Mental Retardation? Average to above average on other areas?

mommytoconnor

Devel peds did a test on my almost 4 year old. She said she was perplexed by results. Little background, son adopted substance exposed at birth dx with SPD and ADHD, receptive and expressive speech delay. She said he landed smack in the typical developing range for most areas, but was far above peers in numbers and letters. Area for "cognitive" was 76 and 70 is mental ratardation. She said so being so close to the 70 would make him mentally retarded. She couldn't explain this to me. The test she gave him she would ask him something, but not clear concise short questions it was like 10-15 words long in 2 or 3 separate sentences. He has a receptive speech delay. Is this a fair and accurate test. Honestly, there was a couple of times I didn't follow what she was asking and neither did his grandma. When the words mental ratardation came out of her mouth I nearly fell off my chair. His preschool teachers even say how smart he is and how well he is doing. Do I think he is going to need help thru school, yes, I am not blind to this, do I think he is mentally retarded, absolutely not. She even said that if DDD found out how well he scored they would kick him out of the DDD program, well how is that possible if he has mental retardation? Can anyone shed light on this kind of testing and what type of testing I should be asking for to get a more accurate eval. I can't remember the name of the test she gave, although I would remember it if I saw it, it was a flip chart test. TIA

d.f

What I was told by the psych, who did the full Dev eval, is at this age (he was almost 4 at the time) the tests are an accurate demonstration of where a child currently is but they are not a predictor of the future.  <p>

My DS scored low average (I think) on the cognitive testing (I can't remember which one) at almost 3yr 10 months. Less than a year later he scored average during a study we took part in using a different test.<p>

  His Gen Ed kindergarten teacher has education and a background in SpEd including the K-6 ID classroom. She has repeatedly told me how smart he is and that she thinks his presentation is more Aspergeri-ish. However, he is repeating K primarily because he's not where he needs to be for first grade in Early literacy skills.(he's also the second youngest in the class, the youngest is one day younger and also repeating).<p>

ETA. I think the Mullen Scales were a flip book.

ToastieSimons

I'm shocked you were told he is mentally retarded.  First, it's shifting over to intellectually disabled.

Both of my sons have an X-Linked Intellectual Disability so I've been though the mill with hearing the terms thrown around.  It still hurts but it's not so shocking anymore.  I tend to take "absolutes" with a grain of salt.  The neurologist told us my older son would never walk, his tone was just too high and he had severe associated movement.  He couldn't separate his movements between his left and right side.

Guess who is now walking and climbing stairs before the age of 4?  Yep, my oldest son.  For a clinician to tell you that your son is absolutely mentally retarded intellectually disabled is kind of strange. I would understand administering this test to see how his expressive and receptive delays are affecting him, but at this age nothing is absolute.

My son doesn't point, has 0 words, 0 signs, and 0 receptive language. If you said Ball he wouldn't even look for a ball, he'd smile at you.  He doesn't mimic anything, guestures, facial expressions, or sounds.  

If an IQ test was administered to him I doubt they could even score it.  But if you look at my child, he obviously understands way more than is testable.  He knows to bang on on the door if he wants to go outside, he can bring me food to open and feed him, he laughs, he smiles, he loves music, he's starting to dance, he can spin around till he's dizzy and laugh hysterically, he knows where the toys are kept, he knows how to get to the swings, he knows when we pull into the parking lot at school where we are, he knows his classroom, he knows his sippy cup, he knows his bed, and his lovie.

I just think IQ tests are so unpredictable at this age especially in a child with a mixed language delay.

Is there a reason they want this testing done?  Is it used to qualify him for services of some sort?

mommytoconnor

Thank you for all your responses. I too was a bit taken off guard by the term mental retardation as I haven't actually heard this term used in quite a while. Auntie, I truly value what you have said. My son is in a preschool class receiving ST and will be mainstreamed in K, although he still has one more year of preschool. His scores for letters numbers areas was 120, which is way above where typically developing peers his age are at. and then he was right in the middle of typical devel kiddos in the other areas. I am sure that because of his delays he will have continued delays and learning issues in school, I am totally aware of this. I agree that I won't push for any other formal testing just yet. I just needed some other parents to weigh in on their thoughts to see if this at all sounds right. I will say I am looking into a diff deve peds, we butted heads on numerous things. She decided at the end of the appt when he's been patiently waiting in the room for almost 2 hours to do the test, so he of course didn't pay attention to some of what she asked. She is very confrontational and almost defensive and I am beginning to think it's not a good match. She comes highly recommended and is tops in our state, but I am thinking of trying to get a new one. I sometimes find that I have to ask her for services like ST,OT, etc. I sometimes think what she wants us to do is a waste of time and not really addressing the issues at hand, if that makes sense. I thank you all for your input.

 

Assembly_Reqd

She sounds wacked to me.

It is one snapshot in time. That day he was ID, tomorrow he could test Genius.

What his IQ is now doesn't matter and I would tear up any trace of the report this Dev Pedi writes. I wouldn't even mention it at school. You KNOW the report is WRONG. No reason to give anyone else fuel to underestimate your child.

If you have all his supports in place revisit it later. He is just too young and easily distracted right now. Nate would test poorly too with someone who does not know him and spends maybe a half hour of time with him per calendar year.