<p>an IQ of 70?
Let’s assume for this discussion that 70 is an accurate score. What can we expect in the teen years and young adulthood?
Relative with this girl is at a loss…</p>
<p>Well, how is she doing in school, academically and socially? She’s old enough that there should be some indications of how she may do later on. One important thing is to not tell the kid what her IQ score is as her performance may suffer due to lower expectations.</p>
<p>Iq is not stagnant. Capabilities expand with living.
Tests are just a snapshot of one moment and depend on the skill of the examiner and how closely the testees experience mimics what is being tested.
Why was she being tested and by whom?</p>
<p>Did the 10-year-old in question really engage with the testing instrument, or was she uninvested and unaware of its significance? Is there some sort of mismatch between score and performance in school and life? How she is functioning in the real world is more important than what a test score says.</p>
<p>I don’t think any kid should be told of IQ results, even if they are high. There is not a single reason to let a kid know. One assessment cannot determine or predict life outcomes.</p>
<p>Hopefully, the IQ testing was done in concert with other assessments of the child, including observations of family, physicians and educators. A good neuropsych tester will be in a position to walk the concerned parents through the evaluation, suggest how the information can be used to promote educational progress and quality of life, as well as what they may anticipate going forward. One number, out of context, is not enough to provide a family with the information and peace of mind they seek. I hope that a full consultation takes place and they are aided as they try to better understand their child. </p>
<p>younghoss - Was the girl tested individually by a child or school psychologist? Were there individual scores reported - verbal, quantitative, nonverbal? In our neighborhood public schools, a child with an IQ of 70 would receive most services in a special education setting and/or with a special education assistant in the classroom to assist the child during the elementary school years. In middle school, the child would most likely receive services in a special setting, possibly in a district school, or in a neighboring district. If it has not been done, the parents should have a full battery of tests given by the school psychologist and a special education teacher. After testing, the psychologist/educators should make a plan for your relative. This plan should be updated every year.</p>
<p>thanks to you all for kind words and kind pm’s. Because it is a relative’s girl, I do not know answer to some questions posed here. Good ideas, though.</p>
<p>I sent you a PM. </p>
<p>Teachers and others have always underestimated my DS. He has LD’s and I think his IQ is in the “normal” ranger, so higher than you stated. But from the beginning I knew he was smart–he was way more independent at a very young age than my older DS (who is the “smart” one–high IQ, etc). So I’ve tended to ignore what they said he could/couldn’t do. I was told when he was 4 that “he might read someday”. Well, I knew right then that he would read, because I’d teach him to read. Teachers have always underestimated him. He’s a very hard worker and is determined to succeed. He’s in HS now, and we are still getting it. He’s very good at math, but he’s very bad at tests. One of his teachers keeps trying to put him in the lower level math for next year and we keep saying “no”. Just because he doesn’t perform well on tests doesn’t mean he doesn’t understand the material–I look at his tests and he loses lots of points for minor mistakes (not carrying the sign, making an error when copying to the next line, etc). These errors show me he’s lacking attention to detail, not lacking understanding of the concepts.</p>
<p>So my biggest recommendation is–no limitations. Let her do everything she can. Challenge her and let her be challenged. Learn what is “normal” for her and help her where she struggles. Basically do what you’d do for any other child. </p>
<p>Agreeing with VAMom. When my older son was first diagnosed with severe/profound hearing loss, his audiologist told us “well, he might be able to talk some day or he might be able to communicate with you”. Then three months later, my younger son was diagnosed with profound hearing loss. Maybe we were fortunate that both our kids were in the same boat because we didn’t treat them in any way that would indicate they had a difference. Fast forward 18 years. Son 1 is a junior in a small LAC and a theater major and has the lead role in the spring play at his college. Son 2 is a freshman in college, on the golf team, and hoping to do something in the sciences. Son 2 loves Spanish - which amazes me that he’s able to. Both are engaged, passionate about what they do, and have wonderful friends. Just what any parent wants for their kids. I’m really glad I decided to not pay great attention to their audiologist at the time because I might have limited them without meaning to. What VAMom said! I don’t think you can predict given an IQ or a diagnosis and it’s probably best to not try.</p>
<p>Sigh. I’m sorry. When you get hit with something like this, it’s tough to figure out what to think and do. I’m not anything in Special Education, but I can tell you that kids with very similar, same IQs, can really be very different in what they can achieve. There is now a multi faceted IQ test that more accurately judges other things than what that simple number does. </p>
