My son goes back to school tomorrow to start the 2nd semester of his junior year. He will be taking a photography class this semester and he is really looking forward to it.
I have a phone call appointment with our lawyer’s law clerk on Wednesday to work on the initial application for disability. I will be glad to get that ball rolling.
S had some psychological testing done in October, to get a firm grip on a diagnosis for him. Part of the testing was an IQ test. It came back as a 75 for him, sort of borderline. I have only told my D (college senior, graduating this May) and one friend what the score is. They were both surprised and thought that he functioned better than that. D has agreed to be her brother’s payee if he should be awarded disability with a back pay lump sum.
Bajamm, good luck with the application for disability for your son.
Those IQ numbers dont tell the whole story. Our DD score is less than your sons.
We are amazed at what she CAN do so we dont dwell on the number.
My son’s detailed IQ score came out to 100, even though he is maintaining a 3.8 GPA as a college senior in applied math! The psychologist explained that his processing speed is very slow now, and that’s what brought his overall score down. He said cases like this make it clear why the IQ test is flawed. It does not tell the whole picture if you look only at the overall score. During the test, my son was able to put a puzzle together within 30 seconds, a speed that the tester had never seen before. My son said he could just see it in his head.
Neurotypical people tend to have IQ test subscores that cluster: if one subscore is 115, the others are likely to be 118, 110, 120, etc. Averaging those numbers makes sense: it gives a good picture of the overall person.
But some of our disabled kids have subscores that are all over the map. Averaging a 70 subscore with a 130 subscore to get an overall score of 100 does not provide a good picture of the overall person. With big differences in subscores, it makes no sense to average. The IQ of 100 doesn’t describe MaineLonghorn’s son well.
My son got a letter that he needs to have a phone interview with someone from SS. I’m sure it’s just a formality (he was approved about a year ago for benefits), but I still get nervous! I guess I will be a helicopter parent and listen in, just in case I need to add something.
My son’s SS phone interview went fine. The woman was very nice. She just verified all of his assets and determined that he wasn’t receiving assistance from any other government sources. Whew! It’s not a lot of money, but it pays for his monthly college tuition payments and a few extras such as equine therapy.
I just read that the ABLE act passed, but only people who were approved for SS before age 26 will be allowed to start a savings account. So our kids will be covered, but I feel bad for people who won’t qualify for it.
My DD is not disabled overall, but has a processing LD, her IQ score is literally 30 points higher than her processing subscore. I agree that they should not average the low and high scores, it seems much more predictive to look at the clusters.
@MaineLonghorn, I was so excited to see that pass, then I saw the part about having disabilities Dx before age 26, that is sad for all the adults who were disabled or diagnosed later in life.
I am so thankful for this thread. It’s the only place I’ve heard the new ABLE law mentioned! I told our financial advisor about it today, and he said it’s the first time he’s heard of it! And this is a knowledgeable guy. I wish there were a better way to get the word out. I’ve put it on my Facebook page, but that’s a limited audience. I think I will email our state NAMI people about it.
IQ subtests scores can vary notably, and its particularly true at the tiers of the bell curve. Its only when the differences are statistically significant that it matters. Even though a 15 pt difference is generally significant, the standard error of measurement, and big variances, particularly with high scores, may be meaningless.
I was responding to the comment that most neurotypicals scores cluster close together. Thats frequently not true. You have to look at the discrepancy scores and how frequently that discrepancy occurs in the population for the discrepancy to be meaningful. It may be statistically significant but clinically not meaningful. The 15 point criteria is one standard deviation.
MaineL- Ive learned alot on this thread also. I havent run into a group like this online, with so much to share.
I have the opposite problem regarding information.
Our DD attended a superb out of district special ed school for 10 yrs.
Extremely active parents group, alumni counseling and followup, adult clubs and services.
Parent seminars on guardianship, special needs trusts, SSI, etc
Information was abundant and overwhelming! More than i could assimilate.
DD is now 25. I am updated daily via email and webinar invites from the DDD, local ARC, support coordinator, local special needs parent group about EVERYTHING.
Im grateful but feel like im missing 80% of the info due to my old brain syndrome.
Wishing you could find what you need to know more easily.
Well, in the example I gave (115, 118, 110, 120) 110 and 120 are not within 5 points of each other, but I’m sure you’re right that neurotypicals typically have a bigger spread than 10 points. But not much bigger. Not 46.
