IQ and support needed-?

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Should the level of support a person on the spectrum is assessed to need be based on the person's IQ ?

Only somewhat.

Many other things have to be considered.

Absolutely not. I have a high IQ but many, many needs pertaining to non-verbal communication, social interaction, selective mutism, sensory processing disorder, prosopagnosia, executive function, repetitive behaviours, and my co-morbid disorders. These needs are entirely separate from the scores I can achieve on an IQ test.

^ ^^ I agree with both of you. I'm far from stupid , but have great difficulty with practical tasks. My executive functioning is not good,Nb organising and planning.

Have you tried to find an OT or a social worker, or I had even suggested Speech-Language Pathology? I know SLP might not sound relevant, but they're experts with executive function as it pertains to language (reading instructions, following verbal instructions, decoding information, planning step by step with lists, self-help such as making telephone calls, etc).

I have a care coordinator who gives me my monthly depot , but no OT or social worker. My stepdaughter has been instrumental in getting help for me to keep my flat clean . She also comes to appointments with me,takes me grocery shopping and helps with other practical tasks .

No, and the only reason I say no is that it would set a presidence which may exclude others with a high IQ who also need help. Some of the most intelligent people in society are the first to end up with mental breakdowns. I do believe that those witn very low IQ's should be checked up on to see that they are coping in life. Not to be too invasive, but just a check every year that they are coping ok, as I have a friend who is not coping and living in extreme conditions but as he is not classed as having a dissability there is no help, as a low IQ is not classed as dissabled. He is a very good communicator, but does not realize that he is not coping, so from an outward perspective it looks like he is doing ok. But no one checks how he lives. Not once has the house been cleaned since his Mum died about 10 to 15 years ago, and he lives with hardly anything left working with his electricity, and no heating... He is not really coping.

To conclude, I do not think the level of help should be due to ones IQ level, but I do think that those who were in special needs classes in school (Used to be classed as remdials) do need checking every few years just to see that they are coping.

...?

IQ should be taken into account but not as a defining factor - more as influencing the whole. IQ can change the shape of problems but I don't think it should be used to determine extent of difficulty, not on its own.

I would say the level of support needed is what should be taken into account. Someone with an IQ of 130 is likely to be better functioning than someone with an IQ of 70, but a person with an IQ of 130 could still struggle a lot, and need a lot of support.

I've come across people who think IQ is all that matters in assessing functioning. They are dismissive of 'adaptive functioning' .

Investigating the factors underlying adaptive functioning in autism in the EU‐AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.2081

Very simple counterargument. If IQ was all that mattered than persons of high IQ could not be diagnosed with autism because their functioning would be greater than an NT person with average IQ.

I think that's the danger about going with IQ. Because someone could have a very high intelect but be severly dissabled as well.
Likewize, one could be dissabled just because one has a very low IQ and no other issues. (In other words ghe very low IQ is enough of an issue in itself.

I think that though IQ does have a bearing on things, any assessment for the help a person may need should be considered based on the struggles that the individual may have.

Also a thouhht has occurred to me. Someone could habe a brain which gives excellent IQ results, but a certain tiny part if the brain does not function so the person is in effect dissabled when one tries to do a task which involves using tha damaged part of the brain. So by classing IQ as a determining feature, such a person will never recieve the help they need to function well in society or even outside society.

A lot of people who have a low enough IQ fall into a certain category of need of support in the form of guardianship.

Although others also fall into that category for other reasons.

A defining factor is not just how much support one needs but rather how much independence one is allowed. Or put another way, letting that person be independent would amount to neglect and placing them in danger.

So that's the level of support involved. Total guardianship being required.

^ I don't fall in that category(3) but it's debatable whether I'd be in level 1 or 2 if the UK used such levels. Adding to the question of which level I'd fit is comorbid schizophrenia .

I'm independent in the sense I live by myself , but I get a fair amount of support to do so. When I lived in Essex I had no support and was basically self neglecting . My care plan specifically says the support is to allow me to continue living independently in my flat .