<p>Even with higher IQs, kids on the spectrum, with no common sense, with emotional issues, and other things can have difficulties in progressing in life. The big divide, IMO is whether or not a person will be able to care and support ones self, and in DH’s family some very high IQ kids grew into adults who simply could not deal with life. Particularly sad is one cousin who just cannot keep a job, follow directions, work with people. Can’t discern a lot of the subtleties of life. He has a college degree, but can’t get hired for any job as he is really sort of an idiot savant, though both words in describing him are really way too extreme. With friends and family, he’s okay, and under some supervision, he can do fine, but he cannot be trusted to do many things that most people can do. No real diagnosis has been made for him. When he went off on some venture, he did something stupid, ended up in jail, to no avail did his family appeal to the courts of his inability to deal with certain things. I have no doubt that he is not “bad”, just too easily led by others, and just can’t make good decisions. So with a pretty high IQ, as a convicted felon, (and had he kept his mouth shut when approached by police would not have been in this trouble) and his issues, he is really now stuck with menial work, low pay, few hours and not self sufficient and pushing 60 years old with elderly parents.</p>
<p>Another cousin was in special ed classes for some years, due to low test scores, and did not get a true degree from high school Worked at some tire company for years, but now in his late 40s, has managed to move up, get other jobs, get some certificate in plastics studies --something very specialized, makes a living wage, owns a condo and has a life. I don’t know his IQ number but it was south of 80, I know. Seems just fine. But his interpersonal skills were always decent and lot of his behaviorial problems when he was younger, he outgrew though at a slower rate than most. In contrast, the other cousin seemed to fall further and further behind in terms of dealing with the world, despite his academic prowess. </p>
<p>My neighbor has a brother with Down Syndrome, who is considered high functioning but due to some emotional issues cannot keep a job whereas she tells me that some kids who are lower on the IQ scale could, do to temperment and behavior. Her brother can read, but he can’t behave as he has to in order take any job. So IQ alone is hardly the whole thing when it comes to dealing with the world at large.</p>
<p>My experiences with others I know mirrors what cpt says. It all depends and I’m not sure there is anyway to tell what the outcome will be at age 10. I don’t personally know of anyone with that IQ who has made it to college, but I do know a couple who have managed to succeed at “life” - hold down jobs, get married, etc. Back in the day they were labeled “slow.” I would get as much special ed support as possible with the goal always being to push rather than cope especially if there are no behavioral issues. </p>
<p>No personal experience with this, but you might take heart from this story:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/10/health/human-factor-harris/”>Breakfast, lunch and hugs at Tim's Place - CNN;
<p><a href=“http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/51281725”>http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/51281725</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://timsplaceabq.com”>http://timsplaceabq.com</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://interviewsthatmatter.net/2013/08/19/tim-harris-on-living-with-down-syndrome-i-call-it-born-to-be-awesome/”>http://interviewsthatmatter.net/2013/08/19/tim-harris-on-living-with-down-syndrome-i-call-it-born-to-be-awesome/</a></p>
<p>Tim was a high school classmate of my older daughter. He was part of the side-by-side program. (Not mainstreamed, but he did take some very basic level academic classes.) His winning personality made him a well known figure on campus. He was even elected Homecoming King their senior year. </p>
<p>(BTW, the food at his restaurant is really good too!)</p>
<p>I agree with many others here, IQ does not tell the whole story. Many sub tests make up an IQ test. A person could score very high in one subtest and very low in another area and end up with a 70. I work with kids and young adults with developmental disabilities. I have seen kids with 70 IQ who appear “normal”. I have seen some who I would have thought their IQ was much lower. I know of a kid with an IQ in the mid 70’s who is doing well at a small LAC! </p>
<p>I know a young lady that sounds very similar, but she is now 24 years old. (She was strangled by the umbilical cord before birth and suffered brain damage.) She graduated from high school (taking minimum requirements, special classes.) Her parents had her take the ACT with no accommodations just to see if she could possibly consider community college and how she truly compared to the other students. She scored a 10. She never took any college classes. She loves animals and has trained to be a dog groomer. Not sure how that went or if she ever finished the program. She works for/with her parents in a family business. She does have a driver’s license, but doesn’t drive much. I believe it took several tries for her to get the license at an older age. Her parents want to protect her because they are afraid she’d be vulnerable (to bullying or sexual harassment/abuse) in a typical workplace (like fast food or retail). She has a “boyfriend”–who is “on the spectrum.” Her tastes/behavior seem very young for her age–more like a 10-12 year old. She has few friends because most kids her age cannot relate to her.
Other than that, she does okay, but I doubt she would live independently or ever get married. </p>
<p>Atomom, that could be my aunt, my dad’s 1/2 sister who had brain damage at birth.
I remember going to her wedding though when she was probably 30 & I was about 10. As far as I know, she & her husband are still married and living in Port Townsend.</p>