When I was a child my IQ would flux like that from year to year. I have a learning disorder that falls under the "dyslexia umbrella". So one year I was a genus and the next I was mentally retarded.

Years after I graduated from high school, and was sort of adrift into life, I worked the evening shift in the medical records department of a learning hospital. Once night, I was hit with a migraine. My co workers rushed me to the ER, where they did a PET scan of my brain to see if I was having a stroke. At the time the PET scan was new. (It was a long time ago)

They told me that the language centers in my brain were the same size and asked me if I was dyslexic.

The crux of the biscuit is this, on one set of IQ exams I am a genus, on another I am retarded..... it depends on which exam I am given.

I have asked some of my friends (other artists) who are also dyslexic, or have some learning issue and they have had similar experiences.

By the way, I am a professional Artist. ;)

Does he have asperger's? My son has speech/ motor apraxia so we're kind of used to a "different" learning experience. I would turn to your neurologist for answers. This is not something to take lightly as I know you aren't. If you don't get answers there, talk to the pediatrician and other specialists you might be working with. If you don't get answers there, drop them and go to other professionals. Ask to talk to the social worker at your neurologist clinic. Have an IEP meeting and find out what needs updating.. I'm sure you have done this. Consider a psychologist, again get a referral from a respected pediatrician or neurologist. Finally, continue to recognize the talents in your son and hone in on them because that is what will make the difference long-term. Good luck to you.

Lisa

Liberality:

1) Have you had a neuropsych evaluation? If not, one is in order. Is he on the autism spectrum (Asperger's, PDDNOS, etc.)? If autism may be an issue, go to the autism clinic at a major university's medical school. It will probably be covered by insurance and you will get a multidisciplinary, reliable evaluation and ANSWERS!

2) Absent brain trauma as in a car accident or similar, your son hasn't suddenly become "dumber." Something else is at play here. My dyslexic/ADHD son, when he was in early elementary school, experienced almost as large an INCREASE in IQ score when he was placed on needed ADHD medication and had MSL reading instruction intervention for 18 mos. Our school psychologist, when we got the first (low) IQ score, told us it was inconsistent with other things and not representative of his actual intellectual abilities. This is just an example of how things other than IQ can impact IQ score.

momfromMA has given you an excellent resource in www.millermom.proboards107.com. There is very knowledgeable poster there, named Jisp, who has an artist background herself, along with 3 gifted adolescents that have various emotional issues, including bipolar. One of her sons is currently in a therapeutic school setting, and thriving.

As far as the IQ drop, I believe she's said that some medications can have a "cognitive dulling" effect, but it's also possible that your son was having a really bad day when they retested him. Also, testing of younger kids is considered more variable than that of older students...the only other person I've heard of whose child had such a significant drop ended up finding out her son had a form of narcolepsy, and he was "zoning out" at times, missing parts of both his daily classes and during the testing. I believe epilepsy can have a similar impact...

Before you go too much further, has your son ever had a complete neurological work up? An EEG and an MRI will help you rule out any physical problems that might be underlying factors. Assuming normal results,
your son's IQ most likely has not really dropped. His emotional issues are probably interfering with testing and the results. Your IEP team should have pointed this out to you. Please put IQ numbers on the back burner. They will not change who your son is. They are ultimately just numbers.

Often children who have had lots of early experiences appear way ahead when they are younger compared with their average peers. As they get older, those experiences while not gone entirely, become less of a critical factor when testing and IQ points may appear to drop. The truth is, they really haven't dropped, the earlier IQ testing results were just somewhat inflated.

It sounds like he is very lucky to have you for a mom. You have supported him quite well.

My daughter is now 16 and although she is not gifted, she has many similar symptoms as your son. She was even hospitalized for what we thought was asthma twice in 6 weeks. Turns out, it was depression that became a physical ailment. She was even put on anti-depressents.

After years of intervention that was inconsistently supportive, I finally found a place that really addressed the underlying issues of auditory processing difficulties, dyslexia and sensory integration difficulties. Long story short, within the last 8 weeks, there has been a remarkable turn around with social issues and social awareness. She is currently using a sound therapy program called Somonas. Please check out the wesites www.learningdisability.com and www.Somonas.com.
There is still hope. Hang in there and know you're not alone. Let me know how things are going...

Thanks so much, when someone is empathetic it is always helpful!! I will check out the other websites. Thanks again and take care.

I am sorry for you. It is a difficult situation and there is no question that a poor placement can lead to a lower IQ.

I have no direct help for you, but I recommend that you repost your post either at the Learning Disability Group here
community.greatschools.net/groups/11554

or at millermom.proboards107.com/

where somebody more competent than I am may be able to help you.