When children are first recognized as candidates for special education services, one of the first steps in assessing their individual needs is intelligence testing. Parents and educators alike recognize the ways in which IQ test results can be misinterpreted and misapplied, so IEP teams often administer more than one test^[1] to explore the full range of a child's needs.

Each child is unique and may have more that one cognitive disability, or may have physical disabilities that prevent them from demonstrating the full range of their cognitive abilities. IQ testing can benefit students by identifying areas where students are least restricted and where they have specific support needs. However, IQ tests are often designed with the assumption a student does not need assistive technology to access or respond to the questions.^[2] This drawback highlights an important way that IQ tests can misinterpret physical and sensory disabilities as intellectual or cognitive disabilities.