IQ and learning disabilities

I’m not sure what you’re asking exactly but it sounds as if you might be asking if it’s possible that your daughter has an learning difference based on her IQ score

I’d say it’s possible for any child or person to have a learning difference regardless of their IQ score. An IQ score in and of itself does not suggest a learning difference.

What does suggest a learning difference is that your daughter struggles with reading. The way to tell if she does in fact have one would be to have her given other tests besides just the IQ test. The school can do that kind of testing - and they are supposed to.

Good luck.

Jenna,
Generally learning disabilities are diagnosed when there is a discepancy between a person’s IQ and their ability to perform at the level their IQ would suggest they should be able to. In other words, a person with average intelligence that performs at an average level isn’t LD, but a person with superior intelligence performing at an average level might be. There is some disagreement about whether this is a valid way to look at it buts its where most psychologists would start. If you have concerns about her you can request that she be tested, and those tests would look for that type of gap.

I would definitely take the 83 IQ w/ a whole pound of salt. My daughter’s IQ was around 40 when she was 6 and is over 100 now. Children w/ ld often have many problems w/ IQ tests.

If you think she has a ld she probably does. I would suggest a child study and make sure it’s thorough.

Thank You to all who responded. I suspected a LD before I found out how she scored on the IQ test. John’s response made a lot of sence. I spoke with my daughter’s school principal and teachers and they too think she may have a LD. Her teacher stated she was “surprised” it wasn’t investigated before now. (She changed schools this fall). I signed the forms to start the screening orocess. Hopefully it won’t take too long. I’d like to start intervention as soon as possible before she falls too far behind. Thanks again

Jenna

What she was most likely given was the TCS (Test of Cognitive Skills) which is a group administered IQ test and really stinks at giving information. A WISC is a more relevant test of a child’s IQ because it tests both verbal and performance IQ and a discrepancy between those 2 scores is a glaring red flag of a possible LD. It can, however be accurate so further testing should be done.

Prime example, my son was being tested for admittance to a gifted program at the end of 3rd grade. He was given the TCS and he scored a 102. In protest, I had him tested privately and he scored a 154 on the WISC. He has ADHD. The district then gave him 2 other tests that were not group administered-he scored a 135 on one of them and a 127 on another ( would have to pull out a file that I don’t feel like looking for to tell you what tests they were but one was the SAGES and the other began with an O). What the issue was for him, depending on the time of day, the day of the week, what kind of morning he had, and what planet the moon is in that particular day, his socres are all over the place.

The TCS is good at helping identify “possible” problems. Many districts do use them for all students but a child who scores low should then go through other testing.

What I would do is ignore the IQ score and start teaching your daughter how to read using the program found in the book Reading Reflex. It is thought that Einstein had learning issues and he certainly had a high IQ. If you need help, email me directly and I will help you. Given your daughter’s age, it would be probably take a very short amount of time to improve her reading. Don’t ask for testing until you work with her reading, special education can be a dead end street for many kids.

Find out if she was given the WISC IQ test and then find out what the verbal score was and then find out what the performance score was because if there was a difference of 15 or more, she may have a non verbal learning disability which entails many things.