Autism and IQ

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Exactly Blabs, everyone on the spectrum had fluid levels of intelligence that varies over time and within specific areas of specialisation/interest.

"This should not be used as a measure of general intelligence." - The inventor of the IQ test.
World + dog: "lol yup we'll use it for that"
IQ should be thrown on the scrapheap along with BMI

It keeps getting colder, but yes winter starts on the shortest day. So you're right. The days get longer during the course of the winter.
Duhhhhhh... i knew dat.

You get 24 hour daylight for 6 months at the North Pole, 24 hour darkness for the other 6 months.

Isabella would be out of luck from March to
September.

No problem - I know it seems counterintuitive.

My first stroke was in my cerebellum, and I was told that cerebellums don't have neuroplasticity because their function is too complex. It's job is the fine-tuning of all the other brain parts so no other part of the brain can compensate for them when they're not working. They don't heal well either. Then I read that cerebellar damage in babies is often linked to Autism. That's why we can't "fine tune" a lot of our gestures or thinking patterns and we seem a little rough around the edges in terms of social behaviour or adaptability. I'd like to know more about that. I'm not saying of course that all Autism is linked to cerebellar damage but I know in my case I was born Autistic (for whatever genetic reason) and then I got the double-whammy of an acquired brain injury to my cerebellum.

Sorry - I feel like I'm veering off topic so I'll step out of the thread now.

We have to stop being so rigid. Isabella didn’t veer away from the topic that much. Her story is relevant to this discussion.

Figures from the CDC:-

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/ss/ss6706a1.htm

25% were in the borderline below average range (IQ 71–85), and 44% had IQ scores in the average to above average range

So according to official stats the majority of autistic people or 56 % - had below average IQ broken down into:-

25% - below average 71-85
31% - Intellectually disabled 70 or below

Leaving:-

44% - average or above on IQ

IQ measure is only useful in extremes (you're really low or really high). A more interesting aspect of some forms of autism are the neurological limitations related to abstraction. They can't seem to abstract out generalized representations of something. Take what you think of with "Church". A non-autistic child might draw a rudimentary abstraction with a tall narrow house-like shape, some door-shaped windows, a steeple, a cross sticking out, spires if you want to get fancy, and abstract that out to all churches. Temple Grandin on the other hand has said she has a very specific photograph of individual churches in mind, she has a fantastic memory but has this limitation.

I agree with Kraftie, and based on your contributions on WP the acquired brain injury and past trauma from previous relationships has not diminished your broad intelligence.

Not you specifically but there have also been plenty of members on WP who self disclosed as "low IQ" who are actually quite articulate and have great insight that I can barely scratch the surface.

I was diagnosed with Asperger's and my therapist wanted me to join Mensa but I didnt because I did not think I would fit in.

Thanks cyber.

Info dump / Science lesson: (TLDR) I'd put a Spoiler but I don't know how.

Cerebellar damage doesn't affect a person's intelligence, but I appreciate your comment. For the record, cerebellums are responsible for all the fine tuning of everything we do from balance and proprioception to the use of facial gestures, smooth and coordinated mannerisms, problem solving, subtle emotions, even tasting food or singing a song properly. Based on its position in the brain (the back, bottom of your skull, connecting left and right hemispheres), it's the last chain of command that our thoughts and movements go through prior to the brain stem or the central nervous system. When there's damage there, the synapses can't reroute or move backward to other parts of the brain. Think of cerebellums like the grand conductor of an orchestra. Without a functioning cerebellum none of our thoughts or movements are fully refined.

Studies do show that a lot of autistic babies are born with cerebellar damage which presents as Autism. To the best of my knowledge I wasn't born with any damage there, but I was Autistic likely because of genetics. After my stroke I couldn't mask anymore. I couldn't "fine tune" my thoughts or behaviours to blend in with people. All the autistic issues I had previously felt acute, and I couldn't hide them or cope with the burnout of my life as it had been.

My second stroke (ironically a year ago yesterday), didn't do as much damage or have lasting effects. I do notice though that I'm easily fatigued cognitively and emotionally. It's very tiring to read, to think critically, or to deal with any emotions at all. I feel kind of like my brain went to mush. I'm still smart; I just don't have much intellectual or emotional stamina now.

Sorry for the long ramble. ^

I don't know what my overall IQ is but in my ASD assessment my Verbal IQ was in the 25th percentile and my NonVerbal was 5th percentile. I was kind of surprised by Verbal being only 25th since I love the English language. Verbal doesn't just mean whether you speak or not, though. It measures your speed and fluency with auditory processing, understanding instructions, and that type of thing.

I don't see how they even know what kind of effort is being made by the person tested. I know what my sons are able to do (and they are probably able to do more). I also know they can ignore a task, regardless of what you, me or anyone else thinks about that. How do you go on testing under those circumstances?

Our ABA provider got to see one of our boys complete an association task - fish belong in water, hamburger goes with fries , etc. He did that by putting the pictures together. In a test he'd have to draw lines between them, something he can't do just yet or don't know the concept of.

in your opinion, what SHOULD it be used for then?

i used to wish that i could be a part of MENSA until i met a few of 'em in real life.

My IQ is 118. I remember when the test person read my results, (I went to an IRL center to take an IQ test. These online tests from what I gathered aren't as reputable and verified and accurate. But there are some online IQ tests as well.) I thought at first, that wasn't anything spectacular. Come to find out, 118, is actually quite high, so I was very shocked.

I also, quite frankly, don't give a solitary damn; as IQ really at the end of the day is bullcrap. All it is, is basically testing how you view common sense, and how outside of the box you think. I think it's also testing your trivial memory, and how you retain trivial facts. I don't consider myself better than anyone else, because I can solve riddles or puzzles or teasers easier, than others can.

For example, a question on a IQ test can read. "Mark has four older brothers. Mike, Maurice, Mason, and Marcus. Mike is 25, Maurice is 23, Mason is 19, and Marcus is 17. How old is Mark?"

A.18
B.15
C.22
D.24

The answer is of course, B. 15, as his brother Marcus is 17, and out of those options, that's clearly the correct response, and all the other ages are red herrings, and incorrect etc. This is also a relatively easy example, as they get much more difficult and complex, but you be surprised how even a riddle or teaser as elementary as this, can stump and fool certain people. Those who happen to get it right, aren't any better than anyone else, because they happened to solve a trivial riddle etc. So this is why IQ tests, and using an example question like that, doesn't mean a whole lot, in the grand scheme of things, so yeah. lol.

The main thing is putting IQ, no matter what score it is, to great use, whether that's environment wise, or infrastructure wise. You can have an high IQ, but still be a jerk, and not very kindly to others or bright. You can have a low IQ, but still excel academic wise and personality wise. So again, it's all bullcrap.

Whether IQ levels and autistic or atypical people correlate. At this point, my opinion is inconclusive on that, and I have to do more research, and I myself personally, don't like the "autistic savant" label. Someone who is gifted and talented, is gifted and talented, point blank period; autism or not etc., and that's probably a whole another topic, but yeah. So at this point, I'm going to back away, until I've researched some more, so yeah.

This is my opinion on all this. Thank you.