Miracles Can Happen

I literally am holding back tears at the moment.  Let me tell you why [unfortunately the longer why is critical to understand why I am thrilled right now :)].

As a part of the evaluations Moose gets to test/track his development, there are several standardized instruments/tests that doctors and academics use to compare kids' functional levels, much the way that the SAT scores HS students' readiness for college.  There are loads of different tests, with different focuses and limitations.  One of the most common tests is called the Vineland.  This is a test that I've answered (it is a 'parent report' instrument, rather than a 'direct assessment' instrument that a trained practitioner answers) at least 6+ times.  I've done it for the therapy team, all of the researchers, and for the county in trying to get him social services.  In short, I am pretty familiar with this test and how well/not well Moose typically does on it.

While there is no clear cut way to predict what Moose's IQ will be at this age, the Vineland is commonly considered (though not officially) an IQ predictor.  This means that the composite score on a Vineland is generally thought to indicate how Moose's IQ will be when he gets to be old enough to receive a typical IQ test.  This is not clear cut, for example very young children like Moose tend to do better when younger then they do as cognitive tasks become considerably more complicated as children approach school age (just imagine the difference between a kiddo Moose's age who doesn't have the capacity to deceive, versus that of a 4 year old who can draw the distinction between truth, lies, pretend, dreams, and so on).

Anyway, Moose has never done especially well on the Vineland.  His composite score has hovered in the high 60s or low 70s, commonly weighed down by particular weakness in his gross motor skills (which I have always found esp unfair since one's ability to walk has no bearing on one's intelligence).  That said (and bearing in mind that the 'average' IQ is 100), here are Moose's first post-shunt Vineland scores, done at 15 months:

Communication Standard Score: 90
Daily Living Skills Standard Score: 88
Socialization Standard Score: 117 - HELLO!
Motor Skills Standard Score: 102
Composite Standard Score: 99

So... just stop and soak that in a minute....

Moose's IQ predictor test just told us that he's currently overall functioning within the TOTALLY NORMAL AND TYPICAL range for a 15 month old! 

It's not the end of the story, and his actual abilities are more nuanced, of course, but FREAKING HELL YES!!!!! Even if predictive of absolutely nothing, this test at a minimum indicates that he is doing considerably better than he was the last time he took it.  And, this substantial amount of difference can not be explained just by how positive I was feeling about Moose this time versus the last time I answered the test, i.e., my bias alone can not explain a 30 point difference, i.e. MOOSE IS DOING AWESOME!

More info on Vineland, http://psychcorp.pearsonassessments.com/HAIWEB/Cultures/en-us/Productdetail.htm?Pid=Vineland-II