IQ tests??

K,

I would not say that it “invalidates” the IQ test. If the auditory processing interferes with certain tasks on the IQ test, then it will show up as scatter in the subtest scores. It may show a higher performance than verbal score, but not necessarily. The IQ test shows how the person is functioning at that time. It gives very valuable information to the audiologist testing for APD. My child’s performance score was only 4 points higher than the verbal, so that is insignificant.

I can’t see why retesting would make any difference unless some significant therapy has been done. Even so, that does not mean the IQ score would improve. You can’t just “fix” APD and then retest. I personally would not tell a child their IQ score for the very reason you list above.

Janis

I think it also has to do with the nature of the disability. If a child’s AP keeps them from understanding instructions then they are going to score lower. With my son, the examers said that he had difficulty following directions. We then did Fast Forward and saw improvement across the board. Now my son was 5 with the first IQ test and 7 at the second so it is also possible that maturation was part of the explanation as well. We saw a 15 point change from borderline to average.

Beth

I do not know much about auditory processing, but I do know that IQ tests make certain assumptions that are hard to test around.

Children with profound verbal skills (like autistic) have a great deal of trouble understanding the directions given to them. Even the non-verbal style tests have a good bit of verbal instruction in them, and this can skew the results.

Children with profound attending problems, or strong sensory issues can be hard to test when they are in a new environment filled with lots of distractors that may not be present in a very familiar environment. So they are less likely to be able to focus on all the things being asked of them as the contend with strange sights, sounds and especially smells that the rest of us would barely notice.

Finally, and most importantly, all IQ tests rely upon a willingness to be tested. Children with profound compliance issues (again like autistic children) will be very hard to test accurately. We assume that the testee will try to answer the questions or complete the tasks when we test them. The tests will score refusal to answer the same as inability to answer.

So when Lovaas found that 35+ hrs. of ABA helped half of the autistic children double their IQ’s from mid 30’s to high 70’s, he did not really give them more ability to think, he gave them compliance and attending skills which allowed them to be tested more accurately.

It is unfortunate that so much of special ed offerings are based upon things like sometimes faulty IQ scores.

The question of whether IQ tests are valid and reliable measures of academic performance has been debated in lots of places…look at http://alpha.fdu.edu/psychology/low_scores.htm Ask the individual who tests your child if they feel that “snap shot” is a valid measure of your child’s intelligence. Certainly repeat testing at age 8 and after is a good idea as testing of young kids is not cast in stone.

That is so true! Unfortunately the IQ differential with achievement scores impowers decisions about services. In my meetings we cover those subjects you eluded to and try and determine validity of testing.