Is IQ 70 an intellectual disability? Not by itself.
Older systems used 70 as a hard cutoff. DSM-5 and ICD-11 don't. A diagnosis needs three things together, and the score is only one of them. DSM-5 also stopped grading severity by IQ, and grades it by adaptive functioning instead.
Where the score is low but daily functioning is not significantly impaired, clinicians use the term borderline intellectual functioning. DSM lists it as something that may warrant attention, and explicitly not as intellectual disability.
A measured 70 is really a band
Every test has a standard error of measurement, usually around 3 to 5 points. Pick the test's error and how sure you want to be, and see where the true score could sit.
Understood through tasks, not labels
Many people in this range live independently, work, raise families and manage money, while finding certain kinds of task harder than average. The gap between a person and a task can close from either side: by building the skill, or by simplifying the task.
Supports that move the needle
The useful question is rarely about the score. It's what reduces the load on the specific things the score makes harder.
Independence is a spectrum, and fit beats the number
Plenty of people in the borderline range work and support themselves. Roles with clear steps, routine and concrete, demonstrated skills tend to fit well, and supported employment programmes have a strong track record of helping people get and keep jobs.
Tap a myth to see what's true
Everyday proportional reasoning
A baker uses 3 cups of flour to make 12 muffins. With the same recipe, how much flour is needed for 4 muffins?
Percentile and rarity are computed from a normal distribution (mean 100, SD 15). The criteria summary follows DSM-5 and the AAIDD definition in outline; it's educational, not clinical advice. Supports and job examples are general patterns, not recommendations for any individual.