What I didn't expect is that both boys showed an above average IQ. I have said Ehren and Christian's report cards look good in almost every subject except handwriting, so you may wonder why I was surprised by their high IQ scores. On Christian's initial evaluation three years ago, he scored below 70 on the IQ test, which classified him as a person with mental retardation. I think this has always been in the back of my mind, lowering my academic expectations for the boys.
Like you might expect for identical twins, their new total IQ scores were nearly equal, but the subtest scores were not. Ehren's scores were consistent across all areas of the test. Christian's scores on the verbal subtest were just average, but on the performance subtest, he was in the 99th percentile. The school psychologist said she has never had a student score so high on the block design test, which is one part of the performance subtest. Wikipedia reports that it is common for persons on the autism spectrum to have superior scores on the block design test, but Christian also did exceptionally well on matrix reasoning.
Although IQ only measures potential, you can imagine with these new numbers, the word potential has taken on a whole new meaning for me.
It goes to show, you shouldn't put much stock in a bad IQ score, because 3 years ago they weren't able to get the answers our of Ehren & Christian -- this time they are better able to answer the questions, and got a better score!
ReplyDeletePraise God! You have no idea how inspiring hearing about your two beautiful boys is for me. I know that the spectrum is broad and our children of course aren't identical, but I am uplifted by how well they are doing. Nate continues to show communication improvement....he amazes my husband and I everyday. We still have some major behavior issues, but we are hopeful. Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWonderful news! I agree with Bonnie, I debated whether or not I wanted Gabe to even have an IQ test (it was inevitable though) because with a child on the specturm there is no "sure" way to get a correct answer, especially at 3 or 4 years old. It just goes to show how far the boys have come. Hooray!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is terrific news and reflects well on you, mommy!
ReplyDeleteThat's great news! You have smart kids and congrats on their improvement. You are a great mother!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all your comments. This was such amazing news for me, but it was hard to find the right words. I may edit the test-speak at the end of post for clarity later... so if you ever re-read the post, don't be surprised if I've re-worded the end.
ReplyDeleteWow! That is amazing. :-)
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