Autism and IQ

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I'm actually kind of curious how I'd test out now, I was in the low to mid 140s as a teen over a whole series of rather lengthy tests (my parents and the school were trying to figure out why I went from overachiever to troublemaker), but I've recently started taking ADHD meds that feel like they're clearing up the persistent brain fog and difficulty sticking with things that tripped me up in school, and I'd be curious if that was reflected in the results. Guess I'll have to dig out my records and see what tests I was given, it seemed like the took the better part of an afternoon to administer back then.

Funny note, I think in retrospect that a lot of my own difficulties were overlooked when I was younger because of the way my intellect manifested from a very young age, I read constantly and remembered everything and had this huge vocabulary, and together this had a way of dazzling adults into ignoring what in hindsight should have been seen as warning signs. When I was eventually diagnosed, every single person who knew me jumped right on the "little professor syndrome" description, as it was written as if based on personal observation of me as a child.

Last edited by Dox47 on 25 Jan 2022, 12:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

Mines was 130-160 which shocked me since I didn’t think I’d score so high, I guess my autistic features are different from my in after all

IQ is one factor why I have always been against the use of Spectrum as a descriptor. I think it gets perceived too easily by all sorts of people as a range or scale, and I think the various diagnoses, while maybe having interconnectivity, belong nowhere on a scale.
I'm not sure what I would replace it with though.

Perhaps I've been misunderstanding the concept, but I've always thought the idea of a spectrum was to get away from the view of "different autisms" as being on a linear scale from "low functioning" to "high functioning".

/Mats

I'd personally prefer a multi dimensional approach to functioning levels instead of a 'blanket low or high functioning'. One that acknowledges your strengths and weaknesses across individual areas.

Yes, HFA/LFA are crude labels that leave a lot to be desired, plus they really seem to upset some people. On the other hand, I do use them myself as a sort of shorthand left over from my experience organizing AS support groups, as there was a certain "I know it when I see it" cut off line that came from meeting a lot of autistic people over the years and seeing which ones did better in our groups than others.

My ADHD was overlooked until adulthood because of this. I skated through grade school because I knew all of it already. It became a problem in 8th grade when I was put on medication for anxiety and depression, which put me to sleep, and when first faced with a subject I didn't immediately understand, I couldn't cope with it and shut down. I assumed that just because I didn't immediately grasp it, that I could never do it. I also overthought everything. When I started algebra 1, I got hung up on every little thing because, while following the rules and getting the answers right was easy, I was trying to understand why these concepts existed in the first place and trying to make sense of that. When I got into geometry and had to learn proofs, I got hung up on the difference between sine, cosine and tangent, and why exactly we were applying them and what they meant or what their utility was, when all I had to do was solve the problems.

I recently went back and revisited the things that had confused me so much, and realized just how easy they were. I realized I had been overthinking it for years.

Combined with my ADHD, which is in the 97th percentile, I couldn't handle the courseload or really even keep track of it. It was undiagnosed until 2 years ago, so my complete lack of ability to follow a routine, keep a planner or follow reminders that I set resulted in a lot of problems, including not being able to sit down and actually complete assignments or even remember when a paper worth 40% of my grade is due. The severe PTSD didn't help, either.

Just out of curiosity what age groups do you work with?

My daughter was attending F2F AS support groups between ages 14-15 but reverted to online between 15-16 because of COVID. She was/is on the lower end of the AS spectrum (high IQ low social skills) but the kids who attended these sessions were a really mixed bunch, a few kids (mostly the girls) were "NT types" but my daughter seemed to interact better with the boys her age who were just happy to have somebody to talk to.

The problem I have with the older "teen talks" for 15+ teens with AS is that the conversations turn to dating and crushes and things that my daughter is really confused about, This has had an impact when she goes back to school on/off F2F where she seems to be having crushes on boys and on one occasion a crush on a girl. I am not even sure she knows what it means to her.

If you got any tips on how to explain this stuff to a AS teenage girl who struggles with social skills I'd be interested to hear it.

That''s interesting. AS= Aspergers?. I fit in the very high IQ, and from what has been said, very poor social skills category. I guess that might place me at the lower end too?!. Of course the situations aren't the same,thankfully for your daughter. She's a 15 year old who's getting help and support,and I'm a 65 year old who's never had the help.

I hope she succeeds in fulfilling whatever potential she has.

Thanks firemonkey. She keeps playing catchup with her peers on social skills. We scaffold where we can but ultimately t's really up to her. Yes I remember you mentioning your conundrum balancing a high IQ with other deficits, like a lot of WP members you have an impressive knowledge of things.

It's sometimes amusing, she lately has been composing her own music watching classical piano and violin and copying music scores from animated cartoons (she finds it funny). But she also spends countless hours writing discussions with people on teen talks on sheets of paper, I am not sure if she is studying the conversations or if its just cathartic for her to write the discussions she memorises on paper? I don't know.

I had piano lessons from the age of 8-13. It was an extra curricular activity at prep school. I had absolutely no aptitude for it. Hence I didn't even get good enough to pass the lowest exam.

My guitar teacher gave up on me after a couple of lessons.

last music teacher i consulted basically hinted strongly [though she was willing to take my duckie$$$] that i had no talent. she said i failed a first-line musical aptitude test when i coordination would not allow me to do "quads" [tapping-out a musical rhythm with hands and then instantly reversing said pattern without a hitch]. said to be musical was also to be well-coordinated and athletic.

Regarding music,
The Swedish system was (is?) like this:
You first take a couple of lessons playing the recorder, and depending on how well you do you get to go ahead with the instrument of your choise, second choise, third choise etc.
I was so bad, I had to stick to the recorder.
I've always had a bit of an ear for tunes/melodies, but never had a sense of rythm.

/Mats

As with a lot of other self-help DIY tutorials you can find on Youtube, there's also some really good music ones as well for anyone who is a budding piano or recorder player and wants to catch up where they left off back in school.

prefers to just go to work, to buy groceries and appointments only but isolates inside the house the rest of the time

Has an big obsession with the saints in church and collects information and watches videos on them.

Flaps fingers together, makes random hand gestures and pinches herself or punches herself when overwhelmed

Gets irritable and flustered in stores when people are blocking the isles, bumps into people and long lines and occasionally gets overwhelmed

Paces around the house

Is super stressed and anxious after getting back home and sometimes cries

Talks about nothing but their ideas for comics and stories while at work

Hates when the boss tells them to switch tasks unexpectedly

Gets irritated when brakes are slammed on, car hits bumps unexpectedly

Doesn’t like coughing, arguing, sirens, loud motors, people stomping, glass clanging, loud concert music and similar stuff

If this has been going on all her life,
what would her chances of being diagnosed with ASD and what level?