law. Use them to

your advantage.

Patty Lemer