Thanks for being so understanding and controlling the debate. I would like it to be always about the child/adult and autism.

You are right, i live in India, where English is my third langauge ( after my native tongue, and C++ ( hey, its India you know! ))

Regards

Ajai

I live in a country where people’s first language is not English, and I know when insults are being slung by non-native speakers.

I have just deleted a couple of comments because I thought the discussion was in danger of degenerating into personal insults.

Please remember that autistic people writing here are sometimes going to appear pedantic, “crossing the i’s and dotting the t’s“.

By the same token, those of us who are familiar with the idioms of UK or US English ought to remember that, for some contributors, English may not be their first language. In such cicumstances, “crossing the i’s and dotting the t’s” of their contributions may not be the right way to take the debate forward.

Carry on.

You missed my point entirely.

The tests are not designed for any NT-spectrum, although it may seem so. They are designed according to what the current thinking in cognitive psychology suggests are essential skills for academic progress, and they are developed as a means to assess individual aspects of ability as they related to educational success. Since rocket science is mostly Newtonian mechanics, you are right to think that test development is not rocket science: it is somewhat more complicated than Newtonian physics (diss my science, I’ll diss yours, okay?). My point is that tests aren’t designed for any particular set of people, but that the Wechsler will pick up more sensitively than the Raven (as will most multidimensional tests, when compared to those with one dimension of measurement that is highly ‘g’-saturated).

1. There is such a thing as stimulus overselectivity; you need to get a hold of yourself ( or go to bed) .

2. read my post – the question is not about my qualifications ( i am, by association of profession, a rocket scientist – and i read ecelectically, from the Albert’s “Myth of Sisyphus” to Woody’s “side effects” ( which, one could argue, is one and the same )

3. I was talking about inflicting my child with an IQ test designed by NTs for the NT spectrum ( not doing one on him myself – though i believe it is not rocket science)

4. It is always a pity ( and a bit tedious) when one has to constantly dot the i’s and cross the t’s, but i shall bear that in mind in my posts to the forum in the future.

I remain
sincerely yours
Ajai

read as: I DO not know…

Typing in the dark… my girlfriend’s still in bed.

Firstly, unless you are a psychologist, you cannot do an IQ test that has any serious meaningful result. Test users need training in how to understand the results of tests as well as how to administer them.

Secondly, to my knowledge, all IQ tests may have been designed by so-called NTs… I so not know, and I do not care. The tests are designed to tap into spaceific aspects of intellectual functioning, and there are some aspects that a Wechsler test will not touch that the Kaufman tests will, and vice versa. Tests are chosen on the basis of what aspects of intellectual ability a psychologist is attempting to assess, and often – with regard to the Wechsler (for example) – it isn’t even the FSIQ score that is being examined… it may wall be (and usually is, in my experience) the patterns of performance in the subtest profile that give the best idea of how someone is functioning intellectually. IQ – for the general population – will reasonable reliably predict success in academics; but the tests have limited ranges of convenience, just like the contructs they assess. And this has to be borne in mind when talking about tests of intellectual ability.

Just my two-penn’erth as an autistic psychologist.

I beg to disagree with your statement that the LFA/HFA debate is irrelevent. It is irrelevent only to the HFA people. But to LFA’s who cannot communicate their needs and have acute sensory issues etc, it is important that we acknowledge that it is a different kettle of fish, and take into consideration what their caregivers ( or other autistics who can communicate to them – i read in one blog that autistics can communicate to autistics !) have to say. I also would like to mention that nobody talks about mental retardation in these blogs, as if it is not associated with autism, and that it is only due to a skewed NT inspired IQ test regime that they are termed mentally retarded. But MRI and other scans have shown differences in brain structure in specific areas that coincide with the behaviour shown. For example my son has delayed mylenation in some parts of his brain. The symptoms shown covers all the 16 odd ( no pun) parameters that define autism. I have never done an IQ test for him with the intent of finding out how intelligent he is coz i know it is NT designed, and that it does not define who he is. But i also refuse ( no i am not in denial -phuleese read the whole sentence) to define him as autistic just because he shows the symptoms. He is so much more than the sum of his symptoms.

ajai