[bettynme]

"intelligence has been estimated in the low average range with a poor fund of information." Specifically, what is a poor fund of information? I have tried to look this up to no avail..Please help if you can...Trying to understand these psych reports is a job in itself....
thanks

[lucyjoy]

I believe it means he was either not exposed to the normal information a child his age has or didn't retain it if he was. It sounds as if he could be mild MR(sorry, don't know the current politically correct term for this and my sons reports say MR.)

[TxMom65]

I've never seen the "fund of information" terminology, but coupled with the low average range of intelligence I would agree that he wasn't exposed to a variety of information or has a limited vocabulary. (Possibly) Also does sound like possible borderline MR.

[bettynme]

This child has dx of ADHD and ODD and is on meds. He has speech services for receptive and expressive language. He is in a gen ed 2nd grade classroom with a collaborating special ed tch and is scheduled to start 3rd grade next year. His math skills are reported to be good and he learns new concepts well. He is 1/2 a year behind in his reading and the teachers say he may have done better with more help from home. The psychologist report was where the phrase poor fund of info came from. On his school IEP a score from something called a WISC IV was a FISQ composite score of 90.

Does anyone know what this means or how to even look this up? I intend on contacting his tchs but wanted to go in with some sort of understanding.

Thank you

[Adoption_Ally]

'Average' IQ is 100. If he has a score of 90, that means he's somewhat below average, but still pretty high function.

They are also saying that if there was more help at home, he could have done better with his reading.

There is a LOT more that you will want to know before you go into any meetings. Basically an IQ test will tell you how well the child does at IQ tests. If he is ADD and ODD, that could very well impact how well he did. Also, there are several components that factor into the composite score. It makes a difference if all the components cluster around the 90, or if some are say 70 and some 130.

Overall, they look for a difference between the IQ numbers and the achievement tests.

It also makes a HUGE difference what background the child has. Poor fund of information means that he didn't know about things they thought he should know about. For example, he might not know enough musical instruments or know what animals you might find in a zoo.

These types of tests are HIGHLY language and culture based. If he is receiving services for speech and language, and the person who administered the IQ test did not compensate for this, it would bring his score down. Also, if he has had multiple placements, it has probably been nearly impossible for him to aquire the background information a child with a more stable history would have.

If you want to PM me with more information, I might be better able to help you!

[greenrobin]

My oldest son has a full scale IQ score of 90, but he does well in life (usually!) because his fund of information is pretty full. He also has ADHD and ODD. And he's 20. He also takes meds. He successfully completed a vo-tech degree and is making almost as much money per year as I am as a teacher.

So, now I have a little guy with the same issues, except that he, too, has a low fund of info. Our diagnostician said that quite a bit of Bubba's issues can be helped just by getting the stimulation and socialization that he missed in the first 4 years of his life. It's a nature vs. nurture thing in our case. Also, better living through chemistry will help.

I'm sure you already know this, but I always ask whenever I don't know what something means. Call up the people who did the report and ask them for a definition in layman's term. Educational/psychological jargon isn't understood by everyone and sometimes people forget that. They'll understand and translate it fo you.

[andaluza]

According to the WISC IV table:
Index Scores & Full Scale IQ Score:
70 – 79 Borderline
80 – 89 Low Average
90 – 109 Average
110 – 119 High Average
120 – 129 Superior
I have been doing a lot of test lately, since I will be working as an educational diagnostician this coming school year. The score of 90 is still consider average, the phrase low fund of info means that he does not have acquired the information that most of the children at his age should have. But this phrase is vary vague, is it because of lack of exposure? or is it due to other variant? you mentioned that he has ADHD, this probably is the variant, since the responses cannot be considered due to lack of information but rather difficulties in concentration while doing the test. If you need more info pm me.

[mrsred]

Children that are not read to at an early age start school at a deficit. It is not surprising that his reading skills are below average at this point. But don't dispair, this can be somewhat turned around. Read with him every night. He is old enough that he should be reading himself somewhat, so find the types of books he likes and take turns reading.
When our adopted son came to us he was developementally delayed. Early testing showed him behind in everything. At five years old he wasn't in the least bit "reading ready". He is also going into third grade. His last test scores, for the first time were all at or above his age level expectation in reading. This after dh or I reading with him pretty much every single night since he moved in with us in November 2004.