Intelligence Explained, Part Two: Learning Disability & Giftedness

Yeah, I like to think about it like the role IQ testing or IQ scores play in our lives, right, or in society.

So That can be assessments, like you're saying, and diagnosis.

But also, I was just looking up that MENSA, right? I forget what MENSA actually stands for.

But essentially, you have to have a certain IQ score tested at one of their approved testing places.

And you have to be in the top 2% to join this club, right? So, and this club has been around for a while.

There was ideas, I think, way back that if people with high IQs got together and procreated that we would just create this really super quote unquote smart society and they would, you know, like, and it's been around for a long time and I don't think all that much has really changed.

I don't think, you know, all of the Mensa folks are running the world or, you know, showing success in all areas of life.

So, yeah.

But it is kind of a neat experiment that has happened.

Well, this is, again, another discussion that I've had with parents before when it comes to that top 2%, the giftedness.

If only the top 2% ran this world, we'd be in trouble.

We'd be in trouble.

Um, and so, no, it's not just the top 2% who run the world.

Many, many people from different backgrounds, different abilities.

I go back to different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to one's cognitive profile, right? You will gravitate towards work.

That is your strength.

I wanted to make a comment.

Actually, I wanted to make it last episode, but it escaped me like with ADHD, uh, attention executive function.

That is one one area of concern that can really affect someone's testing scores, right? So that is one, like if someone's getting an assessment, a psychoetic assessment, and that might be listed as like these results should be interpreted with caution because the student had difficulty attending to the exam or to the subtests, right? And that'll show up a lot in like processing speed, right? where either it takes them really long to do it or they're making careless kind of errors, right? So again, as a clinician, we're looking at all of these kind of things that we're measuring to come up with our best guess at why this student is either doing really well or struggling in school.

And lots of times they're flagged because they are struggling in school and we're looking at why they might be struggling.

And IQ alone, IQ alone might be that answer.

It might be that they're...

Actually, I've seen this even in my office where a student with counseling and they've gotten really good at faking that they understand something by like nodding and smiling.

And then they get an IQ test and their verbal comprehension is terrible.

Like they...