The IQ test is a visually-presented exam. If a visually-related learning disorder is present, the child would have greater difficulty answering test questions correctly, and the IQ score would not be an accurate assessment of that child’s potential.
For years, the field of medicine has taught that the brain was hard-wired and could not be changed. Using this reasoning would imply that the IQ score was a permanent measure of an individual’s potential indicating no hope for improvement.
However during the last few decades, neuroscientists have begun proving that the brain is ‘neuroplastic’ meaning that the brain is fully capable of changing its own structure and function through appropriately guided thought and activities.
Over the years, numerous children have received therapy for learning disabilities at Snider Therapy Centers whose initial IQ scores were in the tank. Yet once treatment was completed, dramatic improvements in grades, performance, and even behavior have been reported by parents and teachers. How could this happen?
During the initial Neuro-Visual Assessment at our office, the child’s visual skills (both processing and motor efficiency), auditory processing, functioning visual field size, and brain timing are evaluated. Access to this information allows us to create an individualized non-invasive treatment protocol.
Snider Therapy Centers treatment programs utilize this property of neuroplasticity to rehabilitate the underlying functional problems noted during the initial assessment. With measurable improvements documented in our patients over an almost thirty year period, the IQ score has proven to be an unreliable marker of a child’s potential.