DMR Eligibility Decision by H.O. Rosenberg 4 1 05

Appeal denied by Commissioner on April 14, 2005

Keyword: intellectual function

Hearing Officer: Deirdre Rosenberg

Counsel present for Appellant: No

Counsel present for DMR: Diane Johnson, James Bergeron

Appellant present: Yes

Hearing Officer Decision on April 1, 2005

The appellant had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and had been a Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission client for seven years. When he was 20 in 2001, he received scores on the WJ test, which was a multiple-skill battery test designed to assess academic achievement.  The appellant's performance score was in the average IQ range.  The tester recommended that the appellant contact Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission for services for employment. The 2002 IEP report stated that the appellant was of average intelligence while diagnosing him with a pervasive developmental disorder.  The IEP team gave him the same recommendation. 

In 2002, the appellant received a full scale IQ score of 90 on the Wechsler Test.  The report at this time stated that the appellant suffered from anxiety, impulsivity, and depression, but that those were not relevant to DMR's eligibility determination.  The appellant also received a score of 130, above average, on the perceptual memory test.

The appellant's mother and father did not dispute the fact that the appellant had an IQ in the normal range.  They testified that Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission recommended that the appellant seek services from the DMR because of his severe social problems with other clients. 

Despite the appellant's need for continuing support, the hearing officer found that the appellant was not mentally retarded.  The appellant did not have significantly sub average intellectual function in that all of his verbal IQ scores were in or above the average range.