My Little boy's I.Q. is lower than average, and he has PDD-NOS. How can I help him?

I have a 6 1/2 year old son. He's the sweetest little guy anyone would ever meet. He has PDD-NOS (high functioning autism) and has had a couple I.Q. tests, both of which he scored around 78 overall, and his skills place him at the age of a child who is at 4 years 3 months.

I do work with him at home to help him learn his alphabet, numbers, etc. He also attends preschool and will be attending kindergarten in the fall. He's in the regular classroom, but has a special ed helper in the room with him.

It seems to take a lot to get him to retain the information I give to him. I don't mind working with him, but I want to help him make the most of everything. If I work with him and give him lots of support, is college a possibility for him in the distant future? Does anyone know any tricks or ANYTHING I can do to help him? I love him so much - I just want him to have a wonderful life.

Hi, I am right with ya. My 7yr old son is PDD.NOS just finished kindergarten in a full-inclusion classroom and has had IQ tests that have come up in a similar range one was 73 full scale which is BIF (borderline intellectual functioning 71-84). My son's PRI perceptive reasoning index was 84 its the speech that is pulling him down. IQ testing for the spectrum population is highly unreliable. Also EMH educable mentally handicapped is for kids below 70-55. This is mild mental retardation, and like most PDD.NOS kids our sons don't qualify for this classification or help for cognitive disabilities. My son has an IEP for developmental delay.

My son is also a little slower to catch on to some things and we do work at home. Suggest Orten-Gillingham multisensory crack the code workbooks cost $7.25. College is for sure a possibility. Suggest getting Dr. Temple Grandin's book "Developing Talents", she is autistic spectrum herself. This book gives you ideas of what careers would be beneficial to your son and how you can start preparing him as young as a 5 yr old. Spectrum kids are notorious for having a short short term memory but having an excellent long term memory with high fluid intelligence scores. Good luck I am sure he will have a wonderful life!

PDD.NOS is a diagnosis of only having some features of autism, also to have this diagnosis you need a minimum IQ of 80-85. Many kids carry this diagnosis and it isn't evident on the IQ scores. My son's neurologist says the scores are wrong he is at least low-ave intelligence and that the scores are given by unqualified psychologists that don't specialize in neurological disorders and that the test are heavily language based further depressing the scores. The IQ tests were designed for NT's (neurotypicals). Whomever dx your son PDD.NOS felt that his IQ was not impaired otherwise you would have gotten a different dx. My neurologist says that my son will have a full life complete with college, marriage and kids and that his PDD.NOS isn't preventing him from having any of those things. (My neurologists personality is not one that sugar coats and tells you everything will be ok, he is very blunt)

I have a 2 yr old and they suspect that he has pdd-nos. We'll find out next month. Anything is possible and your son has such a good mom I'm sure he will be highly successful. Just be patient. I chose to stay home and home school my children because I don't want Ethan to feel different. They explained to me that he would have some classes in special ed and some classes in a regular classroom and that seemed like to much. I bought some reading rabbit games for my 4yr old and ethan really likes those. I started to notice that even though he doesn't speak he would repeat what the game said and he started to recognize words. You should try something like that to learn reading, colors, shapes, etc...

Love your child. That will ensure that he has a wonderful life. A lot of repetition is needed for him to grasp some things but you may never know what he really knows unless he shows you. You have your child in school and he should be under the umbrella of Special Education, they should have what is known as an ARD meeting for your child yearly. They should bring in specialist that can give you information and assistance in helping your baby. Also get in touch with Mental Health and Mental Retardation Association (MHMRA) and see what services they can provide. In addition some children with Autism have some what normal lives. It takes some adjusting, but as I said, Love is the key. It is so apparent that you do already just keep on doing what your doing.

u can teach him to sit or beg...ok im sorry im just jokin...but in all seriousness i.q. dont mean jack...a good life wont be measured on his i.q...i have a pretty high i.q and i failed almost every class in school..my last day of night school was on graduation ceremony night which i had to take summer school every year thru junior high and high school and they let me go a 1/2 credit short..and never went to college im now 33 years old making 30 bux an hour doing monkey work...trust me ill bet i work with more guys that yer son would kill in an I.Q. test then youll ever know

ok i had to throw this in..i gotta appologise about the 1st comment but i try to keep my answers light hearted..but it did sound a bit on the bad side

See what services are available to you from your local public school or city. (Your child is able to recieve public school services even if he attends a private school--they are paid for by your taxes.) Getting him services from speech therapists and other specialists is key. They can help support you and also will be able to tell you how to most effectively help your son.
Keep at it, don't get discouraged, and continue to be the strongest advocate your son has.