pdd-nos and IQ Please help

[joshuasmom33]

I am new to this forum but have been reading about autism since my son was 4(he is currently 9) my son has add(dx at age 5) and pdd-nos(dx at age 9( as well as sensory intergration(dx at age 6). The last doctor I saw suggest a dx of mild retardation as well. I am having a hard time understanding the MR diagnosis. The 2 previous doctors did not feel MR was correct because his adaptive scores were normal range. He has had 3 IQ test 1st was 60, 2nd was 68 and final was 62. He has been tested for acheivement scores and is behind about 9 months overall from grade level, except for reading which is at grade level (3rd grade) Futhermore, his vocabulary on each IQ test was in the average range. Forgive my ignorance but I thought you could not have an average vocabulary and be at grade level for reading and receive a dxs of MR or could you.The reason I am concerned is the label might cause him to be placed in an enviroment at school that would hurt his progress, I shared these results with his teacher and she feels they do not fit my son. Should I turn over this report to the school or keep it for myself and once again have him retested?I am so tired of the process he has seen numerous doctors and I can not bear to see him go through this yet again.Thank you in advance for any help reguarding this matter.

[AutMom]

Not sure exactly what you should do... Do you have access to an advocate or case manager from a human resource agency?

Hopefully you can keep him from being placed in any environment that would hurt his progress regardless of any label.

[joshuasmom33]

Thank you for responding. I have been researching the validity of IQ tests for autistic spectrum and have found that the reliabilty is questionable at best. I was thinking about requesting a non verbal IQ. Apparantly the test that has been used for my son is not a reliable predictor of success for children on the spectrum. Secondly, my son shows various splinter skills for example he gets straight A's on spelling, anything that has to do with geometry and multiplication as well as reading at grade level. These are not typical features of mild retardation.Don't get me wrong he has many deficits as well but I believe in my heart that he is PDD-NOS and should be educated as such. I have decided to get another evaluation done with someone else. once again than you,