Bert had his first full psych eval done at school. This is done primarily to assess the IQ, and assist in determining placement. This is a quick explanation of the IQ bell curve. See the very bottom of the curve? That lowest percentile of people? That little tip of the bell that is <60? That is Bert. He's down in that teensy bit of bell.
I am not a delusional person. I have a pretty good grasp on the daily living and cognitive skills of my son, and I know that he functions still about at the level of a 2 year old, more or less. He turned six last week, so I have been parenting the same growing child, now 50 lbs as a 2 year old for about 4 years. We have effectively ruled out the autism aspect as instead severe Sensory Processing Disorder coupled with a very low IQ and ADHD. Honestly, I'm not convinced that the ADHD is accurate. C'mon, what kind of attention span do you expect a 2 year old with SPD to have?
Alas, it is difficult to read a report in which your child's intelligence is graphed and documented in formal language by a licensed psychologist that states your son tested low compared to his same age peers, over and over. It sucks to see a number that has been referred to as "trainably mentally impaired" or "severely mentally impaired". Though I did not relish reading it, it was like reading a story that I'd heard over and over again in spoken word. The document was newly drafted, but it was not unexpected. I was pleased with myself that I handled it as the information that it was, no big emotional breakdown required. Yet still, I can't seem to get my mind to let go of the graph of my son's IQ.
5 comments:
((((((((HUGS))))))))
I wish there were words that would help you, or that I knew what they were ~ but I'll send hugs & just tell you to hang in there. A bell curve doesn't account for the great things your kiddo can do & all the ways he can prove the Dr's wrong. Just because they wrote their opinion down (and used a big graph & charts!) doesn't make them completely right.
I don't know why, but seeing things like this in writing is always tough... wish I could make it feel better, but I know that I really can't.
Don't forget, Leejo, that it's only a number. Having that number on paper doesn't make him any less who he is -- any less special, any less beautiful, any less loved. You're both in the 110th percentile in my bell curve :)
And thank you sooooo much for adding Rhett and Parker's benefit button to your site -- you're an angel! :)
(((Hugs))) Leejo!
it is really hard to read those numbers, I sure know that. You know though, the Doctors simply CANT get an accurate IQ on a kid with few verbal skills and so much else going on. They cant see the things you see at home, the little signs that he is really very bright in his own way. I know this because I see in my own child the same things. I remember when she was teeny, getting a REALLY bad report from a developmental eval clinic. They had her pegged, all figured out, so they thought. It hurt to read it, but I tossed it away. They could NEVER know my child, or her intelligence, which is so much MORE than her IQ score. I think that if there was a measuring stick for hearts, our kids would win the lottery. What is more important, the IQ or the heart? I know a lot of brilliant, arrogant, cruel people. I prefer the heart, myself. But I also know that the tests hurt, reading someone elses interpretation HURTS. I wish they could know what you and I know...our kids are perfect, they defy measurement. (((hugs)))
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