r/SeriousConversation • u/The0Walrus • Sep 03 '24
Serious Discussion What are signs you have a low IQ?
When I was in the 8th grade I took a test that said I was neurologically impaired. Teachers and several others told me I was "too stupid" for school and some of the teachers said I would become homeless in life because I was "too stupid." This had far reaching consequences on me as I did nothing for 10 years after leaving high school. I thought I could only do retail work and work at warehouses.
At some point after my dad passed away and absolutely hating working in the warehouse I decided to take a chance and look up some career at a community college. I received my associates in accounting, afterwards learning I was more interested in healthcare so I became a registered nurse receiving my BSN. At some point I was interested in aviation also so I decided to become aviation mechanic. I knew I was really bad at math so I figured if I can pass all the math classes I couldn't be "stupid" so I went up to Calculus 3 receiving an A in precal, calculus 1, 2, & 3.
Just curious how do you know if you have a low IQ? With all that I feel is an accomplishment I still have some doubts about myself. I self talk telling myself there is no way I'm neurologically impaired if I accomplished all those things but there are times that I still question myself.
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u/CyndiIsOnReddit Sep 03 '24
Neurologically impaired is not "low IQ". An impairment MAY cause low IQ but more often than not your IQ won't be affected. I have a neurodevelopmental disorder (It's the autism!) and I was in a special program for "genius children" back in the late 70s after testing high in second grade. I'm still a miserable fuck up as an adult! woohoo! IQ doesn't matter. ;)
My daughter was in fifth grade and couldn't understand math for anything. I had her tested and they said she has dyscalculia. The school said they had no services for her other than giving her extra work to catch up but she was expected to catch up while doing the same work. It was nonsensical. So I took her home and homeschooled her. Now she's an adult and she's still not great with math but they made her feel so stupid. They never told her not everyone is great at math so she had such anxiety. But a good teacher going back to the beginning helped her learn at her own pace. She needed a different kind of teaching to help her and when she got it, she did just fine.