That's a 20 point increase, more than one standard deviation improvement, by a child with an autism spectrum disorder! His IQ score was well over 100 (with 100 considered "average", as compared to the general population). After I worked with him for about three years- one on one, teaching in areas such as communication, reading, math, social functioning, play skills, leisure activities-using multimodal techniques -he was retested. When we began therapy, his IQ was tested and scored in the low 80s-which is considered borderline mental retardation. One of my first clients was a little boy w/ PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Delays-Not Otherwise Specified), a mild form of autism. Therapy utilized a variety of methods, or Multimodal Teaching (using as many modes of input as possible), in order to make this happen. These kids had a range of cognitive disabilities-my job was to train them in any and all areas that were deficient, to get them as close to functioning at the same level of their peers as possible. You see, before that point in my studies, I had begun working as a Behavior Therapist, training young children on the autism spectrum. Indeed, the data did show that, and he (along with many other intelligence researchers) concluded that intelligence could not be improved-at least not to create a lasting change. He explained that efforts made to raise the intelligence of children (through programs like Head Start, for example) had limited success while they were in practice, and furthermore, once the "training" stopped, they went right back to their previously low cognitive levels. Not so many years ago, I was told by a professor of mine that you didn't have much control over your intelligence. In essence: What doesn’t kill you makes you smarter. He knew intuitively what we can now show with data-what it takes to function at your cognitive best. While Einstein was not a neuroscientist, he sure knew what he was talking about in regards to the human capacity to achieve. One must develop an instinct for what one can just barely achieve through one's greatest efforts." -Albert Einstein "One should not pursue goals that are easily achieved.