What is the relationship between autism and IQ?
When tests of intellectual functioning (“IQ”) are administered prior to intensive behavioral intervention, many children with autism receive scores that fall in the range of mental retardation. When such intellectual deficits are observed along with deficits in adaptive living skills (e.g., dressing, self care, toileting, motor skills) and when these deficits are observed prior to age 18, a diagnosis of mental retardation is given. Tremendous scatter in the profiles of individuals with autism is often seen, marked by areas of significant deficit, as well as areas depicting average to well above average performance. However, the overall IQ scores, taken together, may fall within the range of mental retardation. This is often in contrast to individuals with other developmental disabilities who show more flattened performance (no significant scatter across subtests). It is for this reason that one should always examine subtest performance when evaluating or program planning for a person w
