Hamm v. Smith · ¶56

Moreover, the District Court's consideration of adaptive defcits is consistent with the consensus within the medical community, which has made clear that the existence of multiple IQ scores above 70 does not necessarily end the inquiry entirely. Both the APA and the AAIDD emphasize that “IQ test scores cannot stand alone” and “must be considered alongside other data that inform a clinician's assessment both of intellectual functioning and the other diagnostic criteria.” Id., at 5; American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 42 (5th ed. text rev. 2022) (DSM) (“[U]sing [IQ scores] as the sole criteria for the diagnosis of an intellectual developmental disorder is insufficient”). As Hall emphasized, “[i]t is not sound to view a single factor,” such as IQ scores, “as dispositive of a conjunctive and interrelated assessment,” and “ `[a] person with…

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